AMD “Richland” A-Series A10-6800K
Overview
Hardware: CPU & MotherboardsWHAT WE LIKED:
Great overclocking ability, native 2133MHz memory support, Continued FM2 based socketWHAT WE DISLIKED:
None
Introduction
In 2011 when AMD first launched its new fusion technology processors, there were many questions with its performance to value ratio. This new APU series was the first of its kind, and no one was sure how well it would develop in the consumer world. However, over the last few years, we have seen AMD improve this platform with the release of its “Trinity” processing power and the APU series has grown to be a leading performer with this unique platform. The AMD APU series combines the CPU and GPU under one processing unit providing great computing prowess while fitting in consumers’ budgets.
Today, we are going to be previewing a new advancement level with this technology. AMD has taken the FM2 based socket and its improved “Piledriver” Cores to the next level. With the improved emphasis on performance, we can’t wait to dive in and put this new AMD A-Series A10-6800k to the test.
To really put the A10-6800K through its paces, we will be using some of today’s newest benchmarks to see how well the improved “Piledriver” cores and the new Radeon 8670D graphics die perform. We are using our MSI A85XA-GD65 motherboard which has the latest updated A85X BIOS. Let’s get to it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the first Richland review that was spot on. No comparing it against an i7 Haswell. No skimping over game tests with both the onboard and a descrete GPU. And this is the only review where you tested the hybrid Crossfire. Again, thank you.
Thank you for reading our review, we definitely appreciate the feedback.
while the CPU overclock is interesting, would leaving CPU stock and boosting GPU to 900MHz have produced better result in some areas? Also how would 2400 memory change things for stock APU and would even tighter timings on 2133 memory show any difference with the latency boost they would offer if viable?
Hi paddy,
while you do have a interesting point regarding the overclock of the CPU Vs. the GPU, we didn’t test with any overclocks of the GPU core. While doing this will increase performance only to the application that demands higher graphics support over its CPU cores, our goal was to test over all CPU performance. AMD is still fine tuning its drivers for the graphics side of things and we are hoping with newer drivers set, this will show improvements as they mature this platform.
As for the memory, depending on your motherboard its possible to get 2400MHz on the memory, but this chipset alone is noted to handle 2133MHz without a hitch and did it with very little work here. Depending on the memory you use, and the lower CAS along with tighter timings can improve performance, this can be real subjective to each persons set-up.
However, RAW CPU performance will boost overall system improvement better then memory. Infact, since the memory controller is on the CPU die itself, its better to increase the CPU performance and boost the overall system as a whole.
Thanks for taking the time to read our review and looking forward to additional insite.
Kenny