Efficient AMD A10-6700T APU to hit Retail Next Week
By - Source: TechPowerUp
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AMD's more efficient A10-6700T APU is expected to retail next week.
AMD will soon release new APU with specifications that closely match that of the A10-6700 APU but carries a much lower TDP. The APU, which will be known as the A10-6700T, will have a TDP of just 45 W -- 20 W less than the A10-6700.
Beyond the lowered TDP, the only lowered specifications are the clock speeds. The still four Piledriver cores run at 2.5 GHz base, with a TurboCore speed of 3.5 GHz. The unit still features 4 MB of L2 cache. In addition, the unit carries the AMD Radeon HD 8650D GPU, which runs at 760 MHz base and 844 MHz Boost.
The APU is expected to hit retail shelves sometime next week and will be priced around $150.
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If you go by that line of thinking, the 8086 was only a half-core processor, as were the 286, 386 and 486SX as they all only featured an ALU and required a separate x87 "math co-processor" (better known as an FPU) for floating point operations. Having an FPU doesn't make a "core" a "core". It's the ALU that determines what's a processor core. Unlike the FPU, the ALU is a fully functional, stand-alone component. The FPU can't operate without the ALU.
APU isn't a "made up market by AMD". AMD uses the term as a reference to CPUs that have an integrated graphics processor, which is something Intel actually pushed to market first. The Core i3 and i5 processors on LGA1156 were the first x86 processors to feature an integrated graphics processor. Intel has no need for such references due to the fact that even the majority of their mainstream processors have integrated graphics processors.
Your understanding is quite wrong. If that were the case, Intel wouldn't waste their time putting an integrated graphics processor on every CPU package. An APU functions as both a CPU and a GPU (which is exactly what they are). The 2 components are completely capable of functioning independent of each other, even while sharing the same processor package. You code for the CPU portion, the same as you would any other CPU. You code for the GPU portion, the same as you would any other GPU.
This is the latter.
I'm kind of used to lower the frequency by a few percent, and getting a much larger percentage drop in power use. It's probably the GPU, as the frequency wasn't lowered much, but 45 watts for a dual-core (it's a dual core, not a quad-core, except if you're an AMD zombie who really thinks adding an integer unit and nothing else makes one core, two) running at 2.5 GHz isn't that great. The scenarios for this processor are limited, the A10-6700 is going to be better for most people, being quite powerful, and being reasonable on performance.
I also hate when they re-label processors with a "T", but the unit runs much slower than the one they are naming it after. Intel has done this too. It's confusing to customers, and leads to disappointment.
What I really want to know is if AM3+ is going to see any Steamroller chips.
If you go by that line of thinking, the 8086 was only a half-core processor, as were the 286, 386 and 486SX as they all only featured an ALU and required a separate x87 "math co-processor" (better known as an FPU) for floating point operations. Having an FPU doesn't make a "core" a "core". It's the ALU that determines what's a processor core. Unlike the FPU, the ALU is a fully functional, stand-alone component. The FPU can't operate without the ALU.
APU isn't a "made up market by AMD". AMD uses the term as a reference to CPUs that have an integrated graphics processor, which is something Intel actually pushed to market first. The Core i3 and i5 processors on LGA1156 were the first x86 processors to feature an integrated graphics processor. Intel has no need for such references due to the fact that even the majority of their mainstream processors have integrated graphics processors.
Your understanding is quite wrong. If that were the case, Intel wouldn't waste their time putting an integrated graphics processor on every CPU package. An APU functions as both a CPU and a GPU (which is exactly what they are). The 2 components are completely capable of functioning independent of each other, even while sharing the same processor package. You code for the CPU portion, the same as you would any other CPU. You code for the GPU portion, the same as you would any other GPU.
I was about to call shenanigans, but it appears you're right.
A10-6700T 2.5GHz base, 3.5GHz turbo
A10-6700 3.7GHz base, 4.3GHz turbo
I don't understand why this is even designated as the "T" version of the 6700. It's just an under-clocked CPU (and hence, of course it has a lower TDP).
This is the latter.
The company I'd like to see doing something is VIA they were always so keen on power efficiency and had some really innovative thinking, but I think that's a long shot.
Yes, low power is good for quiet.
It really depends on where you live and what your budget is.
EXAMPLE: I lived in a nice section of Guatemala City for two years. For the first six months there I was operating just with a laptop. My energy bill was around $500 Quetzales a month (that's about $75 US dollars). Guatemala City is quite cool being up in the mountains so I never ran an AC or anything like that.
That Christmas, I flew back to Fla. and picked up my PC. After installing the PC and video monitor, my light bill jumped to $900 Quetzales a month (about $130 dollars) almost doubling my energy bill. This is because Guatemala City uses a "scaling" energy bill. If you use over X amount of energy per month then your costs are scaled. So let's say I was at 1x per Kilowatt, I was suddenly billed at 1.5x per Kilowatt for crossing that magical barrier. That's a bill of over 600 USD per year just to run a PC.
I still ran mine, because that's how I roll. But one can imagine how someone, especially if they had to live on Guatemalan wages, would want to stay below that magic cut off point.
Graphics Same .760 to .844 = Avg .802 GHz
A10-6700 3.7 to 4.3 = Avg 4 + .8 Graphics = 4.8
A10-6700T 2.5 to 3.5 = Avg 3 + .8 Graphics = 3.8
Performance difference is 3.8/4.8 = .79 or about 20% less on the T
Power difference 45/60 = .69 or about 30% less on the T
So, at the cost of a 20% reduction in total performance you get a 30% reduction in power usage. That my friends makes for a more efficient APU.