AMD A10-6700 And A10-6800K Review: Richland Hits The Desktop

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Richland, code name for AMD's highest-end APUs, finds its way into our lab in the form of A10-6700 and A10-6800K. Based on the Piledriver architecture and VLIW4 graphics, these chips are slight improvements to Trinity. Can they outshine Core i3, though?

Results: Compression

Given the differences between platforms up until now, it's unexpected to see the A10s separated by almost 30 seconds. However, it appears that AMD's latest APU matches the Core i3-3220.

Only a few seconds of difference distinguish the contenders in 7-Zip, though the A10-6800K claims a technical victory in this benchmark.

Intel's Core i3-3220 wins in our CPU-oriented compression test. Enabling OpenCL hands the win to AMD's A10-6800K. And the EZ test, which maximizes compression, also favors the Richland-based chip.

97 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Novuake
    VLIW4... Are you kidding me??? WHen is that gonna be scrapped...
    Reply
  • esrever
    Numbering has never been for the architecture inside the chips. They have always been marketing for the current line of products. Normal people buy a laptop, they see the number, they get the performance associated with said number and they don't care about the inside of the chip. Richland is just a trinity refresh with better power management and higher clocks.
    Reply
  • griptwister
    AMD, Good show! Now, release Kaveri Already! I need a new SteamRoller CPU!
    Reply
  • tului
    They say it's VLIW4 then say it's GCN. They can't be both can they?
    Reply
  • songorocosongo
    The 6800k is good, but I expected it to be a little more powerful.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    No temps with power metrics page? 8(
    I guess Richland is still very hot going by the power figures alone. Still, it's a good step up (and stop gap) for AMD.
    Nice review still. Are you guys planning on a follow up for Dual Graphics? 8)
    Cheers!
    Reply
  • kfronda26
    This is dumb. Still 6670 max card for dual graphics. Disappointing.
    Reply
  • Wes Young
    10920935 said:
    This is dumb. Still 6670 max card for dual graphics. Disappointing.

    No, since driver 13.1 even the 5800k was able to run dual graphics with a HD 7750. I am typing on a system with that exact setup right now. I am not sure if the 6800k will allow anything above the 7750 though. When I tried a 7770 with the 5800k I wasn't given the option to enable dual graphics.
    Reply
  • unknown9122
    AMD swings and misses once again.
    Reply
  • unknown9122
    AMD swings and misses once again.
    Reply