Test Settings
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| APU | AMD A6-3650: 2.60 GHz, four cores, 4 MB Combined L2 Cache, Socket FM1 |
| APU Cooler | Rosewill FORT120 |
| RAM | G.Skill F3-17600CL9Q-16GBXLD: 4 x 4 GB (16 GB Total), DDR3-2200 Benchmarked at 2 x 4 GB (8 GB total), DDR3-1600 CAS 9 |
| Graphics | Integrated Radeon HD 6530D: 320 Shaders, default settings, shared system RAM |
| Hard Drive | Samsung 470 Series MZ5PA256HMDR, 256 GB SSD |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | Seasonic X760 SS-760KM: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold |
| Software | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 |
| Graphics and Chipset | AMD Catalyst 11.6 |
AMD was fresh out of A8-series APUs by the time this editor needed one, but the lower price of its A6 series makes the runner-up an attractive option for buyers in the $100 motherboard market.
Rosewill’s FORT120 might not be available on the market any longer, but it has proven itself the perfect cooler for our socketed AMD processors. Anyone envious of this older model can find similar performance from the similar designs of other manufacturers.
G.Skill’s 16 GB DDR3-2200 kit provided the four super-fast DIMMs needed to assess memory overclocking capabilities. We set these to DDR3-1600 CAS 9 for remaining benchmarks.
After determining that our 80 PLUS Gold-rated 760 W Seasonic power supply was 84% efficient at a mere 2.5% load, this editor decided to use it in every possible review.
We included a few games in today’s tests to gauge the benefit of improved memory with AMD’s integrated GPU.
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Aliens vs Predator | Alien vs Predator Benchmark Tool Test Set 1: Low Textures, No Shadows/SSAO/Tesselation/AA, 1x AF Test Set 2: Low Quality, No Shadows/SSAO/Tesselation, 4x AA, 1x AF |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 seconds FRAPS) Test Set 1: Lowest Quality/Details, No AA Test Set 2: Lowest Quality/Details, 4x AA |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: Low Overall Quality, High Shaders, DX 10, No AA Test Set 2: Low Overall Quality, High Shaders, DX 10, 4x AA |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version 9.0.3.15 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
| Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 kb/s) |
| MediaEspresso 6.5 | Version 6.5.1210_33281: 1080i HDTV (449MB) to iPad H.264, 1024x768 |
| MediaConverter 7 | Version7.1.0.68: 1080i HDTV (449MB) to iPad, SmartFit profile |
| Handbrake CLI | Version 0.94: "Big Buck Bunny" (720x480, 23.972 FPS) 5 Minutes, Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 000 Hz, Six-Channel, English, to Video: AVC Audio: AC3 Audio2: AAC (High Profile) |
| MainConcept Reference | Version: 2.0.0.1555: MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio: MPEG-2 (44.1 kHz, 2 Channel, 16-Bit, 224 kb/s), Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
| Productivity | |
| Adobe Photoshop CS5 | Version 12.0 x64: Filter 15.7MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| WinZip | Version 14.0 Pro: THG-Workload (464MB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| WinRAR | Version 4.0 Beta 4: THG-Workload (464MB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.2: THG-Workload (464MB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
