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Review: AMD A10-7850K (28nm Kaveri)

by Tarinder Sandhu on 30 January 2014, 17:00

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacaaz

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Introduction

AMD's press launch of the new Kaveri APU was anachronistic in nature. Press samples of the range-topping A10-7850K arrived days after the product was available in the channel, and enterprising readers often had their own reviews available before the professional sites managed to get words to page. But our A10-7850K is here and it's only right that we put it through the usual benchmark paces.

AMD APU Product Stack

APU Model
CPU Cores
CPU Base Clock
(GHz)
CPU Turbo Clock
(GHz)
GPU Brand
GPU Cores
GPU Base Clock
(MHz)
Max. DDR3
(MHz)
TDP
Launch Price
(US 1ku)

28nm Kaveri

A10-7850K
4
3.7
4.0
Radeon R7
512
720
2,133
95W
$173
A10-7700K
4
3.4
3.8
Radeon R7
384
720
2,133
95W
$152
A8-7600
4
3.3/3.1
3.8/3.3
Radeon R7
384
720
2,133
65W/45W
$119

32nm Richland

A10-6800K
4
4.1
4.4
HD 8670D
384
844
2,133
100W
$142
A10-6700
4
3.7
4.3
HD 8670D
384
844
1,866
65W
$142

32nm Trinity

A10-5800K
4
3.8
4.2
HD 7660D
384
800
1,866
100W
$122
A10-5700
4
3.4
4.0
HD 7660D
384
760
1,866
65W
$122

As a recap, the A10-7850K is the best of the Kaveri trio. Though only marginally faster than the yet-to-be-available A8-7600 with respect to CPU performance - a 4GHz maximum speed vs. 3.8GHz - the graphics component is, on paper, 33 per cent better than on the A10-7700K and A8-7600. This should translate to class-leading GPU performance from a single chip.

Do note that Kaveri's finest APU is clocked in lower on both counts than last-generation Richland; AMD says the frequency potential is compromised to enable a wider, faster GPU to be used. For those who don't know, the K suffix means the chip is multiplier unlocked.

AMD lists the A10-7850K at $173, or $31 higher than the asking price for A10-6800K Richland. Translating for UK customers, the chip costs £135 while the previous-generation champion APU is readily available for £105. The Kaveri APU's pricing lies between Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs from Intel.