Regular readers may know that we have a soft spot for energy-efficient hardware. Running low-wattage CPUs, especially those with integrated graphics, paves the way for small, quiet systems that are surprisingly capable.
AMD's latest desktop APUs use the Richland architecture update and ship with either a 65W or 100W TDP. However, news from TweakPC seems to suggest that 45W APUs are in the pipeline. Collating information gleaned from MSI's website, TweakPC reckons AMD is soon to introduce the A8-6500T and A10-6700T, with the T suffix indicating a maximum power-draw of 45W.
APU Model |
CPU Cores |
CPU Base Clock |
CPU Turbo Clock |
GPU Brand |
GPU Cores |
GPU Base Clock |
L2 Cache |
Max. DDR3 |
TDP |
Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A10-6800K | 4 |
4.1GHz |
4.4GHz |
HD 8670D |
384 |
844MHz |
4MB |
2,133MHz |
100W |
£110 |
| A10-6700 | 4 |
3.7GHz |
4.3GHz |
HD 8670D |
384 |
844MHz |
4MB |
1,866MHz |
65W |
£110 |
| A10-6700T | 4 |
2.5GHz |
NA |
HD 8650D |
384 |
720MHz |
4MB |
NA |
45W |
NA |
| A8-6600K | 4 |
3.9GHz |
4.2GHz |
HD 8570D |
256 |
800MHz |
4MB |
1,866MHz |
100W |
£90 |
| A8-6500 | 4 |
3.5GHz |
4.1GHz |
HD 8570D |
256 |
800MHz |
4MB |
1,866MHz |
65W |
£90 |
A8-6500T | 4 |
2.1GHz |
NA |
HD 8550D |
256 |
720MHz |
4MB |
NA |
45W |
NA |
A6-6400K | 4 |
3.9GHz |
4.1GHz |
HD 8470D |
192 |
800MHz |
1MB |
1,866MHz |
65W |
£60 |
A4-4400 | 2 |
3.0GHz |
4.2GHz |
HD 7480D |
128 |
720MHz |
1MB |
1,333MHz |
65W |
£35 |
Slotting the two proposed chips in our table shows that, quite expectedly, AMD scales back the frequencies in order to hit the 45W TDP. What's not known is the speed these chips' CPU cores Turbo to, though we don't imagine them to be too high.
In terms of graphics, the two chips keep to 384 and 256 cores for the A10 and A8 families, respectively. The GPU portions don't run as fast as the 65W or 100W variants, either.
If priced well, the T-series chips look like a good fit for teeny-weeny systems. How about putting them in, say, a Lian Li PC-Q27 chassis? Your thoughts, please.
