AMD A6-3650 Llano APU Review Comment Thread

[SKYMTL]

When AMD's Llano desktop architecture was introduced, the A8-3850 was the only APU available but another, more budget-friendly version soon followed. The A6-3650 retains all of the features which made its bigger brother so successful but core speeds and the onboard graphics processor have been cut down to a slightly lower level. The result is a $120 APU that could very well take the market by storm.

Read more here: AMD A6-3650 Llano APU Review

[MacJunky]

How do you pronounce Llano anyway? Lano? LLLLLLLano? LuhLano?

[_dangtx_]

very nice. now lets see it in cheap lappies!

[lowfat]

My A6-3650 was the only CPU I've ever bought that was DOA. Really hope the RMA' one I have coming works properly.

[jurassic1024]

Why is the 3650 100w and the 3800 65w, when the 3650 has no turbo, has a lower CPU core clock, lower GPU clock, and less shaders? Doesn't make sense to me. Can anyone explain this?

AMD A8-Series A8-3800 AD3800OJZ43GX (AD3800OJGXBOX)
AMD A6-Series A6-3650 AD3650WNZ43GX (AD3650WNGXBOX)

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by jurassic1024

Why is the 3650 100w and the 3800 65w, when the 3650 has no turbo, has a lower CPU core clock, lower GPU clock, and less shaders? Doesn't make sense to me. Can anyone explain this?

AMD A8-Series A8-3800 AD3800OJZ43GX (AD3800OJGXBOX)
AMD A6-Series A6-3650 AD3650WNZ43GX (AD3650WNGXBOX)

The base clock of the A8-3800 is 200MHz lower than the A6-3650. In addition, the 3800 and 3600 will be a new stepping which will bring a lower operating voltage and a slightly more efficient transistor design.

[OJX]

Seems like its targeted at a fairly small market. Perhaps a moderate-gaming HTPC? Most business/casual markets won't see the advantage of the improved GPU, and would instead benefit from faster processors. Gamers won't abandon discrete graphics.

[SKYMTL]

Actually, it is targeting a huge market: that of the massive system builders. Companies like Dell, HP, etc. will love Fusion because it offers expanded capabilities in an emerging segment (GPGPU computing) while simplifying their buying and architectural structure. Instead of making provisions for a dedicated GPU, these OEMs can now use a single chip solution while marketing advanced GPU capabilities that were previously only available on up-market systems.

[BootlegUsher]

I know that you wanted all the test platforms to be similar, so DDR3 1333 was used on all of them, but doesn't that hamper the A6 3650 quite a bit? Wouldn't it be fair to use the highest natively supported memory frequency on all the platforms?

[SKYMTL]

Originally Posted by BootlegUsher

I know that you wanted all the test platforms to be similar, so DDR3 1333 was used on all of them, but doesn't that hamper the A6 3650 quite a bit? Wouldn't it be fair to use the highest natively supported memory frequency on all the platforms?

Native memory speed as defaulted to in all BIOS versions of every mobo is 1333 for Llano. Llano "officially supports" higher memory speeds but it doesn't run at those speeds without manually setting the divider in the BIOS.

Also, as you mentioned all platforms are tested at the same memory speeds in order to keep things consistent.