AMD A4-4300M vs AMD A8-5550M

AMD A4-4300M

The AMD A4-4300M is a mobile dual-core processor based on the Trinity architecture. Officially introduced in 2012, it is the direct successor to the Llano A-series of APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit). The processing unit is manufactured in 32nm SOI and integrates a 2.5 GHz CPU (up to 3.0 GHz w/ Turbo Core) with a Radeon HD 7420G GPU alongside a dual-channel memory controller, video de- and encoders and a northbridge.

The CPU cores are based on a reworked Bulldozer architecture, called Piledriver. Although marketed as a dual-core processor, the A4-4300M includes only one module with two integer-cores and one floating-point core. As a result, the CPU is not a true dual-core processor.

When compared to previous Bulldozer cores, AMD has managed to improve upon the IPC (instructions per clock) performance of Trinity cores while allowing for higher clock frequencies. However, when compared to its Llano predecessor, the multithreaded performance of Trinity has only been slightly improved. The enhanced Turbo Core 3.0 feature functions well in speeding up single threaded performance, although it is still not on the same level as Intel’s Turbo Boost equivalent. Regardless, AMD has managed to include other features as well, such as the AVX extension (including FMA) and support for AES encryption.

In terms of raw general performance, the A4-4300M performs similar to the Llano-based A4-3310MX. Single-threaded workloads can especially benefit from the new architecture and the updated Turbo Core functionality. If compared to Intels Pentium-series, the A4-4300M offers less performance in most cases. Nonetheless, CPU performance from the AMD processor is sufficient for all daily workloads like Office and Internet browsing, but will reach its limits in more demanding applications.

The integrated DirectX 11-compatible Radeon HD 7420G offers probably only 192 shader cores of the Trinity chip (7660G: 384) and, thanks to Turbo Core, will operate anywhere between 470 to 640 MHz depending on the current application demand. On average, the performance of the HD 7420G GPU is somewhere between the Llano-based Radeon HD 6520G and the HD Graphics 4000 as found in Intel’s Ivy Bridge.

The power consumption of the A4-4300M APU is rated at 35 Watt TDP and is therefore comparable to dual-core Ivy Bridge processors. Consequently, the A4-4300M is best suited for 14-inch notebooks or larger.

AMD A8-5550M

The AMD A8-5550M is a mobile quad-core processor based on the Richland-architecture. As successor to the A8-4500M, the A8-5550M has a slightly higher CPU and graphics performance and settles in the lower middle class. The APU integrates 4 CPU cores, a DirectX 11 graphics unit and the Northbridge along with a DDR3 memory controller.

Compared to Trinity, Richland has been modified just slightly. Therefore, no changes in the feature set or the Pro-MHz performance can be reported. The design of the chip is still based on the Bulldozer architecture, which consists of so-called modules. Each of the two modules integrates 2 integer units, but only one FPU. Just like Trinity, Richland supports nearly all current techniques such as AVX (including FMA), AES or Turbo Core.

According to the clock rates of 2.1 to 3.1 GHz, the A8-5550M performs about 15 percent slower than the A10-5750M and similar to a Core i3-2310M. Consequently, the performance in current applications and games is sufficient.

The graphics unit called Radeon HD 8550G offers 256 shader units (VLIW4) and clocks slightly higher than the HD 7640G. With fast dual-channel memory, performance matches a dedicated Radeon HD 7570M.

The power consumption of the entire APU is rated at 35 watts, which is comparable to conventional middle-class models of competition. Thus, the APU is best suited for 14 inch notebooks or bigger.