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.

Codename	Trinity
Series	AMD AMD A-Series
Series: AMD A-Series Trinity AMD A10-4600M 2.3 - 3.2 GHz 4 / 4  AMD A10-4657M 2.3 - 3.2 GHz 4 / 4  AMD A10-4655M 2 - 2.8 GHz 4 / 4  AMD A8-4500M 1.9 - 2.8 GHz 4 / 4  AMD A8-4557M 1.9 - 2.8 GHz 4 / 4  AMD A8-4555M 1.6 - 2.4 GHz 4 / 4  AMD A6-4400M 2.7 - 3.2 GHz 2  AMD A4-4300M « 2.5 - 3 GHz 2  AMD A6-4455M 2.1 - 2.6 GHz 2  AMD A4-4355M 1.9 - 2.4 GHz 2
Clock Rate	2500 - 3000 MHz
Level 2 Cache	1 MB
Number of Cores / Threads	2
Power Consumption (TDP = Thermal Design Power)	35 Watt
Transistor Count	1303 Million
Manufacturing Technology	32 nm
Die Size	246 mm2
Features	SSE (1, 2, 3, 3S, 4.1, 4.2, 4A), x86-64, AES, AVX, FMA
GPU	AMD Radeon HD 7420G (480 - 655 MHz)
64 Bit	64 Bit support
Architecture	x86
Announcement Date	06/30/2012

Benchmarks