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Bristol Ridge in Review: AMDs A10-9600P Against the Competition

Careful Development. AMDs 7th APU generation is named Bristol Ridge. Thanks to several optimizations, it promises greater efficiency and speed. We put the new A10-9600P APU through our rigorous test.

For the original German article, see here.

The AMD Raven Ridge APU has a release date in mid-2017 and promises a lot of impressive features: a modern 14 nm process with FinFET transistors, a greatly improved CPU performance thanks to the Zen microarchitecture and a faster HBM2 memory directly on the interposer. Until then, AMD is keeping the interest of consumers with the 7th generation of AMD APUs: Bristol Ridge.

Although the name implies a new chip, Bristol Ridge is essentially a rework of the 2016 Carrizo design. The APU uses the well-known 28 nm process and offers minor modifications on the previous design. As such, the technical details have stayed mostly the same: the APU still has up to 4 "Excavator" CPU cores, 512 shaders (GCN, 3rd Gen) and a Southbridge with 12 PCIe 3.0 lanes. The DDR4 support of the memory controller is new. Although this feature was already available in the Carrizo design, it was never officially unlocked. Furthermore, AMD has optimized the finish and boost behavior of the chip. This allows it to perform at higher clock speeds while keeping to the same power consumption levels.

Additional details about the improvements made to the Bristol Ridge architecture can be found in the following articles: 

Model Overview

Unlike Intel, AMD offers a smaller line-up of APUs, which consists of 6 models: 3 in 15-watt  and 3 in 35-watt APUs. All APUs have 4 CPU cores, an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) with either 384 (A10 and A12 series) or 512 shaders (FX series). The max clock speed of the IGP varies between 720 (A10-9600P) and 900 MHz (FX-9830P). Additional differences can be noticed in the memory controllers. The 35-watt series can support RAM up to DDR4-2400, whereas the 15-watt APUs can only support RAM up to DDR4-1866.

The Test Model

For the following measurements, we used an HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng. The laptop was provided by Notebooksbilliger.de. With a price tag of 600 Euros (~$669), the 15-inch model offers the following components:

  • AMD A10-9600P
  • 2x 4 GB DDR4-1866
  • Radeon R5 (integrated) + Radeon R7 M440 (dedicated), Driver 16.101.1311.1001
  • 256 GB SSD (SanDisk Z400s, M.2 2280)
  • 15.6 inch Full HD Display (1920 x 1080 pixels), TN Panel, matte
  • Windows 10 64-Bit

The laptop offers good components for its price range: a 256 GB SSD and an FHD display. However, the latter is a relatively disappointing TN panel (see review of predecessor). We want to praise HP for their decision to install two DDR4 RAM modules (1866 MHz). Unfortunately, the main beneficiary of such strong RAM is the IGP, which is limited to office work, as the dedicated Radeon R7 M440 GPU takes care of the heavy lifting. We tested both graphics processors individually and together in CrossFire mode (Radeon R8 M445DX) in the following game benchmarks.

Benchmarks

CPU Performance

The 15-watt TDP (Thermal Design Power) of the A10-9600P places it in competition with the Intel ULV models, which use the Skylake architecture. From a price perspective, the direct competition for the APU would be the i3 series.

Due to the stagnating per-MHz ratio, any performance increases achieved by Bristol Ridge is through higher clock speeds. The APU starts the Cinebench single thread test at 3.2 GHz, but the clock speed drops to 3.0 GHz after a short period of time. This places the clock speed of our APU above the similar Carrizo models by a few percent. A Core i3-6100U can distance itself from our test model by 20 to 25% and the older Broadwell processors, i3-5005U and i3-5010U; achieve a lead of 5 to 10%.

The A10-9600P performs better in the Cinebench multithreading test: starting at 2.6 GHz and ending at 2.2 GHz. This suffices to place our model above the A10-8700P by 10% and directly between the i3-5000 and i3-6000 series.

Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i5-6200U
1.29 Points +43%
Intel Core i5-5200U
1.23 Points +37%
Intel Core i3-6100U
1.1 Points +22%
Intel Core i3-5010U
0.97 Points +8%
Intel Core i3-5005U
0.96 Points +7%
AMD A10-9600P
0.9 Points
AMD Pro A12-8800B
0.88 Points -2%
AMD A10-8700P
0.86 Points -4%
AMD FX-7600P
0.81 Points -10%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Intel Core i5-6200U
3.23 Points +24%
Intel Core i5-5200U
2.84 Points +9%
Intel Core i3-6100U
2.75 Points +6%
AMD A10-9600P
2.6 Points
AMD Pro A12-8800B
2.45 Points -6%
AMD FX-7600P
2.42 Points -7%
AMD A10-8700P
2.36 Points -9%
Intel Core i3-5010U
2.32 Points -11%
Intel Core i3-5005U
2.27 Points -13%
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Intel Core i5-6200U
113 Points +47%
Intel Core i5-5200U
106 Points +38%
Intel Core i3-6100U
97 Points +26%
Intel Core i3-5010U
85 Points +10%
Intel Core i3-5005U
82 Points +6%
AMD A10-9600P
77 Points
AMD FX-7600P
76 Points -1%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
72 Points -6%
AMD A10-8700P
69 Points -10%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Intel Core i5-6200U
290 Points +34%
Intel Core i5-5200U
258 Points +19%
Intel Core i3-6100U
247 Points +14%
AMD FX-7600P
232 Points +7%
Intel Core i3-5010U
217 Points 0%
AMD A10-9600P
217 Points
Intel Core i3-5005U
208 Points -4%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
202 Points -7%
AMD A10-8700P
194 Points -11%
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0
Pass 1
Intel Core i5-6200U
98 fps +15%
AMD FX-7600P
87.5 (87.1min - 93max) fps +2%
AMD A10-9600P
85.4 fps
Intel Core i5-5200U
85.3 fps 0%
Intel Core i3-6100U
83.5 fps -2%
AMD A10-8700P
74.4 fps -13%
Intel Core i3-5010U
73.9 fps -13%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
72 fps -16%
Intel Core i3-5005U
69.7 fps -18%
Pass 2
Intel Core i5-6200U
19.04 fps +17%
AMD FX-7600P
17.6 (17.5min - 17.8max) fps +8%
AMD A10-9600P
16.34 fps
Intel Core i5-5200U
16.1 fps -1%
Intel Core i3-6100U
15.97 fps -2%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
15.84 fps -3%
AMD A10-8700P
15.23 fps -7%
Intel Core i3-5010U
13.6 fps -17%
Intel Core i3-5005U
12.96 fps -21%
TrueCrypt
AES Mean 100MB
AMD FX-7600P
1.8 GB/s +20%
Intel Core i5-6200U
1.7 GB/s +13%
AMD A10-8700P
1.5 GB/s 0%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
1.5 GB/s 0%
AMD A10-9600P
1.5 GB/s
Intel Core i3-6100U
1.4 GB/s -7%
Intel Core i3-5005U
1.2 GB/s -20%
Intel Core i3-5010U
1.2 GB/s -20%
Twofish Mean 100MB
AMD FX-7600P
0.35 GB/s +2%
AMD A10-9600P
0.342 GB/s
AMD Pro A12-8800B
0.313 GB/s -8%
AMD A10-8700P
0.303 GB/s -11%
Intel Core i5-6200U
0.289 GB/s -15%
Intel Core i3-6100U
0.242 GB/s -29%
Intel Core i3-5010U
0.203 GB/s -41%
Intel Core i3-5005U
0.192 GB/s -44%
Serpent Mean 100MB
AMD FX-7600P
0.221 GB/s +5%
AMD A10-9600P
0.211 GB/s
AMD Pro A12-8800B
0.195 GB/s -8%
AMD A10-8700P
0.188 GB/s -11%
Intel Core i5-6200U
0.171 GB/s -19%
Intel Core i3-6100U
0.143 GB/s -32%
Intel Core i3-5010U
0.116 GB/s -45%
Intel Core i3-5005U
0.112 GB/s -47%
WinRAR - Result
Intel Core i5-5200U
2327 KB/s +52%
Intel Core i5-6200U
2124 KB/s +39%
Intel Core i3-5010U
2119 KB/s +39%
Intel Core i3-5005U
1952 KB/s +28%
Intel Core i3-6100U
1921 KB/s +26%
AMD FX-7600P
1800 KB/s +18%
AMD A10-9600P
1526 KB/s
AMD A10-8700P
1328 KB/s -13%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
1293 KB/s -15%
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - 32M
AMD FX-7600P
1179 s * -25%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
971 s * -3%
Intel Core i3-5005U
962 s * -2%
AMD A10-8700P
954 s * -1%
AMD A10-9600P
942 s *
Intel Core i3-5010U
903 s * +4%
Intel Core i3-6100U
838 s * +11%
Intel Core i5-5200U
769 s * +18%
Intel Core i5-6200U
719 s * +24%
3DMark 06 - CPU - CPU Score
Intel Core i5-6200U
3642 Points +11%
AMD FX-7600P
3608 Points +10%
Intel Core i5-5200U
3341 Points +2%
AMD A10-9600P
3287 Points
Intel Core i3-6100U
3271 Points 0%
AMD A10-8700P
3034 Points -8%
Intel Core i3-5010U
2772 Points -16%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
2769 Points -16%
Intel Core i3-5005U
2713 Points -17%
Geekbench 3
32 Bit Single-Core Score
Intel Core i5-6200U
2570 Points +22%
Intel Core i5-5200U
2490 Points +18%
Intel Core i3-6100U
2191 Points +4%
Intel Core i3-5010U
2167 Points +3%
AMD A10-9600P
2109 Points
AMD A10-8700P
2006 Points -5%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
1969 Points -7%
AMD FX-7600P
1924 Points -9%
Intel Core i3-5005U
1912 Points -9%
32 Bit Multi-Core Score
Intel Core i5-6200U
5521 Points +2%
AMD A10-9600P
5423 Points
AMD FX-7600P
5405 Points 0%
Intel Core i5-5200U
4988 Points -8%
Intel Core i3-6100U
4826 Points -11%
AMD A10-8700P
4775 Points -12%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
4691 Points -13%
Intel Core i3-5010U
4540 Points -16%
Intel Core i3-5005U
4016 Points -26%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
AMD Pro A12-8800B
4211 ms * -81%
AMD FX-7600P
3856 ms * -66%
AMD FX-7600P
2707 ms * -16%
AMD A10-8700P
3488 ms * -50%
Intel Core i3-5005U
3339 ms * -43%
Intel Core i3-5010U
3232 ms * -39%
Intel Core i5-5200U
2559 ms * -10%
AMD A10-9600P
2328 ms *
Intel Core i3-6100U
1474 ms * +37%
Intel Core i5-6200U
1246 ms * +46%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Intel Core i5-6200U
27824 Points +41%
Intel Core i3-6100U
24139 Points +22%
AMD A10-9600P
19791 Points
AMD FX-7600P
17046 Points -14%
AMD FX-7600P
10177 Points -49%
Intel Core i5-5200U
13630 Points -31%
Intel Core i3-5010U
10182 Points -49%
Intel Core i3-5005U
9551 Points -52%
AMD A10-8700P
8324 Points -58%
AMD Pro A12-8800B
7621 Points -61%

Legend

 
HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng AMD A10-9600P, AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge),
 
HP Pavilion 17-g054ng AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo),
 
AMD Reference Design AMD FX-7600P, AMD Radeon R7 M275DX, Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU512HCGL
 
Medion Akoya E7416 Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
 
Asus F555LJ-XX110H Intel Core i3-5010U, NVIDIA GeForce 920M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
 
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300 Intel Core i3-5005U, Intel HD Graphics 5500, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
 
Medion Akoya E6422 Intel Core i3-6100U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Phison 128GB PS3109-S9
 
Lenovo ThinkPad T560-20FH001FGE Intel Core i5-6200U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Seagate ST500LM000 Solid State Hybrid Drive
 
HP EliteBook 745 G3 AMD Pro A12-8800B, AMD Radeon R7 (Carrizo), Samsung SSD PM851 256 GB MZNTE256HMHP

* ... smaller is better

Performance Consistency - Sustaining High CPU Loads

The A10-9600P does not fulfil its potential. AMD specifies a clock speed range of 2.4 to 3.3 GHz. However, the test APU cannot perform at the upper ends of this range continuously due to the limiting TDP value. This behavior exhibited in the Carrizo models as well. The APU often starts the benchmarks at a high clock speed. Sadly, these high clock speeds are reached by surpassing the 15-watt TDP limit, which means that after a short period of time (around a minute), the performance drops by up to 20%. Intel models present a similar pattern, but thankfully, only the fastest i7 processors are (imperceptibly) affected by it.

This scenario of exceeding TDP limits was observed in the smallest Bristol Ridge model. It is doubtful whether the stronger 15-watt APUs will perform faster with continuously high CPU load. If, instead of continuously high CPU load, there are spikes of high CPU load, it is possible for the higher clock speeds of the A12 and FX processors to shine through. The 35-watt series should be able to offer high and stable CPU clock speeds during Turbo.

Start after 1 minute after 5 minutes

Cinebench R15 (Single)

3.2 GHz (37.5 W) 3.0 GHz (33.3 W) 2.9 GHz (30.7 W)

Cinebench R15 (Multi)

2.6 GHz (41.4 W) 2.2 GHz (32.4 W) 2.1 GHz (30.8 W)

Prime95

2.3 GHz (41.3 W) 1.8 GHz (32.3 W) 1.7 GHz (31.1 W)

GPU Performance

The Radeon R5 IGP of the A10-9600P offers 720 MHz Boost clock speed and 384 shaders, which is identical to the features offered by the older Radeon R6 in the A10-8700P (Carrizo). Curiously, the IGP of the more expensive A12-9700P is named Radeon R7, although that chip also uses 384 ALUs (max. 758 MHz). The full 512 shaders found in the Bristol Ridge chips can only be offered by the FX-9800P (max. 758 MHz) in this TDP class. The IGP of the FX-9800P is also named Radeon R7. As the power consumption is limited to a fixed value, we do not expect great performance differences between the three 15-watt models.

Where does all of this place Bristol Ridge? The APU performs best in a synthetic 3DMark benchmark, where it can achieve a lead of 25% over Carrizo. This lead is due to the optimized boost and faster DDR4 memory support, which offers a 16% larger bandwidth than its predecessor, the DDR3 (L) RAM. The Intel HD Graphics 520 IGP falls behind by 30 to 60%.

Sadly, this gap shrinks quickly in games. On average, Bristol Ridge places itself ahead of Carrizo and the HD Graphics 520 IGP by 10 to 15%. The Intel Skylake IGP performs quite well in games which rely heavily on CPU performance, such as, “Sims 4” or “World of Warships”. The AMD APUs are clearly in the lead in terms of games which have more demanding graphics, such as “BioShock”. The Iris Graphics 540 places itself at the head of all benchmarks, but is also more expensive. It gains a large lead thanks to its eDRAM cache.

We found the dedicated Radeon R7 M440 GPU of our test laptop relatively disappointing. It rarely performed faster than the integrated Radeon R5 and, when it did, the IGP was suffering performance drops due to its limiting TDP. Instead, HP should have installed the higher-performance A10-9630P (35-watt). This would have boosted CPU and GPU performance. This statement is supported by the fact that the CrossFire setup did not produce higher frame rates in none of the games we tested.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
3697 Points +92%
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
2322 Points +21%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
2210 Points +15%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
2101 Points +9%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
1921 Points
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
1510 Points -21%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
1416 Points -26%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
1341 Points -30%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
1274 Points -34%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Single-Channel)
1264 Points -34%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Single-Channel)
1197 Points -38%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
1124 Points -41%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
12377 Points +40%
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
11893 Points +35%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
11531 Points +31%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
8822 Points
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
7745 Points -12%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
7505 Points -15%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
7179 Points -19%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Single-Channel)
6759 Points -23%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
6674 Points -24%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
6127 Points -31%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
5963 Points -32%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Single-Channel)
5819 Points -34%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
2235 Points +67%
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
1479 Points +11%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
1337 Points
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
1205 Points -10%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
1061 Points -21%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
935 Points -30%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
814 Points -39%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Single-Channel)
776 Points -42%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Single-Channel)
744 Points -44%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
620 Points -54%
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit
Room GPUs-only
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
356 Samples/s +105%
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
306 Samples/s +76%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
224 Samples/s +29%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
174 Samples/s
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
168 Samples/s -3%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
130 Samples/s -25%
Sala GPUs-only
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
702 Samples/s +112%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
669 Samples/s +102%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
529 Samples/s +60%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
331 Samples/s
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
313 Samples/s -5%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
289 Samples/s -13%
Sims 4
1024x768 Low Preset
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
182.6 fps +83%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
164.8 fps +65%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
99.6 fps
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
97.7 fps -2%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
86.6 fps -13%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
81.9 fps -18%
1366x768 Medium Preset
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
46.7 fps +32%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
40.5 fps +14%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
40.4 fps +14%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
37.3 fps +5%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
35.4 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
34.3 fps -3%
1920x1080 High Preset
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
21.8 fps +12%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
19.9 fps +3%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
19.4 fps
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
18.9 fps -3%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
18.3 fps -6%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
16.6 fps -14%
BioShock Infinite
1280x720 Very Low Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
82 fps +24%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
74.7 fps +13%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
74.6 fps +13%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
69.1 fps +5%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
66.1 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
58.9 fps -11%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
55.7 fps -16%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
48.3 fps -27%
1366x768 Medium Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
46 fps +14%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
42.8 fps +6%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
42.7 fps +5%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
42.2 fps +4%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
40.5 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
29.8 fps -26%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
28.2 fps -30%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
26 fps -36%
1366x768 High Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
39 fps +21%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
35.7 fps +11%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
33.7 fps +5%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
33.7 fps +5%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
32.1 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
24.5 fps -24%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
23.5 fps -27%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
22.2 fps -31%
Diablo III
1024x768 Low / off
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
73.9 fps +46%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
68.2 fps +35%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
58.7 fps +16%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
50.7 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
49.8 fps -2%
1366x768 Medium / low
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
55.4 fps +51%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
52 fps +42%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
45.1 fps +23%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
36.6 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
35.1 fps -4%
1366x768 High AA:on
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
45.7 fps +39%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
45 fps +37%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
36.1 fps +10%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
32.9 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
32.2 fps -2%
Crysis 3
1024x768 Low Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
53.7 (46min - 72max) fps +110%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
37.6 fps +47%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
29 fps +13%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
28 fps +9%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
26.5 fps +4%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
25.6 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Single-Channel)
20.4 fps -20%
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:16x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
32.2 (26min - 44max) fps +57%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
27.6 fps +35%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
20.5 fps
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
18 fps -12%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
16.1 fps -21%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
16 fps -22%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Single-Channel)
13.5 fps -34%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:16x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
20 (16min - 26max) fps +74%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
19.6 fps +70%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
12.8 fps +11%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
12.7 fps +10%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
11.5 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
10.5 fps -9%
Metro: Last Light
1024x768 Low (DX10) AF:4x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
48.4 fps +83%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
32.7 fps +23%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
32 fps +21%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
28.7 fps +8%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
26.5 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
23.1 fps -13%
1366x768 Medium (DX10) AF:4x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
38 fps +109%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
25.6 fps +41%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
25 fps +37%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
22.6 fps +24%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
18.2 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
17.3 fps -5%
1366x768 High (DX11) AF:16x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
22.8 fps +84%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
21.9 fps +77%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
16 fps +29%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
14.4 fps +16%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
14.1 fps +14%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
12.4 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
11.1 fps -10%
Dirt Rally
1024x768 Ultra Low Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
177 (156min - 206max) fps +171%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
119.2 fps +83%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
95.5 fps +46%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
93.4 fps +43%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
77.1 fps +18%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
70.6 fps +8%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
65.3 fps
1366x768 Medium Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
37.1 (28min - 63max) fps +80%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
36.4 fps +77%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
35.6 fps +73%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
30.4 fps +48%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
22.8 fps +11%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
20.6 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
19.9 fps -3%
1920x1080 High Preset
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
20.6 fps +57%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
18.9 fps +44%
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
17.2 (13min - 30max) fps +31%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
14.3 fps +9%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
13.1 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
13 fps -1%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
12.5 fps -5%
Battlefield 4
1024x768 Low Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
65 (59min - 87max) fps +82%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
51.6 fps +44%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
47.3 fps +32%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
40.4 fps +13%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
39.8 fps +11%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
35.8 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
35.4 fps -1%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
29.8 fps -17%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
29 fps -19%
1366x768 Medium Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
45.1 (39min - 56max) fps +86%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
37.5 fps +54%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
34.3 fps +41%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
29.6 fps +22%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
28.2 fps +16%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
26.7 fps +10%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
24.3 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
19.9 fps -18%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
18.4 fps -24%
1366x768 High Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
31.3 (29min - 41max) fps +72%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
23.7 fps +30%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
22.4 fps +23%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
18.8 fps +3%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
18.6 fps +2%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
18.2 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
17.1 fps -6%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
14 fps -23%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
11.4 fps -37%
The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
22.1 fps +9%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
21.5 fps +6%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
20.2 fps
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
19.7 (12min - 26max) fps -2%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
17.8 fps -12%
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
16.9 fps -16%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
12 fps -41%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
14.1 fps +28%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
13.9 fps +26%
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
12.8 (8min - 18max) fps +16%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
12 fps +9%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
11 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
9.9 fps -10%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
8.1 fps -26%
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off)
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
7.4 fps +25%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
7.3 fps +24%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
5.9 fps
Radeon R6 Carrizo (A10-8700P; Dual-Channel)
5.1 fps -14%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
fps -100%
Mad Max
1366x768 Normal Preset AF:2x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
34.3 (28min - 42max) fps +81%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
28.9 fps +52%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
25.7 fps +35%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
25.5 fps +34%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
20.5 fps +8%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
19 fps
1920x1080 High Preset AF:6x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
16.9 (14min - 19max) fps +80%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
13.2 fps +40%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
12 fps +28%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
11.3 fps +20%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Dual-Channel)
10 fps +6%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
9.4 fps
World of Warships
1366x768 Low Preset AF:Trilinear
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
120 (63min - 152max) fps +191%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
55.5 fps +35%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
52.6 fps +28%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
45.2 fps +10%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
41.2 fps
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:Trilinear
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
75 (36min - 97max) fps +158%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
43.8 fps +51%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
42.7 fps +47%
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
32.1 fps +10%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
29.1 fps
1920x1080 High Preset AF:8x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
34.6 (22min - 49max) fps +105%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
22.8 fps +35%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
22.7 fps +34%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
16.9 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
15.9 fps -6%
Fallout 4
1280x720 Low Preset AA:FX
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
25.6 fps +16%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
24.9 fps +13%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
22.1 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
13.6 fps -38%
1366x768 Medium Preset AA:T AF:16x
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
15.9 fps +5%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
15.8 fps +4%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
15.2 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i5-6200U; Single-Channel)
9.1 fps -40%
1920x1080 High Preset AA:T AF:16x
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
8.4 fps +29%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
8.3 fps +28%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
6.5 fps
Star Wars Battlefront
1024x768 Low Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
40.2 fps +76%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
36 fps +57%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Single-Channel)
26 fps +14%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
25.6 fps +12%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
22.9 fps
1366x768 Medium Preset AA:FX
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
23.1 fps +82%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
22.9 fps +80%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
18.6 fps +46%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Single-Channel)
15 fps +18%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
12.7 fps
1920x1080 High Preset AA:FX
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
11.3 fps +45%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
9.1 fps +17%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
7.8 fps
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
0 fps -100%
Just Cause 3
1024x768 Low / Off AF:2x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
35.9 (24min - 43max) fps +170%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
22.4 fps +68%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
21.6 fps +62%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
18 fps +35%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
13.3 fps
1366x768 Medium / Off AF:4x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
28.6 (23min - 34max) fps +131%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
18 fps +45%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
17.4 fps +40%
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
16.7 fps +35%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
12.4 fps
1920x1080 High / On AA:FX AF:8x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
15.5 (12min - 19max) fps +87%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
12.1 fps +46%
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
11.5 fps +39%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
8.3 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6500U; Dual-Channel)
6.2 fps -25%
Rise of the Tomb Raider
1024x768 Lowest Preset
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
23.7 (21min - 27max) fps +15%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
22.5 fps +9%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
21.5 fps +4%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
20.6 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
14.1 fps -32%
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:2x
Iris Graphics 540 (i5-6260U; Dual-Channel)
15.3 (13min - 17max) fps +37%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
12.7 fps +13%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
11.2 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
9.6 fps -14%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
0 fps -100%
1920x1080 High Preset AA:FX AF:4x
Radeon R8 M445DX (Dual Graphics)
7.6 fps +23%
Radeon R7 M440 (dediziert)
6.4 fps +3%
Radeon R5 (A10-9600P; Dual-Channel)
6.2 fps
HD Graphics 520 (i7-6600U; Dual-Channel)
5.3 fps -15%
Iris Graphics 540 (i7-6560U; Dual-Channel)
0 fps -100%

Legend

 
HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng AMD A10-9600P, AMD Radeon R5 (Bristol Ridge),
 
HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng AMD A10-9600P, AMD Radeon R7 M440,
 
HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng AMD A10-9600P, AMD Radeon R8 M445DX,
 
HP Pavilion 17-g054ng AMD A10-8700P, AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo),
 
Lenovo ThinkPad T460s-20FA003GGE Intel Core i7-6600U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Samsung SSD SM951a 512GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVKV512)
 
Acer Aspire V3-372-50LK Intel Core i5-6200U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Toshiba HG6 THNSNJ256G8NU
 
HP ProBook 430 G3 P5T00ES Intel Core i5-6200U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
 
Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 260 20FD001XGE Intel Core i7-6500U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP
 
Dell Latitude 14 7000 Series E7470 Intel Core i7-6600U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Samsung SSD PM851 M.2 2280 256GB
 
Acer TravelMate P648-M-757N Intel Core i7-6500U, Intel HD Graphics 520, Lite-On CV1-8B256
 
Lenovo IdeaPad 710S-13ISK Intel Core i7-6560U, Intel Iris Graphics 540, Samsung PM951 NVMe MZVLV256
 
Intel NUC6i5SYH Intel Core i5-6260U, Intel Iris Graphics 540, Samsung SSD XP941 MZHPU256HCGL
low med. high ultra
Diablo III (2012) 50.7 36.6 32.9 23.6
Crysis 3 (2013) 25.6 20.5 11.5 4.2
BioShock Infinite (2013) 66.1 40.5 32.1 10.2
Metro: Last Light (2013) 26.5 18.2 12.4 6.9
Battlefield 4 (2013) 35.8 24.3 18.2 7
Sims 4 (2014) 99.6 35.4 19.4 15.8
Dirt Rally (2015) 65.3 20.6 13.1
The Witcher 3 (2015) 20.2 11 5.9
Mad Max (2015) 19 9.4
World of Warships (2015) 41.2 29.1 16.9 14
Fallout 4 (2015) 22.1 15.2 6.5
Star Wars Battlefront (2015) 22.9 12.7 7.8
Just Cause 3 (2015) 13.3 12.4 8.3
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 20.6 11.2 6.2

Performance Consistency - Sustaining High CPU and GPU Loads

In games, the TDP limit is temporarily exceeded. However, after a maximum of two minutes (depending on the previous load and temperatures of the laptop), the 15-watt limit strikes back, dropping clock speeds. For example, in “Diablo III”, the CPU and GPU clock speeds start at 1800 and 550 MHz respectively. As the game runs, the speeds drop to 1100 to 1200 (CPU) and 380 to 420 MHz (GPU). The frame rates drop in parallel in our static gaming scene from 72 to 49 fps. To some extent, all current Intel ULV chips are also affected by this issue. The game benchmarks above reflect the long-term performance of the test model due to the length of the benchmarks and "hot" state of the laptop.

Power Consumption and Battery Life

While idling, the Pavilion 15-aw004ng runs at 5.7 to 9.3 watts, which is far lower than the Carrizo predecessor, the Pavilion 15-ab052ng (6.9 to 12.1 watts). However, the predecessor uses DDR3 memory and a traditional hard disk, which makes it unclear how much of the reduction in power consumption levels is due to the optimized APU platform. At full load, the 15-inch model consumes a max 37.6 watts, which drops to around 30 watts (typical ULV levels) when the TDP limit kicks in.

With a 41 Wh battery, the Pavilion 15 is able to run a normalized WLAN test for 3.5 hours. This is significantly better than the Carrizo model, but it falls short of similar Skylake models.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.19 / 0.6 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 5.7 / 8.2 / 9.3 Watt
Load midlight 36.4 / 37.6 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Verdict

In review: HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng. Test model provided by Notebooksbilliger.de
In review: HP Pavilion 15-aw004ng. Test model provided by Notebooksbilliger.de

A little more performance, a little more battery life - AMD Bristol Ridge is a reliable successor to the Carrizo design. This places AMD closer to the Intel competition. In terms of CPU performance, we see that the A10-9600P is placed between the Intel i3 models of the 5000 series (Broadwell) and 6000 series (Skylake), as long as all 4 cores are used. The single thread performance may be a little lower, but the APU compensates by offering strong Boost speeds.

We want to praise the AMD IGP. Once again, the manufacturer steals the performance crown in the 15-watt segment. The only Intel IGP capable of surpassing the AMD competitor is the Iris Graphics 540, which is very expensive. We hope that many manufacturers will install Bristol Ridge without a dedicated graphics card and thus make good use of this strong advantage. Dual Graphics can only create a large lead over the competition in synthetic benchmarks. When running demanding applications, such as games, the setup does not offer much better performance.

In summary, Bristol Ridge revives the fluctuating power dynamic between Broadwell and Carrizo from last year - nothing more and nothing less. AMD needs a new CPU architecture to make a larger dent and this will come in 2017. Raven Ridge will be the next APU generation and uses a cutting-edge 14 nm process.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Bristol Ridge in Review: AMDs A10-9600P Against the Competition
Till Schönborn, 2016-07- 5 (Update: 2020-06-11)