AMD A4-5000 - a processor with four cores, used mainly in budget devices. This device is not just a central processor, but a single-chip system (or SoC). In addition to the cores used for calculations (as in a regular CPU), it includes an integrated graphics accelerator HD 8330, input / output ports, a south bridge and a DDR3 RAM controller.
Architecture
AMD A4-5000 is available in two versions: Kabini is installed in laptops, Temash - in tablets. Both are based on Jaguar architecture, replacing its predecessor Bobcat. According to AMD specialists, the device has become more efficient by 15% per cycle.
In addition to this improvement, computing cores now use the latest versions of the SSE, AES, and AVX instruction sets in their work. Due to the fact that the processor is manufactured according to the 28-nm process technology, it is possible to reduce power consumption, but at the same time increase frequencies.
Performance
Still, the cores operate at 1.5 GHz. The speed of applications in which there are no multithreaded optimizations is rather low and as close as possible to the previous generation SoC. It is not possible to catch up with its closest competitor from Intel. But everything changes when all the cores work on the process at once. In this case, the AMD A4-5000 outperforms even the Core i3.
Summarizing, I must say that this single-chip system has enough power to ensure the comfortable operation of multimedia and office programs. But so far this device can not cope with difficult tasks and games.
Graphic arts
As mentioned earlier, the SoC AMD A4-5000 has an integrated graphics accelerator HD 8330. It includes 128 stream processors, the GPU frequency is 500 MHz. The average video core performance is at the level of HD 7470M and Intel HD 4000, therefore, acceptable FPS from games released later than 2013 cannot be achieved.
Testing
You can not consider a single-chip device using classic tests. AMD A4-5000 specifications are not too high, however, this processor is aimed at the mobile market, and its power consumption is only 25 watts. Accordingly, during the load it is necessary not only to consider FPS, but also to pay attention to energy saving.
Games
By launching F1 2012, you can see that AMD's SoC is significantly behind its competitors in terms of performance, but at the same time it consumes significantly less energy at maximum load. The difference with i3 is about 14 watts.
Web surfing
Browsing pages on the Internet is a less demanding task for resources, both in terms of the load on the video subsystem and the CPU. The difference decreases markedly.
As the AMD A4-5000 processor is catching up with more powerful Intel products in terms of performance, the latter are closer in energy consumption to the AMD solution. However, although not by much, the A4 is more economical in this test.
Multimedia
All modern platforms are equipped with a H.264 hardware decoder. Therefore, web surfing requires more power than watching a video. The processor does not participate in such tasks. There are no leaders or outsiders in this test, the A4 economy is similar to its competitors.
AMD A4-5000. User reviews
As you know, synthetic tests do not always reflect the essence. To understand how well the device works, you should work with it for a while. Having studied the opinions of users, you can understand that the processor is perfect for those who need the maximum battery life of the device and at the same time do not need the greatest performance.
Those wishing to enjoy the news of the gaming market are not too flattering to describe the AMD A4-5000, their reviews are almost always negative. However, it should be noted that this processor is not in the line of gaming. The manufacturer expressly declares that the primary tasks that are solved with its help are reducing energy consumption.
findings
It is difficult to say whether the presented generation of single-chip systems from AMD has a great chance of success. Of course, in recent years there are more and more tablets and laptops assembled on the basis of A4. Here are just those devices of the lowest price range, although with the Windows 8 operating system on board.
Given that today the mobile device market is filled with devices for Android and iOS, it is unlikely that a large number of users will pay attention to A4. But it should be noted that if AMD specialists can squeeze the maximum performance out of their brainchild, comparable to competitors' products, and at the same time still beat other ones in terms of power consumption and price, the popularity of devices with an A4 processor will increase sharply.
It is strange that in CoS AMD A4-5000, the characteristics of which should allow achieving greater performance, the system of unified access to RAM (HUMA or heterogeneous unified memory access) is not used. With it, the shared system memory is used by the CPU and GPU without unnecessary data copy cycles. This solution eliminates significant delays in processes running on a single-chip device.
HUMA could bring AMD products to a leading position. And yet, judging by the news of the world of high technology, this technology will not be used in Karbini and Temash.