i5-3230M vs A6-6400K

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Aggregate performance score

A6-6400K
2013
2 cores / 2 threads, 65 Watt
0.95
Core i5-3230M
2013
2 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.62
+70.5%

Core i5-3230M outperforms A6-6400K by an impressive 71% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking25012087
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
SeriesAMD A-Series (Desktop)Intel Core i5
Power efficiency1.384.36
Architecture codenameRichland (2013−2014)Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date1 June 2013 (11 years ago)1 January 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$225

Detailed specifications

A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores2 (Dual-core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads24
Base clock speed3.9 GHz2.6 GHz
Boost clock speed4.1 GHz3.2 GHz
Bus rateno data5 GT/s
L1 cache96 KB64K (per core)
L2 cache1024 KB256K (per core)
L3 cache0 KB3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography32 nm22 nm
Die size246 mm2118 mm2
Maximum core temperature70 °C105 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)70 °Cno data
Number of transistors1,178 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration11
SocketFM2FCPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsMMX, SSE1-4a, AES, ABM, AVX, BMI1, AMD64, VT, EVP, Turbo Core 3.0Intel® AVX
AES-NI++
FMAFMA4-
AVX++
PowerNow+-
PowerGating+-
VirusProtect+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
My WiFino data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data2.0
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data+
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Demand Based Switchingno data-
FDIno data+
Fast Memory Accessno data+

Security technologies

A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data-
EDBno data+
Secure Keyno data+
Identity Protection-+
Anti-Theftno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M are enumerated here.

AMD-V++
VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+
EPTno data+
IOMMU 2.0+-

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3-1866DDR3
Maximum memory sizeno data32 GB
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidthno data25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
AMD Radeon HD 8470DIntel HD Graphics 4000
Number of pipelines192no data
Quick Sync Video-+
Clear Video HDno data+
Enduro+-
Switchable graphics+-
UVD+-
VCE+-
Graphics max frequencyno data1.1 GHz
InTru 3Dno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data3
eDPno data+
DisplayPort++
HDMI++
SDVOno data+
CRTno data+

Graphics API support

APIs supported by A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXDirectX® 11no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M.

PCIe version2.03.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

A6-6400K 0.95
i5-3230M 1.62
+70.5%

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

A6-6400K 1504
i5-3230M 2562
+70.3%

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

A6-6400K 410
i5-3230M 506
+23.4%

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

A6-6400K 576
i5-3230M 1020
+77.1%

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

A6-6400K 3068
i5-3230M 4268
+39.1%

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

A6-6400K 5079
i5-3230M 9159
+80.3%

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

A6-6400K 2654
i5-3230M 3760
+41.7%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

A6-6400K 2
i5-3230M 3
+78.9%

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

A6-6400K 149
i5-3230M 258
+73.2%

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

A6-6400K 88
i5-3230M 105
+19.3%

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R11.5 is an old benchmark by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version loads a single thread with ray tracing to render a glossy room full of crystal spheres and light sources.

A6-6400K 0.83
i5-3230M 1.25
+50.6%

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

A6-6400K 1
i5-3230M 1.5
+56.3%

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

A6-6400K 11
i5-3230M 11
+2.2%

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

A6-6400K 57
i5-3230M 60
+5.4%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.95 1.62
Integrated graphics card 0.97 1.18
Recency 1 June 2013 1 January 2013
Threads 2 4
Chip lithography 32 nm 22 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 35 Watt

A6-6400K has an age advantage of 5 months.

i5-3230M, on the other hand, has a 70.5% higher aggregate performance score, 21.6% faster integrated GPU, 100% more threads, a 45.5% more advanced lithography process, and 85.7% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-3230M is our recommended choice as it beats the A6-6400K in performance tests.

Note that A6-6400K is a desktop processor while Core i5-3230M is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between A6-6400K and Core i5-3230M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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AMD A6-6400K
A6-6400K
Intel Core i5-3230M
Core i5-3230M

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