A6-6420K vs Athlon X4 840
Aggregate performance score
Athlon X4 840 outperforms A6-6420K by a whopping 111% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1878 | 2463 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Desktop processor |
| Series | 4x Athlon | no data |
| Power efficiency | 3.04 | 1.44 |
| Architecture codename | Kaveri (2014−2015) | Richland (2013−2014) |
| Release date | August 2014 (10 years ago) | January 2014 (10 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K 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 cores | 4 (Quad-Core) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 3.1 GHz | 4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.8 GHz | 4.2 GHz |
| L1 cache | 256K | 96 KB |
| L2 cache | 4 MB | 1024 KB |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 32 nm |
| Die size | 245 mm2 | 246 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 70 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 72 °C | 70 °C |
| Number of transistors | 2,411 million | 1,303 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | no data |
| Unlocked multiplier | + | + |
Compatibility
Information on Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K 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 configuration | 1 | 1 |
| Socket | Socket FM2+ | FM2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| AES-NI | + | + |
| FMA | + | + |
| AVX | + | + |
| PowerNow | - | + |
| PowerGating | - | + |
| VirusProtect | - | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | + |
| IOMMU 2.0 | - | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR3-1866 |
| Max memory channels | no data | 2 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | AMD Radeon HD 8470D |
| Number of pipelines | no data | 192 |
| Enduro | - | + |
| Switchable graphics | - | + |
| UVD | - | + |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K integrated GPUs.
| DisplayPort | - | + |
| HDMI | - | + |
Graphics API support
APIs supported by Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.
| DirectX | no data | DirectX® 11 |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K.
| PCIe version | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | no data |
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 2.09 | 0.99 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 2 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 28 nm | 32 nm |
Athlon X4 840 has a 111.1% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and a 14.3% more advanced lithography process.
The Athlon X4 840 is our recommended choice as it beats the A6-6420K in performance tests.
Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon X4 840 and A6-6420K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Similar processor comparisons
We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.
