Information about the AMD A4, A6, A8, and A10

[wewum]

I would like to know the difference between these 4 types of AMD processors and if they are good or not. They were really cheap so I may consider them if I am making a budget PC. Thank you

 

[Bhavneet Pannu]

First Whats you budget and the A4,A6 and A8 Aren't good at all. The A10 is good if your in a tight budget where you can't buy a graphics card, but there are other options.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

They are a type of chip called an APU which includes a standard multi-core CPU and a comparatively powerful GPU. They are intended to eat up the low-end discrete GPU market.

The current price-point sweet spot is the A8-7600 (I think). You can build a complete computer with the ability to play most modern games at medium to low graphics, for about $400 using one of these APUs.

ImDaBaron posted this example to a thread of mine.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-HD3 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($55.18 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($54.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $378.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 11:14 EDT-0400

It needs a keyboard, monitor, and operating system and it could be upgraded later with a dedicated GPU, but then you are wasting the on-board-GPU and the CPU is less well suited than many others.

 

[Bhavneet Pannu]

Thats a good build but I would get a higher clock speed ram for the I-Gpu(cpu graphics) and remember the graphics from the cpu uses your normal DDR3 8gb ram stick. So you will be left with about 6-7 gb.

 

[Bhavneet Pannu]

This will give you WAY better performance with the newer A10 that can play bf4 on normal 720p

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $419.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 13:54 EDT-0400

but this is way better overall

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($80.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $436.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 13:57 EDT-0400

 

[DonkeyOatie]

This will give you WAY better performance with the newer A10 that can play bf4 on normal 720p

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($74.70 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $419.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 13:54 EDT-0400

but this is way better overall

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($80.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.97 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $436.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-11 13:57 EDT-0400

The first build is certainly good and I agree about upgrading the RAM because the APU uses it as graphics memory.

The second build answers a question that the OP has yet to ask and since they seem to be new here, I prefer to address their specific questions until I know better.