AMD A12-9800 vs AMD A10-9700

The AMD A10-9700 and AMD A12-9800 are desktop APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) from AMD, based on the Excavator (Bristol Ridge) architecture and manufactured using a 28 nm process.

They were developed for the entry-level and mainstream segments to provide systems with integrated CPU and graphics performance for everyday tasks and light multimedia applications. Both processors feature four CPU cores, 2 MB of Level 2 cache, and utilize PCIe 3.0. In terms of pure computing power, the AMD A10-9700 and AMD A12-9800 show very similar results in single-core and multi-core benchmarks, with the AMD A12-9800 exhibiting only minor advantages below the 10 percent threshold.

The main difference manifests in graphics performance: the AMD A10-9700 integrates an AMD Radeon R7 graphics unit with 384 shader units, while the AMD A12-9800 offers an AMD Radeon R7 with 512 shader units. This higher shader count enables the AMD A12-9800 to deliver better performance in light gaming scenarios.

The maximum memory bandwidth for both is 38 GB/s. Regarding power consumption, both APUs are designed for energy-efficient systems. The AMD A12-9800 might have a marginally higher consumption under load due to its more powerful integrated graphics. As both processors belong to an older generation, they are hardly relevant in the new market.

For basic PC usage, the AMD A10-9700 is sufficient, while the AMD A12-9800 is the better choice for users who desire slightly higher graphics performance for multimedia or casual gaming.