A6-6400K vs i7-2600K

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Aggregate performance score

Core i7-2600K
2011
4 cores / 8 threads, 95 Watt
3.55
+266%

i7-2600K outperforms A6-6400K by a whopping 266% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking15132466
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.43no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7 (Desktop)AMD A-Series (Desktop)
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge (2011−2013)Richland (2013−2014)
Release date3 January 2011 (13 years ago)4 June 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$317no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads82
Base clock speed3.4 GHz3.9 GHz
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz4.1 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/sno data
L1 cache64 KB (per core)96 KB
L2 cache1 MB1024 KB
L3 cache8 MB0 KB
Chip lithography32 nm32 nm
Die size216 mm2246 mm2
Maximum core temperature73 °C70 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data70 °C
Number of transistors995 Million1303 Million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier++

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K 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
SocketLGA1155FM2
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXMMX, SSE1-4a, AES, ABM, AVX, BMI1, AMD64, VT, EVP, Turbo Core 3.0
AES-NI++
FMA-FMA4
AVX++
PowerNow-+
PowerGating-+
VirusProtect-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology+no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data
StatusDiscontinuedno data

Security technologies

Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT-no data
EDB+no data
Identity Protection+-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K are enumerated here.

AMD-V-+
VT-d-no data
VT-x+no data
EPT+no data
IOMMU 2.0-+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR3-1866
Maximum memory size32 GBno data
Max memory channels22
Maximum memory bandwidth21 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card
Compare
Intel HD Graphics 3000AMD Radeon HD 8470D
Number of pipelinesno data192
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Enduro-+
Switchable graphics-+
UVD-+
VCE-+
Graphics max frequency1.35 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectXno dataDirectX® 11

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K.

PCIe version2.02.0
PCI Express lanes16no 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.

i7-2600K 3.55
+266%
A6-6400K 0.97

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.

i7-2600K 5489
+266%
A6-6400K 1501

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.

i7-2600K 667
+62.7%
A6-6400K 410

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.

i7-2600K 2296
+299%
A6-6400K 576

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.

i7-2600K 4809
+56.8%
A6-6400K 3068

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.

i7-2600K 18608
+266%
A6-6400K 5079

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.

i7-2600K 6669
+151%
A6-6400K 2654

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.

i7-2600K 7
+307%
A6-6400K 2

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

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

i7-2600K 614
+312%
A6-6400K 149

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.

i7-2600K 129
+46.6%
A6-6400K 88

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.

i7-2600K 1.51
+81.9%
A6-6400K 0.83

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.

i7-2600K 3.3
+244%
A6-6400K 1

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.  

i7-2600K 37
+226%
A6-6400K 11

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.  

i7-2600K 145
+155%
A6-6400K 57

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.55 0.97
Integrated graphics card 0.66 0.95
Recency 3 January 2011 4 June 2013
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 8 2
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 65 Watt

i7-2600K has a 266% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads.

A6-6400K, on the other hand, has 43.9% faster integrated GPU, an age advantage of 2 years, and 46.2% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-2600K is our recommended choice as it beats the A6-6400K in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2600K and A6-6400K, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-2600K
Core i7-2600K
AMD A6-6400K
A6-6400K

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Community ratings

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