AMD A12-9800 Review

Mid-range Desktop processor released in 2016 with 4 cores and 4 threads. With base clock at 3.8GHz, max speed at 4.2GHz, and a 65W power rating. A12-9800 is based on the Bristol Ridge 28nm family and part of the A12 series.
Price 74%
Speed 56%
Productivity 35%
Gaming 70%
Category Desktop
Target mid-range
Socket Compatibility AM4
Integrated Graphics Radeon R7 (on-die)
Cooler Included Yes
Overclock Potential 0 %
Year 2016 Model
Price 139 USD
Number of Cores 4 Cores
Number of Threads 4 Threads
Core Frequency 3.8 GHz
Boost Frequency 4.2 GHz
Max Stable Overclock 4.2 GHz
Power Consumption 65 W
Manufacturing Process 28 nm
L3 Cache 0 MB
Maximum Supported Memory 64 GB
Price-Value Score 74 %
Speed Score 56 %
Productivity Score 35 %
Gaming Score 70 %
Max 1080p Bottleneck 59.5 %
Max 1440p Bottleneck 29.7 %
Max 4K Bottleneck 14.9 %
Overall Score 33/100

The A12-9800 is one of AMD's mid-range Desktop processors. It was released in 2016 with 4 cores and 4 threads. With base clock at 3.8GHz, max speed at 4.2GHz, and a 65W power rating. The A12-9800 is based on the Bristol Ridge 28nm family and is part of the A12 series.

AMD's Excavator+ series has landed, upping the ante with Intel in its high-stakes game for desktop PC market dominance with a well-rounded lineup of new chips that push mainstream platforms to higher core counts and more raw compute than we've ever seen. As a result, Intel's commanding presence in the enthusiast space is threatened in a way we haven't seen in over a decade.

As we've seen, gaming remains an advantage for Intel, so if squeezing out every last frame is all you care about, Intel's processors are a good choice. Much of that performance advantage will be less noticeable when gaming at higher resolutions, or if you pair the processors with a lesser graphics card.

One of the nice things about the AMD A12-9800 processors is that the retail boxed models come with a CPU cooler. So, you can pick something like the AMD A12-9800 up for $139 and don’t need to spend any extra money on CPU cooling.

The AMD A12-9800 retail boxed processor comes with the traditional ‘pancake’ CPU cooler. Nothing fancy, but it gets the job done on this processor which is rated at 65W TDP. You do not need to have an aftermarket cooling solution unless you want to.

Our look today at the AMD A12-9800 showed that it is a very capable processor. A 4-core processor sounds like it would be really under-powered these days, but we were pleasantly surprised with a snappy and very capable system. Having just 4 cores had this processor coming in at the back of the pack for heavily threaded workloads, but it performed better than some of its more expensive siblings in lightly threaded workloads where it shined thanks to its high base clocks.

The A12-9800 clocks up to 4.2Ghz just as it promises on the box, and with AMD’s software you can take one of the cores all the way up to 4.3GHz. However, don’t expect to get much beyond that without seriously upgrading your cooling solution and manually tweaking voltages behind the operating system level.

Fresh from a successful roll-out of mainstream A12 CPUs, AMD's attack on Intel now extends down into the mid-range with its A12-9800 processors, which the company is making available as of Oct 2016.

Which GPU to Pick for AMD A12-9800

Below is a comparison of all graphics cards average FPS performance (using an average of 80+ games at ultra quality settings), combined with the AMD A12-9800.

Graphics Card Price Cost Per Frame Avg 1080p Avg 1440p Avg 4K
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB $ 1,599 $ 10 160.2 FPS
212.9 FPS
163.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Ti 20GB $ 799 $ 5.3 149.5 FPS
198.6 FPS
152.4 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB $ 999 $ 6.9 144.6 FPS
188.6 FPS
131.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16GB $ 1,199 $ 8.6 138.9 FPS
184.3 FPS
141.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12GB $ 799 $ 6 133.4 FPS
177.1 FPS
135.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB $ 899 $ 6.8 131.5 FPS
171.5 FPS
119.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 24GB $ 1,499 $ 12 124.8 FPS
159.9 FPS
115.5 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT 16GB $ 1,099 $ 9.2 119.5 FPS
155.8 FPS
108.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB $ 1,999 $ 17 117.5 FPS
156 FPS
119.7 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB $ 999 $ 8.5 117 FPS
150.8 FPS
107 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT 16GB $ 649 $ 5.9 110.2 FPS
141.9 FPS
100.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 20GB $ 799 $ 7.3 108.8 FPS
142.2 FPS
106.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB $ 699 $ 6.4 108.8 FPS
139.4 FPS
100.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 12GB $ 599 $ 5.7 105 FPS
136 FPS
103.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 10GB $ 599 $ 6.4 93.3 FPS
120.5 FPS
88.6 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB $ 579 $ 6.6 87.3 FPS
112.4 FPS
79.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB $ 499 $ 6 83.2 FPS
106.6 FPS
77 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN RTX 24GB $ 2,499 $ 32.7 76.4 FPS
101.1 FPS
73.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB $ 1,299 $ 17.5 74.4 FPS
98.4 FPS
71.5 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB $ 479 $ 6.5 73.4 FPS
95.3 FPS
66.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB 8GB $ 399 $ 5.5 72.2 FPS
94.7 FPS
70.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB $ 399 $ 5.9 68.2 FPS
89.7 FPS
66 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB $ 699 $ 10.4 67.5 FPS
88.4 FPS
63.9 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT 8GB $ 399 $ 6.1 65.1 FPS
84.9 FPS
60.6 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN V 12GB $ 2,999 $ 46.4 64.7 FPS
85.6 FPS
63.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB $ 299 $ 4.6 64.7 FPS
85.3 FPS
63.4 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7600 8GB $ 269 $ 4.2 64.6 FPS
84.4 FPS
60 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 8GB $ 699 $ 11 63.8 FPS
82.7 FPS
59.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB $ 379 $ 6.2 61.1 FPS
79.3 FPS
56.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB $ 759 $ 12.7 59.8 FPS
78.9 FPS
57 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB $ 499 $ 8.4 59.4 FPS
76.2 FPS
54.9 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN Xp 12GB $ 1,199 $ 20.5 58.6 FPS
76.2 FPS
56.3 FPS
AMD Radeon VII 16GB $ 699 $ 11.9 58.6 FPS
75.6 FPS
53.7 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB $ 399 $ 7 57.1 FPS
73.6 FPS
52.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB $ 499 $ 8.9 56.3 FPS
71.2 FPS
52 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 8GB $ 200 $ 3.6 56.3 FPS
73.6 FPS
54.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB $ 329 $ 5.9 55.9 FPS
71.9 FPS
52.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB $ 400 $ 7.5 53.3 FPS
66.2 FPS
47.6 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5700 8GB $ 349 $ 6.7 52.3 FPS
67.5 FPS
47.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB $ 499 $ 9.8 50.8 FPS
64.5 FPS
45.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB $ 350 $ 7 50.2 FPS
60.9 FPS
42.9 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB $ 279 $ 5.6 49.4 FPS
63.1 FPS
44.6 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 295X2 4GB $ 1,499 $ 31.5 47.6 FPS
59.6 FPS
45.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB $ 499 $ 10.5 47.5 FPS
61.2 FPS
43.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB $ 409 $ 8.7 47.1 FPS
59.8 FPS
42.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 6GB $ 249 $ 5.4 46 FPS
58 FPS
41.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB $ 999 $ 21.8 45.8 FPS
57.4 FPS
40.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB $ 279 $ 6.2 44.8 FPS
56.9 FPS
40.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB $ 399 $ 9 44.5 FPS
57.3 FPS
40.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB $ 399 $ 9.2 43.3 FPS
54.5 FPS
38.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB $ 229 $ 5.4 42.2 FPS
53.7 FPS
38.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB $ 649 $ 16.3 39.8 FPS
50.3 FPS
35.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB $ 220 $ 5.5 39.7 FPS
50.5 FPS
35.7 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 590 8GB $ 279 $ 7.4 37.7 FPS
46.5 FPS
32.2 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 FURY X 4GB $ 649 $ 17.9 36.2 FPS
47.8 FPS
34.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB $ 160 $ 4.6 34.6 FPS
43.8 FPS
31 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB 8GB $ 199 $ 5.8 34.3 FPS
42.3 FPS
29.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB $ 549 $ 16.1 34.2 FPS
42.6 FPS
30.4 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB $ 229 $ 6.9 33.4 FPS
41.2 FPS
28.4 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 Nano 4GB $ 649 $ 19.7 32.9 FPS
42.7 FPS
30.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK 6GB $ 999 $ 31.3 31.9 FPS
39.5 FPS
29.4 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 FURY 4GB $ 549 $ 17.7 31.1 FPS
40.2 FPS
28.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB $ 254 $ 8.2 31 FPS
38.5 FPS
27.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB 4GB $ 169 $ 5.5 30.7 FPS
38 FPS
26.2 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 390X 8GB $ 429 $ 14.3 29.9 FPS
38.6 FPS
27.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB $ 170 $ 5.8 29.4 FPS
36.6 FPS
26 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB $ 329 $ 11.4 28.9 FPS
35.6 FPS
26.3 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB $ 400 $ 14.2 28.1 FPS
35.9 FPS
26.1 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 390 8GB $ 329 $ 11.8 27.9 FPS
35.2 FPS
23.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB $ 169 $ 6.1 27.6 FPS
34.8 FPS
24.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB $ 149 $ 5.6 26.4 FPS
33.2 FPS
23.4 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 470 4GB $ 179 $ 7.3 24.6 FPS
31.2 FPS
22 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 380X 4GB $ 229 $ 11.1 20.7 FPS
25.9 FPS
18.7 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 285 2GB $ 249 $ 13.4 18.6 FPS
23.4 FPS
15.9 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 380 2GB $ 199 $ 10.8 18.5 FPS
23.1 FPS
15.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB $ 169 $ 9.3 18.2 FPS
22.9 FPS
16.2 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB $ 279 $ 15.5 18 FPS
22.8 FPS
15.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB $ 199 $ 11.2 17.8 FPS
22.2 FPS
15.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB $ 169 $ 10.9 15.5 FPS
19.3 FPS
13.4 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB $ 99 $ 6.9 14.3 FPS
17.7 FPS
12.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 2GB $ 159 $ 11.4 14 FPS
17.3 FPS
12.5 FPS
AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB $ 149 $ 10.8 13.8 FPS
16.2 FPS
11.8 FPS
AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB $ 149 $ 10.9 13.7 FPS
15.7 FPS
11.4 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB $ 140 $ 11.1 12.6 FPS
15.6 FPS
11 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB $ 149 $ 12.2 12.2 FPS
13.4 FPS
9.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 550 2GB $ 79 $ 7.9 10 FPS
12.4 FPS
8.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2GB $ 79 $ 8.3 9.5 FPS
11.8 FPS
7.9 FPS
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Critics Reviews

The A12-9800 also took 46% longer than the G4560 in the Corona benchmark and 52% longer than the R3 1200. The A12-9800's Blender results aren't actually that bad as it beat the G4560, though it ...
AMD A12-9800 ⭐ review. Discover the key facts and see how AMD A12-9800 performs in the CPU ranking.
The A12-9800’s integrated GPU does to quite well in Rocket League and since this game uses very little CPU power the APU does quite well. The G4560 using the Intel HD graphics is still a pile of ...
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AMD A12-9800 Test / AMD A12 9800 Test / AMD A12 9800 Review / Review AMD A12-9800 Gameplay Benchmark Frame-rate test Amd Ryzen, Zen, Bristol Ridge AM4 Ultra cheap budget PC gaming!
A12-9800 processor released by AMD; release date: 27 July 2017. At the time of release, the processor cost $139. The processor is designed for desktop-computers and based on Bristol Ridge microarchitecture.
PRO A12-9800 processor released by AMD; release date: 3 October 2016. The processor is designed for desktop-computers. CPU is unlocked for overclocking. Total number of cores - 4. Maximum CPU clock speed - 4.2 GHz. Maximum operating temperature - 90°C. Manufacturing process technology - 28 nm. Cache size: L2 - 2 MB. Supported socket types: AM4.
A12-9800 is based on the dreaded Bulldozer cores but with major improvements, and it's the best AMD can do. We have to respect that. You can't fight what's inferior architecture in first place. The original FX-4100 was a piece of junk at launch, it feels slower than my Phenom 570 at 4.3GHz in some occasions.
Notebookcheck tested the new HP EliteBook 755 G4. This business device is run by an AMD processor, and the business package is rounded by many security features. In connection with the integrated ...