A10-6790K vs Core i5-6198DU

The A10-6790K packs 4 cores / 4 threads, while the Core i5-6198DU offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the A10-6790K has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 4.3 GHz on the A10-6790K versus 2.8 GHz on the Core i5-6198DU — a 42.3% clock advantage for the A10-6790K (base: 4 GHz vs 2.3 GHz). The A10-6790K uses the Richland (2013−2014) architecture (32 nm), while the Core i5-6198DU uses Skylake (2015−2016) (14 nm). In PassMark, the A10-6790K scores 3,112 against the Core i5-6198DU's 3,109 — a 0.1% lead for the A10-6790K. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 412 vs 946, a 78.6% lead for the Core i5-6198DU that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 0 kB on the A10-6790K vs 3 MB on the Core i5-6198DU.

The A10-6790K uses the FM2 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i5-6198DU uses BGA (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR3-1866 on the A10-6790K versus DDR4-2133 on the Core i5-6198DU — the Core i5-6198DU supports 28.6% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. Both support up to 32 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 16 (A10-6790K) vs 12 (Core i5-6198DU) — the A10-6790K offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives. Chipset compatibility: A55,A58,A68H,A75,A78,A85X,A88X (A10-6790K) and Integrated (Core i5-6198DU).

Only the A10-6790K has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Virtualization support: AMD-V (A10-6790K) vs VT-x, VT-d, EPT (Core i5-6198DU). Both include integrated graphics — Radeon HD 8670D (A10-6790K) and HD Graphics 510 (Core i5-6198DU) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: A10-6790K targets Budget, Core i5-6198DU targets Entry Level Laptop. Direct competitor: A10-6790K rivals Core i3-4340; Core i5-6198DU rivals A9-9410.