A6-3420M vs Core i3-330UM

The A6-3420M packs 4 cores / 4 threads, while the Core i3-330UM offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the A6-3420M has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2.4 GHz on the A6-3420M versus 0.1 GHz on the Core i3-330UM — a 184% clock advantage for the A6-3420M (base: 1.5 GHz vs 1.2 GHz). The A6-3420M uses the Llano (2011−2012) architecture (32 nm), while the Core i3-330UM uses Arrandale (2010−2011) (32 nm). In PassMark, the A6-3420M scores 1,310 against the Core i3-330UM's 1,297 — a 1% lead for the A6-3420M. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 234 vs 300, a 24.7% lead for the Core i3-330UM that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 0 kB on the A6-3420M vs 3 MB on the Core i3-330UM.

The A6-3420M uses the FS1 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Core i3-330UM uses BGA1288 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR3-1333 memory speed. Both support up to 8 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes.

Neither processor supports overclocking. Virtualization support: AMD-V (A6-3420M) vs VT-x, VT-d (Core i3-330UM). Both include integrated graphics — Radeon HD 6520G (A6-3420M) and Intel HD Graphics (Core i3-330UM) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: A6-3420M targets Budget Laptop, Core i3-330UM targets Legacy Laptop. Direct competitor: A6-3420M rivals Core i3-2330M; Core i3-330UM rivals Pentium SU7300.