A6-3420M vs Core i5-460M

The A6-3420M packs 4 cores / 4 threads, while the Core i5-460M offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the A6-3420M has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2.4 GHz on the A6-3420M versus 2.8 GHz on the Core i5-460M — a 15.4% clock advantage for the Core i5-460M (base: 1.5 GHz vs 2.53 GHz). The A6-3420M uses the Llano (2011−2012) architecture (32 nm), while the Core i5-460M uses Arrandale (2010−2011) (32 nm). In PassMark, the A6-3420M scores 1,310 against the Core i5-460M's 1,321 — a 0.8% lead for the Core i5-460M. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 234 vs 343, a 37.8% lead for the Core i5-460M that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 0 kB on the A6-3420M vs 3 MB (total) on the Core i5-460M.

The A6-3420M uses the FS1 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Core i5-460M uses PGA988 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR3-1333 on the A6-3420M versus 1066 on the Core i5-460M — the Core i5-460M supports 198.9% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. 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 true (Core i5-460M). Both include integrated graphics — Radeon HD 6520G (A6-3420M) and Intel HD Graphics (Ironlake) (Core i5-460M) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: A6-3420M targets Budget Laptop. Direct competitor: A6-3420M rivals Core i3-2330M; Core i5-460M rivals AMD Turion II M620.