Core i3-4170T vs A10-6790K

The Core i3-4170T packs 2 cores / 4 threads, while the A10-6790K offers 4 cores / 4 threads — the A10-6790K has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.2 GHz on the Core i3-4170T versus 4.3 GHz on the A10-6790K — a 29.3% clock advantage for the A10-6790K (base: 3.2 GHz vs 4 GHz). The Core i3-4170T uses the Haswell (2013−2015) architecture (22 nm), while the A10-6790K uses Richland (2013−2014) (32 nm). In PassMark, the Core i3-4170T scores 3,133 against the A10-6790K's 3,112 — a 0.7% lead for the Core i3-4170T. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 800 vs 412, a 64% lead for the Core i3-4170T that directly translates to higher frame rates. L3 cache: 3 MB (total) on the Core i3-4170T vs 0 kB on the A10-6790K.

The Core i3-4170T uses the LGA1150 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the A10-6790K uses FM2 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Both support up to DDR3-1600 memory speed. Both support up to 32 GB of RAM. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: H81,B85 (Core i3-4170T) and A55,A58,A68H,A75,A78,A85X,A88X (A10-6790K).

Only the A10-6790K has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking — a significant advantage for enthusiasts seeking extra performance. Virtualization support: VT-x, VT-d (Core i3-4170T) vs AMD-V (A10-6790K). Both include integrated graphics — Intel HD Graphics 4400 (Core i3-4170T) and Radeon HD 8670D (A10-6790K) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Core i3-4170T targets Low Power Desktop, A10-6790K targets Budget. Direct competitor: A10-6790K rivals Core i3-4340.