AMD A4-3300 socket: Socket FM1

What the A4-3300 is

AMD A4-3300 is a dual core Llano APU that AMD released in September 2011 for socketed desktops. It uses the Stars K10 core design on a 32 nm process, running at 2.5 GHz with no turbo. The cache is 1 MB of L2 with 512 KB per core. Power is 65 W. Graphics come from AMD Radeon HD 6410D with 160 shaders at 444 MHz.

Two Husky cores with entry graphics cover office work, video and light games of the era without a card. The 32 nm Llano die integrates cores, graphics and the dual channel DDR3 controller on 1,178 million transistors. Threads equal cores at 2.

At 65 W the A4-3300 fits small towers with stock cooling. The fixed 2.5 GHz clock suits browsing and office multitasking. Boards pair it with DDR3 DIMMs and SATA drives. The How to find your CPU socket type guide shows how to confirm the socket before ordering parts.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The A4-3300 drops into Socket FM1 on A55 and A75 boards. The 905-contact socket accepts Llano APUs and Athlon derivatives, but the board BIOS must list the exact A4-3300 string. DDR3 modules match stock operation without tuning.

Power at 65 W suits standard desktop boards with stock cooling. The CPU cooler compatibility by socket guide explains the 48 by 96 mm pattern shared with AM2, AM3 and FM2.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory support is DDR3 up to 1866 MT/s, two channels. Two matched modules feed the cores and the 160 shader graphics block, which has no dedicated memory. Faster DIMMs help display work measurably.

PCI Express is PCIe 2.0 from the APU for one graphics slot with 16 lanes. Most A4-3300 builds stay on the HD 6410D alone, since it already handles office displays and video. SATA and USB come from the Hudson controller hub.

Cooling follows the 65 W rating with a stock heatsink and case airflow. The shared AMD mount keeps cooler choice wide.

Upgrade paths

Within Socket FM1 the A4-3300 can move to faster Llano APUs with stronger graphics or to Athlon quads without graphics on the same board. Memory and storage carry over. A faster dual core reference on the same socket is the A4-3400 class.

A platform move means a new socket. AMD moved mainstream desktops to Socket FM2 with Piledriver cores and a 904-contact socket. That move needs a new board while DDR3 memory often carries over.