AMD A-Series A6-9500 2-core AM4

The A6-9500 scores 1854 on PassMark multi-thread, landing in the 24th percentile of our database, which is slow even for a budget chip. Its saving grace is Socket AM4, making it a cheap BIOS-update tool for Ryzen builds. But with US prices hitting USD 149 and efficiency in the 29th percentile, this is a hard sell unless you find it dirt cheap in Europe.

Let's talk about that PassMark multi-thread score of 1854. In our database, that puts this chip in the 24th percentile for multi-thread performance. Translation: it's slower than roughly three out of four CPUs we've tested. For basic web browsing, document editing, and light media playback, you'll be fine. The 3.8GHz boost clock helps keep single-threaded tasks feeling snappy, and the single-thread score lands right at the 50th percentile, which is about average. But the moment you ask this thing to do anything heavy, like video encoding or running a modern AAA game, those two threads start gasping for air.

The integrated Radeon R5 graphics are a nice bonus for a chip this cheap. You won't be playing Cyberpunk on it, but older titles, indie games, and emulators will run acceptably at lower resolutions. The 1MB of L2 cache is tiny by modern standards, and the 28nm process is ancient. That's why the efficiency score sits at the 29th percentile. You're getting 2016-era performance with 2016-era power draw, and the 65W TDP means it runs warmer than you'd expect for such a weak chip. The included boxed cooler handles it, but don't expect silence under load.

Stacked against the Intel Core i3-14100F, this thing looks like a fossil. The i3-14100F has four cores, eight threads, and a much newer architecture, and it absolutely demolishes the A6-9500 in every benchmark we track. The Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 is another interesting comparison. It's older server silicon, but with more cores and better multi-thread performance, it'll outpace the A6 in productivity workloads while costing about the same on the used market. The be quiet! Ryzen 3 Dark Rock Pro 5 and Thermal Grizzly Ryzen 7 CSF-AM5 aren't direct competitors in the traditional sense, they're cooling and accessory products, but they highlight the ecosystem this chip lives in. If you're building on AM4, you have far better CPU options like the Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5 series that cost marginally more and deliver dramatically better performance. The A6-9500 only makes sense if you need the absolute cheapest AM4 chip for a specific purpose, like flashing a BIOS.

Pricing for this chip is all over the place. In the US, you'll find it between USD 120 and USD 149 across two listings, which is frankly absurd for a dual-core APU from 2016. The EUR market is even wilder, with a spread of EUR 297 between the cheapest listing at EUR 40 and the most expensive at EUR 337. If you're in Europe and can snag one near that EUR 40 mark, it starts to make sense as a BIOS-update tool or a super-budget office chip. But at USD 120 or more, you're paying new-CPU money for used-CPU performance. The affordability score sits at the 62nd percentile, which feels generous given what you're getting. The boxed cooler and integrated graphics do add some value, but only if you actually need them.

The AMD A6-9500 is a dual-core, dual-thread APU from the Bristol Ridge family, built on a 28nm process and clocked at 3.5GHz base with a 3.8GHz boost. It sits on Socket AM4, which is honestly the most interesting thing about it. That socket gives it a weird second life as a BIOS-update mule for newer Ryzen chips, and a few owners mention using it exactly for that. But as a daily driver in 2024, the numbers tell a rough story: a PassMark multi-thread score of 1854 lands it in the 24th percentile of our database, and its efficiency score sits at the 29th percentile. This is a chip that was entry-level when it launched, and time hasn't done it any favors.

That said, the user sentiment score of 72/100, while based on limited evidence, suggests people who buy this with realistic expectations are mostly okay with it. The included Radeon R5 graphics and boxed cooler mean you can slap together a basic office PC or a retro emulation box without spending extra on a GPU. The 65W TDP is manageable, and DDR4 support keeps memory costs low. But the compatibility headaches are real. Multiple owners report needing BIOS updates before the chip will post, and one Q&A confirms it won't work at all with Intel boards like the ASUS Prime H310M-E R2.0, which should be obvious but apparently isn't to everyone.

Skip this if you're building a gaming PC or a workstation. The 2-core, 2-thread design and PassMark multi-thread score of 1854 put it in the 24th percentile, which means it'll choke on anything beyond basic tasks. Also skip it if you're in the US, where prices of USD 120 to USD 149 are flat-out unreasonable for this level of performance. And if you don't have a spare AM4 board or a way to update BIOS, the compatibility headaches aren't worth it. The efficiency score of 29th percentile means you're also paying more in power draw for less performance than modern alternatives.

The AMD A6-9500 is a niche product in 2024. Its PassMark multi-thread score of 1854 and 24th percentile ranking mean it's not a serious contender for gaming or productivity. The user sentiment score of 72/100, while positive-ish, comes with low confidence and a pile of compatibility complaints. If you need a cheap AM4 chip to update a BIOS before dropping in a Ryzen 5 3600, this will do the job, and a few owners confirm that use case works. If you're building a basic office PC and can find one for under EUR 50, it's tolerable. But at US prices of USD 120 to USD 149, you're getting ripped off. There are better options on the used market for the same money.