When AMD introduced its Llano desktop parts it mentioned two different GPU configurations: an on-die Radeon HD 6550D with 400 cores running at 600MHz and a Radeon HD 6530D with 320 cores running at 443MHz. The A8 gets the faster GPU while the A6 gets the slower one. At launch we only had an A8-3850 to test so we could only guess at how fast the 3650's GPU would be. Today we've got more.

In our Sandy Bridge Pentium Review we compared the A8 and A6 Llano APUs. The A8 outpaced the A6-3650 with a Radeon HD 6530D by 18 - 26% percent, on average. The 18% gain was at 1024 x 768 while we saw 24% at 1280 x 1024 and 26% at 1680 x 1050. Given the small price premium for the A8-3850 (~$20) it seems like there's only one good choice for Llano on the desktop today, that is if you care about 3D performance.