When the A8-3850 hit the streets we were so accustomed to high powered CPUs that we barely blinked at the 100W power envelope it and the A6-3650 required.  That is a big change from just a few years ago when hitting or passing 100W tended to bring a lot of negative comments from reviewers.  AMD since released the lower powered A8-3800 and A6-3600, both of which have slightly lower CPU frequencies but the exact same graphics specifications.  The Tech Report took the A8-3800 out for a spin to examine not only the power draw but to see how well the Turbo Core feature works.  See how it turned out for AMD’s newest Llano chips in the full review.

"We weren’t terribly impressed with AMD’s A8-3850 APU when we first reviewed it, in part because its 100W power envelope seemed rather large for a chip whose integrated graphics are a major selling point. Happily, the new A8-3800 slides into a cool 65W power envelope and adds Turbo Core clock frequency scaling. Can it win our approval? Keep reading to find out."

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