AMD A6-9220C SoC socket: Socket FT4

What the A6-9220C SoC is

The AMD A6-9220C SoC is a 1.8 GHz dual-core soldered mobile processor from January 2019. It runs one Excavator module with 2 cores at 1.8 GHz base and up to 2.7 GHz boost, so 2 cores give 2 threads. Cache is 1 MB of shared L2 on a 28 nm process with 1.2 billion transistors. Power is rated at 6 W in a Socket FT4 BGA package.

The A6 tier with Radeon R5 graphics at up to 720 MHz heads the Chromebook C line over the A4-9120C with R4, which is why the 9220C at 1.8 GHz suits buyers who want the fastest fanless Stoney option. AMD announced the 9220C on January 7, 2019 with the 9120C. The chip supports AVX, AVX2, AES and AMD-V.

Higher Chromebook clocks with a 6 W envelope suit premium fanless Chromebooks with DDR4-1866 memory. The single-channel path keeps board cost down. That is why the 9220C shipped in higher-tier education Chromebooks.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The A6-9220C SoC is soldered to FT4 boards and cannot be replaced. It fits Chromebook boards with FT4 solder lands and a BIOS that lists the A6-9220C. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers pairing rules.

Premium fanless Chromebook boards are the natural match. Boards built for the 9220C carry the soldered SoC with a board spreader for the 6 W class.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory is single-channel DDR4-1866 through the on-chip controller. PCIe Gen 3 with 8 lanes from the APU feeds wireless and eMMC storage. Graphics is Radeon R5 with 3 compute cores up to 720 MHz with video decode. Thermal design is board-level with a spreader.

Upgrade paths

There is no CPU upgrade path from a soldered 9220C. The chip cannot move to a faster part. A board or system replacement is the only move.

For planning, an A4-9120C such as AMD A4-9120C SoC is the slower Chromebook twin at 1.6 GHz on the same lands. The Socket FT4 page lists the Stoney Ridge range.