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Hardware Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3 Review

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by arcticstoat, 23 Feb 2011.

  1. arcticstoat

    arcticstoat Minimodder

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  2. Xen0phobiak

    Xen0phobiak SMEGHEADS!

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    That's a pretty interesting review but:

     
  3. frontline

    frontline Punish Your Machine

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    The passively cooled Asus E35M1-M PRO is in stock at overclockers and scan for around £109 inclusive of VAT.
     
  4. V3ctor

    V3ctor Tech addict...

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    Saw it at Pixmania for 123€ plus shipping... It's a very good price, too bad I have the X4 600e for HTPC/ gaming PC
     
  5. arcticstoat

    arcticstoat Minimodder

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    Fixed.
     
  6. Xtrafresh

    Xtrafresh It never hurts to help

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    Nice review, good to see you are not bandwagon jumping and actually investigating it against other alternatives :)

    small note: in the conclusion, you forget the N in E350N-USB3 a few times :)
     
  7. sandys

    sandys Multimodder

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    Where are the power consumption numbers, this is quite a major thing missing from the review, this is what you will likely choose the platform for, it supposedly offers low power and decent performance.

    Performance looks good but it'll be no interest to me if the system uses >45w of my current always on HTPC setup.
     
  8. Guest-16

    Guest-16 Guest

    Nice spot! But it's not mini-ITX though :)

    sandys - I'm on 110V here so can't do power consumption numbers sorry. Best wait for future reviews done by the UK team :thumb:
     
  9. jrs77

    jrs77 Modder

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    Unfortunately there's no AMD-support to be found for Linux, so you can't easily setup Ubuntu+XBMC on these boards.

    Nevertheless, AMD managed to release a chip 2 years after intel, with a slight advantage over the Atom+ION platform, but that's just too late too little.
     
  10. REMF

    REMF What's a Dremel?

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    "In fact, we feel that AMD skimped on the CPU part of its APU a little too much, as it holds back the Radeon HD 6310."

    makes the idea of Llano Fusion seem deeply appealing given the dual Phenom II cores fab'ed at 32nm!
     
  11. sandys

    sandys Multimodder

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    Its in the latest kernel .38 I think and febs catalysts
     
  12. CAT-THE-FIFTH

    CAT-THE-FIFTH What's a Dremel?

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    It would be nice if Bit-tech could review the MSI E350IA-E45 as it is available for pre-order from OcUK for £99.98:

    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-162-MS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1949

    BTW,power consumption of the Zacate mini-ITX motherboards is less than that of the Atom mini-ITX motherboards:

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/4134/the-brazos-review-amds-e350-supplants-ion-for-miniitx/7

    Perhaps it would also be wise to use either a lower wattage standard PSU or a DC-DC one to get a more accurate indication of power consumption too.
     
    Last edited: 23 Feb 2011
  13. Repo

    Repo What's a Dremel?

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    would be closer...
     
  14. Sea Shadow

    Sea Shadow aka "Panda"

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    In the for what its worth dept.

    For those of us who are state side, some e-tailers are now selling E-350 boards for as low as $110. Though I plan on holding off for a little bit to see what the next few months brings.
     
  15. frontline

    frontline Punish Your Machine

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    True, although it is a feature packed, passively cooled Asus board :)

    I still think the main benefit of Zacate will be in netbooks, although i'm still tempted by a mini-itx/micro-atx build. I'll probably wait until the end of next month and see what boards are out there and how they are priced.

    Shame there was no mention of Internet Explorer 9 GPU acceleraton and what (if anything) it brings to systems like this. Plus there are a range of GPU accelerated apps available that hopefully will only grow over the next few months: http://sites.amd.com/us/fusion/apu/Pages/apps-demos.aspx#11

    Nice review though!
     
    Last edited: 23 Feb 2011
  16. phuzz

    phuzz This is a title

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    Speaking of this platform and XBMC, does anyone know what the current state of hardware video decoding is on AMD for xbmc on linux? (I realise that the support for this board is probably not there yet).
    I've had a bit of a google, but I've not been able to find a list of different hardware that does allow HW acceleration on linux xbmc.

    My first thought on seeing this review is that it would be just perfect for my brother who wants me to help him build a media center/NAS. XBMC is (imo) the perfect software for a media center (and the underlying Ubuntu system will be fine for a NAS), but it needs HW acceleration to be viable on low CPU boards like this.
     
  17. Sea Shadow

    Sea Shadow aka "Panda"

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    AFAIK Its still in the situation where only Nvidia CUDA capable video cards/chipsets can do the hardware acceleration under linux.
     
  18. John_T

    John_T Minimodder

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    Nice article, although having read it I'm really tempted to build myself a basic new work machine based around this:

    Which has shed a few pounds since this morning and is now looking mighty tempting for a web browsing / email / simple spreadsheet machine:

    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...ddr3-1066-sata-6gb-s-usb-30-on-board-graphics

    (I'd tell everyone what I'm still using for work, but you'd all either laugh or weep. Or possibly both).

    Sure the mini-sized fans like on this Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3 may start off reasonably quiet, but you know that after about 6-9 months or so it's going to start sounding like a little hairdrier...
     
  19. msroadkill612

    msroadkill612 What's a Dremel?

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    I liked this review of the brazos concept better than many of the more resourced big boys efforts - eg branch to hudsonSB & export controls to china etc.

    Astute comment about over powered? GPU & under powered cpu. A similar thought hit me when viewing the die snapshot. Its like a GPU w/ some CPUs tacked on. The die is ~30% CPUs/60% gpu/ & 10% misc.

    Still, I think that would be my priority too. Functional graphics and snappy response to inputs. A slow cpu u can live with, a slow video clip or movie, you cant.

    Plus, AMD would naturally utilise existing less space inhibited discrete gpu designs & just cut a paste it onto the fusion chip, & the new cpu just has to fit on whats left of the desired die size and power footprint.

    Still, I suspect perceived cpu limitations are more a gamer & PC reviewer problem, than for the average user.

    Lets not forget the APU concept. Using the GPU as a co-processor is young software. The potential for the same hardware to improve with improved software is certainly there. Maybe the bias to GPU space in the die is a reflection of AMDs confidence this will happen.

    Off the cuff, re the ASUS passive cooled atx, I go with function over form - no fan (good comment re they get worse over time (plus slower airflow is less of a dust magnet - dust is like putting a blanket on your heatsink as you know)) and more ports in a bigger case for me, (all things being equal).

    Mobos always seem the worst thing to nickel and dime about. A mobo with all you can eat is only slightly dearer than one with compromises. The cost & hassle of a discrete card for a need you didnt anticipate, makes the premium for the mobo pale by comparison.

    Brazos is the closest we have come to a cheap & potentially very cheap, all in one, low power, pc on a chip - and it is only the opening salvo.

    Intel have married crap video (dx10.1) and a powerful expensive cpu on their fusion offering, directed at a market that doesnt want IGP anyway (OK, maybe the spreadsheat market)? Go figure.

    I reckon a 28nm version of brazos would really kick ass, either as a mobile or desktop. Use some of the new space on the die for mature/thirsty SB/discrete chipset functions like lan, usb, sata,wi-fi, and still get 9w tdp

    Am skeptical of cores. 2 x = 50% ^, 3x = 30%^ 4X=25% ^, IN THEORY. Intuitively, 2X using less power sounds good to me.


    This whole price thing is a phurphy in the big picture. Early adopters of attractive (as seems the case, their order books have gone ballistic, as has theirs to TMC) new technology pay a premium based on supply and demand. The price isnt set in stone - big news.


    It may be, early adopters get the premium back in power savings in a year, so why wait if it solves a need.

    Have you seen the size of these things? They are tiny. If Intel & Nvidea want to play hardball on price, AMD can match them at every turn and unlike them, still make money & have a leaner and better (dx11?) product.

    Sad to say guys, the action now isnt the replacement market in the west, it is the first pc purchase in developing markets. Power interruptions are big considerations. They often go straight to a laptop for this reason rather than portability. Next come price. I reckon AMD has a much better sweetspot now, and thats just for starters.
     
  20. Xyllian

    Xyllian What's a Dremel?

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    I have been waiting for my ASUS E35M1-I Deluxe for over a month now, that has to say something about how attractive these chips are.
     
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