Manufacturer: Gigabyte Price: $ 150 US Author: Steve Date: 03/06/2011

[ Introduction ]

Today we are checking out the Gigabyte E350N-USB3 which is based on the new AMD Fusion platform. AMD Fusion is the marketing name for a series of APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) that have been in development since 2006. The final design is the result of AMD's merger with ATI, combining general processor execution as well as 3D geometry processing and other functions of modern GPUs into a single chip... Earlier this year AMD launched their long awaited counter to the Intel Atom platform, when they unveiled the first Fusion microprocessors on January 4th. Based on the AMD Bobcat microarchitecture, there are two distinct versions based on the “Ontario” and “Zacate”. The Ontario architecture is designed for mobile computing and already comprises of two models, the C-30 single core and C-50 dual core. AMD has decided not to brand their first APUs, rather they are just featured under the Fusion banner. This means the processors will be known as the AMD C-50, for example. This also applies to the desktop orientated processors which are based on the Zacate architecture, which we now know as the E-series. Again there are single and dual core versions known as the E-240 and E-350 respectively. When AMD launched their first Fusion processors they were widely accepted as they were superior to the Atom in virtually every way. Not only were the Bobcat cores superior to Atom but so too was the GPU. AMD has implemented an on-die DirectX 11 GPU, the Radeon HD 6310. Codenamed "Wrestler", the 40nm graphics core operates at 500MHz and is part of the E-350 (dual-core) and E-240 (single-core) processors. There is also a 280MHz version called the Radeon HD 6250 which is featured in the "Ontario" C-30 and C-50 processors. It's interesting to note that the Radeon HD 6310 and HD 6250 both have the same configuration as the Radeon HD 5450 as well as the much older HD 4350 and HD 4550. The core consists of 80 SPUs, 8 TAUs (Texture Address Units) and 4 ROPs (Rasterization Operator Units). When compared to the Radeon HD 4290 of the current flagship 890GX desktop chipset, that's not bad. The Radeon HD 4290 boasts just 40 SPUs, 4 TAUs and 4 ROPs. Whereas we expect manufacturers of small form factor computers, such as Asus, Asrock and Shuttle for example, to jump all over the Fusion processors, motherboard makers are already offering a number of impressive looking Mini-ITX motherboards using the E-350. A perfect example is the Gigabyte E350N-USB3 which has a retail price tag of just $150 US. Despite the affordable price tag this motherboard boasts a number of cutting edge features, such as USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s. Of course let’s not forget that it is also armed with AMD’s E-350, along with the AMD Hudson-M1 FCH (chipset).

Table of Contents >>> Introduction <<< Features & Specifications Board Design & Layout BIOS & Overclocking Test System Specs Memory Performance Synthetic Performance Application Performance High Definition Playback Encoding Performance Gaming Performance Overclocking Performance Power Consumption Conclusion Next Page ->

ProX	Posted on: 03/10/2011 12:34 AM Great little board this and finally someone who has overclocked the E-350 I have been looking all over for this. I think this is going to be my new HTPC. Just need a nice little case to go with it.

Mizza

Posted on: 03/10/2011 10:23 AM Good review, is there any point to installing a faster PCI Express 2.0 graphics card?

Boscoe

Posted on: 03/10/2011 08:41 PM impressive little product. it is $175 here in Australia but even that is very goo value.