AMD Athlon 5350 AM1 - Your Thoughts

[i.got~issues]

Hi folks

I have just seen these at Wootware;

AMD Athlon 5350 Quad Core
- Socket AM1
- 2050 MHz
- 2MB
- 0.028 micron
- 3 Year Warranty

R870.00

http://www.wootware.co.za/amd-athlo...28-micron-quad-core-2050-mhz-desktop-cpu.html

R800 Mobo + some RAM and it appears to be a good deal and perfect (at face value) for entry level IGP gaming stuff (minecraft etc) and media type PC thing for the young-uns.

Anyone has one or has had one?
A bargain little system?

Any thoughts or feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[Ancalagon]

I want to get one, but I am waiting for Mullins and Beema APUs first.

The APU that you see there is a Kabini APU. It is pretty good, and pretty energy efficient, but AMD has recently released the new Mullins and Beema APUs, which are much more energy efficient. Generally, they are faster while using less power. However, they are not available to buy yet, and also have not been confirmed for the desktop AM1 platform.

But yes, to answer your question, for a media PC, they are perfect. I am just waiting a bit because I want a Mullins/Beema APU, not a Kabini. Plus I need a notebook more than I need a media player.

 

[Gtx Gaming]

Hi folks

I have just seen these at Wootware;

AMD Athlon 5350 Quad Core
- Socket AM1
- 2050 MHz
- 2MB
- 0.028 micron
- 3 Year Warranty

R870.00

http://www.wootware.co.za/amd-athlo...28-micron-quad-core-2050-mhz-desktop-cpu.html

R800 Mobo + some RAM and it appears to be a good deal and perfect (at face value) for entry level IGP gaming stuff (minecraft etc) and media type PC thing for the young-uns.

Anyone has one or has had one?
A bargain little system?

Any thoughts or feedback would be much appreciated.

http://www.wootware.co.za/msi-ms-am...lon-sempron-mini-itx-desktop-motherboard.html

board is actually R480

hmm cpu support ecc memory also might give it a try!

Memory controller
The number of controllers: 1
Memory channels: 1
Supported memory: DDR3-1600, DDR3L-1600
DIMMs per channel: up to 2
ECC supported: Yes

i can get ecc memory for much cheaper then normally memory

 

[i.got~issues]

http://www.wootware.co.za/msi-ms-am...lon-sempron-mini-itx-desktop-motherboard.html

board is actually R480

Wow... thanks!

 

[CataclysmZA]

AM1 isn't a bad socket and for the price they are solid performers. Pop in a GT640/Radeon HD6670 and some light gaming is even possible. Then again, running a Haswell Celeron or Pentium would provide similar, or even better performance-per-watt ratios as well.

 

[Doodler]

http://www.wootware.co.za/msi-ms-am...lon-sempron-mini-itx-desktop-motherboard.html

board is actually R480

hmm cpu support ecc memory also might give it a try!

Memory controller
The number of controllers: 1
Memory channels: 1
Supported memory: DDR3-1600, DDR3L-1600
DIMMs per channel: up to 2
ECC supported: Yes

i can get ecc memory for much cheaper then normally memory

I'm reading on the xbmc forums that there are some issues with the msi board with linux for anyone thinking of going openelec etc.

Really thinking of replacing my amd e350 setup with this.

 

[i.got~issues]

AM1 isn't a bad socket and for the price they are solid performers. Pop in a GT640/Radeon HD6670 and some light gaming is even possible. Then again, running a Haswell Celeron or Pentium would provide similar, or even better performance-per-watt ratios as well.

Hmmmm ... at what added cost then for these?
Isn't the HD8400 IGP thing negated then by adding a GPU?

Performance-per-watt ratio is great, I am looking at performance-per-ZAR at this point.

 

[ponder]

...performance-per-watt ratios as well.

If you crunch the numbers it's actually negligible, honestly don't know why people even bother with it as over a period of a year it equates to a few beers at most.

 

[i.got~issues]

Eish ... RAM prices :wtf: :twisted:

Almost double / triple the price of that mobo.

/sulks

 

[CataclysmZA]

Isn't the HD8400 IGP thing negated then by adding a GPU?

It won't be negated, the onboard GPU just won't be used although it'll still be powered. And it could go on to drive other monitors if you want as well. Can't do dual graphics with these chips, sadly.

If you crunch the numbers it's actually negligible, honestly don't know why people even bother with it as over a period of a year it equates to a few beers at most.

I only consider performance-per-watt these days for imagining what kind of chassis or environments these things will be stuffed into. If you aim for the A6-5350, MSI's MS-AM1I and standard 1600MHz memory in a ITX chassis like the CFI ACD2 it'll end up being a lot cheaper over a similar Haswell +mITX combo.

Baytrail ends up being about the same price for similar wattages, but it's not a socketed SoC, which is Kabini's main draw.

 

[Rickster]

What about a Haswell I3?

 

[i.got~issues]

What about a Haswell I3?

Well, the attraction of this AMD thingy is that for around R2500ish for CPU, Mobo + RAM it seems to be a pretty OK little performer and low-power setup.
The i3 Haswell comes in at around R800-R1000 more expensive without a GPU.
My understanding is that the AMD's APU / IGP thrashes the Intel HD of the i3, hence a GPU is needed in an i3 build. ????

The i3 starts putting things in the R4k territory and then i5s start to look attractive.

I guess for a media, YouTube, MineCraft type kids thingy the AMD looked good price wise.
Maybe not so much in afterthought tho'.

 

[CataclysmZA]

My understanding is that the AMD's APU / IGP thrashes the Intel HD of the i3, hence a GPU is needed in an i3 build. ????

Not when you're considering the performance gulf between a desktop Intel HD4600 and the Radeon R3 graphics. They're in completely different performance segments because Core i3 chips typically sit in the 55W TDP range, whereas socketed Kabini tends to stay under 25W. Performance will be enough for desktop uses, Blu-Ray 3D video decode and very light gaming, but not much above that.

Haswell i3 and i5 chips with the HD4600 GPU would place about the same as the i3-4430.

For media, Youtube, general use and some light gaming it is a great solution still and cheaper than an equivalent Intel setup. PC Perspective even proved that it's passable as a gaming solution with a discrete GPU as well. It just depends on what your needs are and what you want your upgrade path to look like.

 

[i.got~issues]

Not when you're considering the performance gulf between a desktop Intel HD4600 and the Radeon R3 graphics. They're in completely different performance segments because Core i3 chips typically sit in the 55W TDP range, whereas socketed Kabini tends to stay under 25W. Performance will be enough for desktop uses, Blu-Ray 3D video decode and very light gaming, but not much above that.

<snip>

Haswell i3 and i5 chips with the HD4600 GPU would place about the same as the i3-4430.

For media, Youtube, general use and some light gaming it is a great solution still and cheaper than an equivalent Intel setup. PC Perspective even proved that it's passable as a gaming solution with a discrete GPU as well. It just depends on what your needs are and what you want your upgrade path to look like.

Thanks for the input.

Food for thought.

Upgrade path, well I had not given that a thought. Glad you rang that bell.

NOW it is YouTube (my godz, can they YouTube!) and MineCraft with some MassEffect etc. A year later and what will their demands then be. The i3s start to make more sense now... one can always pop in a 2nd hand upgrade. AMD, well, AM1, kinda not the same convenience perhaps.

So... off the top of your head, best bang for buck for 12 year olds in the R2500 - R3500 range for CPU, RAM and Mobo and maybe GPU... what are the things to go for then ?

EDIT:

I suppose it all depends on WHAT you want the system to do... GPU dependent titles then the AMD + Gfx card is OK, CPU dependent then i3/i5 is the thing to look at.
Low power media centred IGP setup this shines.

 

[Rouxenator]

Anyone got one of these AM1 rigs? I am looking at getting one and selling my HP Microserver. For me it would just be R2400 since I am only buying mobo+cpu+case