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AMD Athlon 5350 APU and AM1 Platform Review
Posted by: on: 04/22/2014 07:48 AM [
21 comment(s) ]
We review the AMD Athlon 5350 APU and AM1 Platform with socket FS1b motherboards. This APU is based on AMD's Kabini architecture bringing the CPU and the GPU close together. Kabini will aim at several low-end segments in the processor business to compete with Intel's Bay Trail CPUs.
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Darkest
Senior Member
Posts: 10123
Senior Member
Posts: 10123
Posted on: 04/22/2014 09:24 AM
Looks like a great option for an HTPC. Impressive for the power draw.
Looks like a great option for an HTPC. Impressive for the power draw.
BLEH!
Senior Member
Posts: 5918
Senior Member
Posts: 5918
Posted on: 04/22/2014 11:53 AM
My thoughts exactly. Perfect torrent box/NAS. *starts saving*
Looks like a great option for an HTPC. Impressive for the power draw.
My thoughts exactly. Perfect torrent box/NAS. *starts saving*
shymi
Senior Member
Posts: 151
Senior Member
Posts: 151
Posted on: 04/22/2014 01:40 PM
I think, that platform is an awesome solution for older and/or non smart TVs. Can not wait to get one for the LG in my room
I think, that platform is an awesome solution for older and/or non smart TVs. Can not wait to get one for the LG in my room
schmidtbag
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Posted on: 04/22/2014 02:51 PM
I've seen reviews of the AM1 series on other websites and it took me a while to figure out exactly the reason AMD released it (this isn't as compact or power efficient as the E series, but not as fast or feature rich as the A series). But then I realized, the AM1 sockets seem to directly target the ARM HTPC devices. They both cost roughly the same and offer the same performance, but the major difference is these AM1 systems have many more features (more SATA ports, more USB 3.0 ports, PCIe slots, wider choice of OSes, etc.) while sacrificing physical size and power efficiency. Overall, I'd say this is a better value than the competing ARM HTPCs, as long as you have a place to hide the tower.
I've seen reviews of the AM1 series on other websites and it took me a while to figure out exactly the reason AMD released it (this isn't as compact or power efficient as the E series, but not as fast or feature rich as the A series). But then I realized, the AM1 sockets seem to directly target the ARM HTPC devices. They both cost roughly the same and offer the same performance, but the major difference is these AM1 systems have many more features (more SATA ports, more USB 3.0 ports, PCIe slots, wider choice of OSes, etc.) while sacrificing physical size and power efficiency. Overall, I'd say this is a better value than the competing ARM HTPCs, as long as you have a place to hide the tower.
AC_Avatar100400
Senior Member
Posts: 340
Senior Member
Posts: 340
Posted on: 04/22/2014 07:21 PM
Looks pretty dam good for a HTPC/Media box or Server + i could run old OpenGL based games like UT easily.Can the Athlon 5350 be Overclocked?.
Looks pretty dam good for a HTPC/Media box or Server + i could run old OpenGL based games like UT easily.Can the Athlon 5350 be Overclocked?.
schmidtbag
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Posted on: 04/22/2014 07:44 PM
Based on an article I read on phoronix.com, no, it doesn't overclock that well. On the other hand, the guy who wrote the article isn't exactly a pro overclocker.
Looks pretty dam good for a HTPC/Media box or Server + i could run old OpenGL based games like UT easily.Can the Athlon 5350 be Overclocked?.
Based on an article I read on phoronix.com, no, it doesn't overclock that well. On the other hand, the guy who wrote the article isn't exactly a pro overclocker.
EKRboi
Member
Posts: 74
Member
Posts: 74
Posted on: 04/22/2014 08:57 PM
I just priced out a full AM1 setup on newegg using the Athlon 5350. $214. That includes mobo, proc, 2gb ddr3, case, psu and 32gb sataIII ssd. Hello bedroom HTPC! goodbye PS3!
Does anyone know if the current linux AMD/ATI drivers are up to snuff on these yet as I will probably run openelec on it.
I just priced out a full AM1 setup on newegg using the Athlon 5350. $214. That includes mobo, proc, 2gb ddr3, case, psu and 32gb sataIII ssd. Hello bedroom HTPC! goodbye PS3!
Does anyone know if the current linux AMD/ATI drivers are up to snuff on these yet as I will probably run openelec on it.
schmidtbag
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Posted on: 04/22/2014 09:14 PM
I just priced out a full AM1 setup on newegg using the Athlon 5350. $214. That includes mobo, proc, 2gb ddr3, case, psu and 32gb sataIII ssd. Hello bedroom HTPC! goodbye PS3!
Does anyone know if the current linux AMD/ATI drivers are up to snuff on these yet as I will probably run openelec on it.
It depends on the driver you pick. Personally, I think you're better off with the open source drivers. They get noticeably faster every month to the point where depending on the GPU and task, the performance is (overall) equal to catalyst. I'm not too sure about hardware acceleration for video playback but I'm sure it can handle 1080p without any problems.
Just wondering though, but why get an SSD for an HTPC? If you're running something as small as openELEC and you don't intend to use an optical drive, you're going to need the extra storage, and you don't need the extra performance.
I just priced out a full AM1 setup on newegg using the Athlon 5350. $214. That includes mobo, proc, 2gb ddr3, case, psu and 32gb sataIII ssd. Hello bedroom HTPC! goodbye PS3!
Does anyone know if the current linux AMD/ATI drivers are up to snuff on these yet as I will probably run openelec on it.
It depends on the driver you pick. Personally, I think you're better off with the open source drivers. They get noticeably faster every month to the point where depending on the GPU and task, the performance is (overall) equal to catalyst. I'm not too sure about hardware acceleration for video playback but I'm sure it can handle 1080p without any problems.
Just wondering though, but why get an SSD for an HTPC? If you're running something as small as openELEC and you don't intend to use an optical drive, you're going to need the extra storage, and you don't need the extra performance.
heffeque
Senior Member
Posts: 3947
Senior Member
Posts: 3947
Posted on: 04/23/2014 05:40 AM
He might have his stuff externalized/centralized.
Just wondering though, but why get an SSD for an HTPC? If you're running something as small as openELEC and you don't intend to use an optical drive, you're going to need the extra storage, and you don't need the extra performance.
He might have his stuff externalized/centralized.
Prince Valiant
Senior Member
Posts: 698
Senior Member
Posts: 698
Posted on: 04/23/2014 03:42 PM
Did you do any testing without shaders? Applying additional sharpening seems silly for 4K content.
Minor error: 'meaning of you where to RAW decode video streams over the CPU'
Should be 'Meaning if you were to'.
Did you do any testing without shaders? Applying additional sharpening seems silly for 4K content.
Minor error: 'meaning of you where to RAW decode video streams over the CPU'
Should be 'Meaning if you were to'.
sykozis
Senior Member
Posts: 21168
Senior Member
Posts: 21168
Posted on: 07/15/2014 01:22 AM
Yeah yeah, this thread is a couple months old now, I know....
Seems 2.5ghz is rather easy to achieve with an Asus motherboard. Anything beyond that and you have to increase the voltage quite a bit. There was an Athlon 5350 validated at 3.1ghz.....little over 50% OC but power draw goes through the roof at just over 1.6v
Based on an article I read on phoronix.com, no, it doesn't overclock that well. On the other hand, the guy who wrote the article isn't exactly a pro overclocker.
Yeah yeah, this thread is a couple months old now, I know....
Seems 2.5ghz is rather easy to achieve with an Asus motherboard. Anything beyond that and you have to increase the voltage quite a bit. There was an Athlon 5350 validated at 3.1ghz.....little over 50% OC but power draw goes through the roof at just over 1.6v
nz3777
Senior Member
Posts: 2383
Senior Member
Posts: 2383
Posted on: 09/14/2016 11:43 AM
Looks like a decent every-day chip,Just got one for my kid yesterday posted now all I need is a new case. Very cheep to build around I am impressed so far.
Looks like a decent every-day chip,Just got one for my kid yesterday posted now all I need is a new case. Very cheep to build around I am impressed so far.
vbetts
Posts: 14764
Posts: 14764
Posted on: 09/14/2016 01:01 PM
THREAD NECRO!
I use these as my set top boxes for Kodi and light gaming(like SNES emulation)
THREAD NECRO!
I use these as my set top boxes for Kodi and light gaming(like SNES emulation)
schmidtbag
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Posted on: 09/14/2016 03:07 PM
Thanks for reminding me about this article. I actually bought one of these (and an MSI board) a month ago for a home server. It was the only CPU that met all of my demands:
* A system that runs below 30W when idle (currently, the whole PC uses 29W)
* Can be passively cooled
* RAID support
* Cost effective
* Preferably x86 (ARM works for most of the vast majority of my needs, but not 100% of them)
I would've gone with the Athlon 5150, but it operates at the same voltage as the 5350 (which in itself has a higher-than-necessary voltage) and I wasn't aware of any motherboards that supported undervolting, so the 5350 became the more sensible choice.
I'd have much rather bought an ARM platform but there aren't any reasonably priced ones that support RAID. I'd have been fine with getting one with a PCIe x1 slot and use a RAID card, but I wasn't aware of driver availability. There are x86 compatibility layers for ARM so in the event I needed to run x86 software, I wouldn't have been completely left out.
Going Intel didn't have anything competitive unless I paid double what I already paid. For the same price point, Intel's offerings would have had a system with roughly equal CPU performance, would've lacked multiple PCIe slots, may have lacked USB 3.0, a worse IGP, roughly equal idling wattage, and slightly better load wattage. IIRC, the 5350 is Excavator based, but each core is independent rather than being in a module. As a result, it's actually really competitive against Intel, clock-per-clock. Still worse, but not much.
Thanks for reminding me about this article. I actually bought one of these (and an MSI board) a month ago for a home server. It was the only CPU that met all of my demands:
* A system that runs below 30W when idle (currently, the whole PC uses 29W)
* Can be passively cooled
* RAID support
* Cost effective
* Preferably x86 (ARM works for most of the vast majority of my needs, but not 100% of them)
I would've gone with the Athlon 5150, but it operates at the same voltage as the 5350 (which in itself has a higher-than-necessary voltage) and I wasn't aware of any motherboards that supported undervolting, so the 5350 became the more sensible choice.
I'd have much rather bought an ARM platform but there aren't any reasonably priced ones that support RAID. I'd have been fine with getting one with a PCIe x1 slot and use a RAID card, but I wasn't aware of driver availability. There are x86 compatibility layers for ARM so in the event I needed to run x86 software, I wouldn't have been completely left out.
Going Intel didn't have anything competitive unless I paid double what I already paid. For the same price point, Intel's offerings would have had a system with roughly equal CPU performance, would've lacked multiple PCIe slots, may have lacked USB 3.0, a worse IGP, roughly equal idling wattage, and slightly better load wattage. IIRC, the 5350 is Excavator based, but each core is independent rather than being in a module. As a result, it's actually really competitive against Intel, clock-per-clock. Still worse, but not much.
TeX_UK
Senior Member
Posts: 1951
Senior Member
Posts: 1951
Posted on: 09/14/2016 05:26 PM
Media boxes for older TV's but why pay £100's when a £30 external HDD will do the same & in most cases a better job ? ? ?
Media boxes for older TV's but why pay £100's when a £30 external HDD will do the same & in most cases a better job ? ? ?
vbetts
Posts: 14764
Posts: 14764
Posted on: 09/14/2016 05:38 PM
Because I wanted more than just tv shows. I wanted entertainment! These really don't need a whole lot either, I think I spent maybe $150 at the most on each box?
Media boxes for older TV's but why pay £100's when a £30 external HDD will do the same & in most cases a better job ? ? ?
Because I wanted more than just tv shows. I wanted entertainment! These really don't need a whole lot either, I think I spent maybe $150 at the most on each box?
d_mouse
Senior Member
Posts: 1083
Senior Member
Posts: 1083
Posted on: 09/15/2016 08:57 AM
Thanks for reminding me about this article. I actually bought one of these (and an MSI board) a month ago for a home server. It was the only CPU that met all of my demands:
* A system that runs below 30W when idle (currently, the whole PC uses 29W)
* Can be passively cooled
* RAID support
* Cost effective
* Preferably x86 (ARM works for most of the vast majority of my needs, but not 100% of them)
I would've gone with the Athlon 5150, but it operates at the same voltage as the 5350 (which in itself has a higher-than-necessary voltage) and I wasn't aware of any motherboards that supported undervolting, so the 5350 became the more sensible choice.
I'd have much rather bought an ARM platform but there aren't any reasonably priced ones that support RAID. I'd have been fine with getting one with a PCIe x1 slot and use a RAID card, but I wasn't aware of driver availability. There are x86 compatibility layers for ARM so in the event I needed to run x86 software, I wouldn't have been completely left out.
Going Intel didn't have anything competitive unless I paid double what I already paid. For the same price point, Intel's offerings would have had a system with roughly equal CPU performance, would've lacked multiple PCIe slots, may have lacked USB 3.0, a worse IGP, roughly equal idling wattage, and slightly better load wattage. IIRC, the 5350 is Excavator based, but each core is independent rather than being in a module. As a result, it's actually really competitive against Intel, clock-per-clock. Still worse, but not much.
They're good little CPU's.
I've got one in the PC I built for my 8yd old.
She only watches Kodi / Netflix and does Mathletics and Reading Eggs so just needed something basic.
Only cost me $75 AUD for the mobo & CPU and I already had everything else I needed for the build laying around.
I could have gone with Intel's J2800/2900, etc but it would have cost almost double the AMD setup
Thanks for reminding me about this article. I actually bought one of these (and an MSI board) a month ago for a home server. It was the only CPU that met all of my demands:
* A system that runs below 30W when idle (currently, the whole PC uses 29W)
* Can be passively cooled
* RAID support
* Cost effective
* Preferably x86 (ARM works for most of the vast majority of my needs, but not 100% of them)
I would've gone with the Athlon 5150, but it operates at the same voltage as the 5350 (which in itself has a higher-than-necessary voltage) and I wasn't aware of any motherboards that supported undervolting, so the 5350 became the more sensible choice.
I'd have much rather bought an ARM platform but there aren't any reasonably priced ones that support RAID. I'd have been fine with getting one with a PCIe x1 slot and use a RAID card, but I wasn't aware of driver availability. There are x86 compatibility layers for ARM so in the event I needed to run x86 software, I wouldn't have been completely left out.
Going Intel didn't have anything competitive unless I paid double what I already paid. For the same price point, Intel's offerings would have had a system with roughly equal CPU performance, would've lacked multiple PCIe slots, may have lacked USB 3.0, a worse IGP, roughly equal idling wattage, and slightly better load wattage. IIRC, the 5350 is Excavator based, but each core is independent rather than being in a module. As a result, it's actually really competitive against Intel, clock-per-clock. Still worse, but not much.
They're good little CPU's.
I've got one in the PC I built for my 8yd old.
She only watches Kodi / Netflix and does Mathletics and Reading Eggs so just needed something basic.
Only cost me $75 AUD for the mobo & CPU and I already had everything else I needed for the build laying around.
I could have gone with Intel's J2800/2900, etc but it would have cost almost double the AMD setup
schmidtbag
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Senior Member
Posts: 4641
Posted on: 09/15/2016 02:37 PM
Only cost me $75 AUD for the mobo & CPU and I already had everything else I needed for the build laying around.
I could have gone with Intel's J2800/2900, etc but it would have cost almost double the AMD setup
Damn looks like you actually got a pretty decent deal (at least when you consider Australia tends to be more expensive, and that 1 AUD is 0.75 USD as of writing). I paid slightly over $100 USD for my build, though I also got 4GB of RAM. I probably don't even need 2GB, but I wanted this to be as power efficient as possible so I figured I may as well just buy 1 stick that has more than I'll ever need.
I too pretty much had all the parts I needed lying around for this (including parts for RAID).
Only cost me $75 AUD for the mobo & CPU and I already had everything else I needed for the build laying around.
I could have gone with Intel's J2800/2900, etc but it would have cost almost double the AMD setup
Damn looks like you actually got a pretty decent deal (at least when you consider Australia tends to be more expensive, and that 1 AUD is 0.75 USD as of writing). I paid slightly over $100 USD for my build, though I also got 4GB of RAM. I probably don't even need 2GB, but I wanted this to be as power efficient as possible so I figured I may as well just buy 1 stick that has more than I'll ever need.
I too pretty much had all the parts I needed lying around for this (including parts for RAID).
d_mouse
Senior Member
Posts: 1083
Senior Member
Posts: 1083
Posted on: 09/16/2016 09:15 AM
Damn looks like you actually got a pretty decent deal (at least when you consider Australia tends to be more expensive, and that 1 AUD is 0.75 USD as of writing). I paid slightly over $100 USD for my build, though I also got 4GB of RAM. I probably don't even need 2GB, but I wanted this to be as power efficient as possible so I figured I may as well just buy 1 stick that has more than I'll ever need.
I too pretty much had all the parts I needed lying around for this (including parts for RAID).
Yeah, I managed to get it on a combo sale, wasn't a huge discount but it was still around 20% from memory.
I threw in my old 8GB RAM kit, old 120GB SSD and old GTX 560 so it's a lot more than what she needs but should be enough to last her a few years. She's in year 3 at school and if this will last her until she gets to year 7 I'll be very happy, since they need laptops starting then.
Damn looks like you actually got a pretty decent deal (at least when you consider Australia tends to be more expensive, and that 1 AUD is 0.75 USD as of writing). I paid slightly over $100 USD for my build, though I also got 4GB of RAM. I probably don't even need 2GB, but I wanted this to be as power efficient as possible so I figured I may as well just buy 1 stick that has more than I'll ever need.
I too pretty much had all the parts I needed lying around for this (including parts for RAID).
Yeah, I managed to get it on a combo sale, wasn't a huge discount but it was still around 20% from memory.
I threw in my old 8GB RAM kit, old 120GB SSD and old GTX 560 so it's a lot more than what she needs but should be enough to last her a few years. She's in year 3 at school and if this will last her until she gets to year 7 I'll be very happy, since they need laptops starting then.
vbetts
Posts: 14764
Posts: 14764
Posted on: 09/16/2016 12:43 PM
Just want to say something.
Usually thread necro's I have to close because someone will moan and groan about something, or it's spam. This is a time when it is useful!
Just want to say something.
Usually thread necro's I have to close because someone will moan and groan about something, or it's spam. This is a time when it is useful!
Click here to post a comment for this article on the message forum.
Member
Posts: 63
I really don`t understand that .05ghz on the fastest Athlon. What is the reason for that 50mhz?