Tuesday, January 3, 2017

AMD desktop Athlon low 25w TDP 4 core APU AM1 socket

AMD AM1 socket (previously named FS1b)

Currently AM1 socket only support 5 APU which all run 25watt.
Athlon 5370     2.2GHz    quad-core  USD$56
Athlon 5350     2.05GHz  quad-core  USD$50
Athlon 5150     1.6GHz    quad-core  USD$44
Sempron 3850  1.3GHz  quad-core   USD$36
Sempron 2650 1.45GHz  dual-core   USD$30

(Price from Amazon may change from time to time) Singapore retailer didn't carry any of this APU and socket. You need to order from Amazon or Newegg.

The APU AM1 socket enable you to watch HD Youtube smoothly with built in graphics accelerator (GPU) on a single chip. It's power enough to do simple task which only run on 25watt.

To understand watt calculation
http://cpuxxx.blogspot.sg/2016/12/do-you-know-how-much-it-cost-you-when.html

What is APU?
Combined the both CPUs and GPU= APU
APU are not competitive with high-end or even mid-range discrete graphics cards.
At least with a APU you don't have to buy another "graphic card" just to watch HD video.




Can it game (Most questions asked)?
Yes it can but should you?

It depend how you willing to"tolerate" the lower setting for graphic.
High end GPU card will pull back the performance due to the tiny APU match it with a mid or low GPU card and you may pull something out of it.
I found videos actually able gaming on Athlon 5350 pairing with a R7250 1GB GDDR5.
https://youtu.be/XoCDR0JeS_o
https://youtu.be/s56TkGZSS_o



How much does it cost?
Less than USD$100 APU with motherboard from Amazon.
If a fresh built you also need to purchase a case, ram, dvd drive and a PSU.  

Found videos might be useful if you like to built one. Warning video play very fast :p



I found the best review for AMD Athlon 5350 APU and AM1 Platform
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_athlon_5350_apu_and_am1_platform_review,1.html

Picture source: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_athlon_5350_apu_and_am1_platform_review,6.html

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