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AMD's Fusion platform was released in January and a few weeks ago KitGuru spent some time with a ‘yet to be released' MSI Fusion System Prototype – we were actually the first in the world to review it.
For the last week we have been spending some time with the upcoming Sapphire Pure Fusion Mini 350 motherboard, and today we share our findings, having built a low cost system around it.
AMD Fusion is the marketing name for a series of Accelerated Processing Units that have been in development since 2006. This design combines general processor execution with 3D geometry processing and other functions of modern GPU's into a single chip.
The Sapphire board features the dual core AMD E350 CPU with AMD Radeon HD6310 graphics. It delivers HDMI, DVI and VGA output with BlueTooth, USB 3.0 and SATA 6Bb/s support.
Today we are building a system inside a low cost media chassis, kindly supplied by Thermaltake – the compact and rather attractive Element Q.
Very nice, I think these will work well in low powered laptops. whenever they make an entrance here in the UK
Well I would say this is a great board, but why on earth are they using SODIMMS? eh? say what?
Quality Sapphire product, but my big question is,. do these systems feel as sluggish as ATOM systems? people who use them will know what I mean. everything you do takes about 2 seconds for the system to take action, even when you are only answering an email.
Good reading, I too am wondering why sapphire opted for SODIMMS on this board. its a bizarre choice.
I think this is $110 bucks, for the board alone. I think it might end up nearer £100 when it hits the rip off UK shores. everything is going up in price with this fucking VAT garbage.
Why are none of the retailers stocking fusion boards in the UK yet? can anyone see them anywhere? OCUK dont even have a category for them at all. I thought the official release was january? anyone?
Ah the mysterious fusion, which is as yet, no where in the UK for sale. AMD really have tried hard to maximise their name and product range while intel was reeling with the sandybridge fiasco. yes, im being sarcastic.
The boards ARE TOO EXPENSIVE. AMD, get your finger out. no one will pay £90 for one of these. they need to drop to £60 inc vat! madness.
Thanks for the review, Zardon. I’m happy to see more Fusion reviews appearing.
@Brian Crucnsnans, huh? Why wouldn’t people pay £90 for a board that’s better specced than a higher cost Atom/Ion one? Not to mention that it’s a Sapphire product, so why are you pointing the finger at AMD? I’m sure someone will come out with a cheaper board without Bluetooth and other goodies, which might fit better into your price range.
I tend to agree with ET. The board is very well specified. USB 3, SATA 6Gbps, bluetooth, esata. You name it, the sapphire board has it. I am sure cheaper versions of these boards will be released with cut down specifications. Also very interesting to see the ram performance on this product isn’t any less than the higher rated MSI product.
Why wouldnt it be worth £90? seems a really good bit of kit with loads of connectivity. Im waiting on the new sony netbook to hit the UK.
Not sure about that case, but the board seems solid. I have a lot of DDR3 dimms here from older laptops. which would come in handy for a build like this.
One BIOS screen I’d love to see is the GFX configuration.
Stop complaining about cost. The ASRock is on sale on both sides of the Atlantic for $110 here and I’ve seen it for 95P/E here. If want a board that will be dirt cheap and still have HDMI, wait for the Jetway NC85. Still dual core, still HDMI 1.3 and everything else legacy ports, likely to be under $100US, and under 90E.