• Home
• Content
  • All
  • Audio
  • Cases & Cooling
  • CPU & Mainboard
  • GPU & Displays
  • Input Devices
  • Memory
  • PSUs
  • Storage
  • Software
  • Systems
  • Misc.
• Downloads
• Tech Search
• OC3D.tv
• Community

Comment [18] Email to Friend Printable Version

Asus E35M1-M PRO Micro ATX

The APU - A Closer Look

Published: 3rd February 2011 | Source: Asus | Price: £119.99 | Author: Milind Chidrawar

AMD Fusion APU

So what's the deal with the Fusion APU? Well, in very few words this diagram explains it all.

As you would expect, the whole purpose of Fusion is about consolodating the number of separate system components into a single acceleration unit. It is pretty obvious that due to the overheads of each individual component, a module that amalgamates several aspects of functionality will be more efficient. But how exactly does it all come together?

Simply look above. A typical desktop computer will include a processor, graphics card and a defined core logic that could either be a single chip or fragmented into a Northbridge and Southbridge. In the case of the Fusion platform there are just two components; the AMD E350 APU and the Hudson M1 Southbridge.

Before I continue, I think it would be a good idea to tabulate some information about the AMD Fusion E350 and Intel Atom D510 platforms.

So to summarise, there are three entry level options on the market today; Atom, Atom with ION and AMD Fusion. The Atom D510 + NM10 platform is the least power hungry but truly lacks from a performance perspective, ION2 brings reasonable power to the table but at a power consumption penalty, while the E350 Fusion option looks to provide the best of both worlds.

Most Recent Comments

03-02-2011, 05:15:10

tinytomlogan

Today we test one of the first motherboards to sport the AMD Fusion APU

Continue Reading

03-02-2011, 06:05:58

Zeals

AMD Fusion seems like the perfect choice for a HTPC, a few questions, is this capable of 3D? Also does it upscale well?

03-02-2011, 07:10:40

Mul.

Hi Zeals,

As the new HD 6310 GPU supports UVD 3.0, this means that DivX decoding is now included (on top of the existing MPEG2/H.264) and also Blu-Ray 3D support. However neither Asus or AMD have clearly stated that the HD 6310 will decode 3D well. I suppose this will become more clear as time goes on however my initial impressions are that a HTPC for higher end functionality such as 3D support or anything else that may command some more CPU horse power is probably better off with a conventional CPU and dedicated GPU.

I hope that helps

03-02-2011, 07:37:40

Zeals

Thnx for the fast reply Mul, really appreciate it.

03-02-2011, 10:54:14

wotevajjjj

will my NHD14 fit ?

03-02-2011, 12:33:59

SadButTrue

Quote:

Originally Posted by wotevajjjj will my NHD14 fit ?

Go for it bro!

Pros: you'll have the coolest running 18W CPU on the block. WooHoo! Bragging rights.

Cons: You'll probably need to work on the mount - I don't see the usual AM3 hardware on that board. And do you figure £150 or more on a full-tower case to accommodate the Noctua is about right for a rig like this? An HAF-X or a Lanboy Air would be quite stylish.

03-02-2011, 13:39:46

oneseraph

So here is an interesting little tidbit. The mini ITX version is on it's way. You can check it out here.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=9BmKhMwWCwqyl1lz&templete=2

Looks like it includes WiFi plus blue-tooth 3.0. Anyway, just look at the specs on this little monster. The feature set is extremely impressive for a Mini ITX board. I think this would make a sweet little pc that you could mount to the back of a monitor for a clutter and noise free desk. Definitely good for email, web browsing, word, netflix and watching movies.

04-02-2011, 05:22:27

silenthill

I think I’ll pass and just buy a notebook with power consumption of 15W and that’s with the screen on

04-02-2011, 05:27:26

Zeals

Well an ideal HTPC board will be mITX and have enough power for 3D playback, and a decent amount of DVD upscaling.

So as Mul suggested probably wait for a more powerful AMD Fusion APU, and than bolt on a nice HTPC soundcard and PROFITS!

11-02-2011, 17:18:41

anikhtos

ANyone to comment that when you add the discrete card aand run the test to see how much it will bottleneck did you check the cpu score from 954 to 2020??

it doubled. so my question is using a discrete vga does indeed improves cpu perfomanse?? so a few more test with winzip and other cpu programs to see if with a discrete vga they will improve. if they improve then it will be interesting :-)

12-02-2011, 05:05:26

Zeals

Quote:

Originally Posted by anikhtos ANyone to comment that when you add the discrete card aand run the test to see how much it will bottleneck did you check the cpu score from 954 to 2020?? it doubled. so my question is using a discrete vga does indeed improves cpu perfomanse?? so a few more test with winzip and other cpu programs to see if with a discrete vga they will improve. if they improve then it will be interesting :-)

Well it's an APU, so the same chip is handling both graphics and cpu, so if you put a graphics card in the APU can just focus on the CPU stuff.

But for a normal CPU, unless you a running nVidia with Physx I doubt it.

14-02-2011, 05:25:23

Rastalovich

Looking at the fan on the cooler - can the ASUS logo part of the cooler come off ? Seems to me it deflects most of the fans work.

Loving these little options myself.

14-02-2011, 08:05:21

Zeals

I would prefer getting the MSI APU board. mITX perfect for smaller HTPC cases, and the fan doesn't look as out of place.

15-02-2011, 13:24:12

Mul.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anikhtos ANyone to comment that when you add the discrete card aand run the test to see how much it will bottleneck did you check the cpu score from 954 to 2020?? it doubled. so my question is using a discrete vga does indeed improves cpu perfomanse?? so a few more test with winzip and other cpu programs to see if with a discrete vga they will improve. if they improve then it will be interesting :-)

Hi Anikhtos,

There was an error with this graph; CPU score should read 1954, not 954. This has now been edited, apologies if this has caused any confusion.

12-04-2011, 07:04:59

plonk420

well, the MicroATX works best for me, tho i'd prefer the E35M1-M (non PRO) for price reasons. either way, i've ordered this so i can use my PCI (mid-range) audiophile sound card. also, backup slots in case the onboard NIC dies (which i've actually encountered).

12-04-2011, 07:15:56

plonk420

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeals AMD Fusion seems like the perfect choice for a HTPC, a few questions, is this capable of 3D? Also does it upscale well?

meh @ directx scaling (including Bicubic). i'll have to see if it'll do 720p -> 1080p Spline/Sinc scaling well in ffdshow, tho i'm not really expecting it :S

04-06-2011, 19:08:15

Jayzon

I am loving that the new technology for HTPC users like myself, as I am looking into this E35M1-M Pro board to build a low power HTPC. The only reason I would take this over the E35M1-M mini ATX board is that I need 2 PCIE slots for my Happauge Win Tv tuner cards, unless someone could tell me a great way of getting dual NTSC signals into one card ?

Another question would the new form factor have any complications in fitting into a standard ATX case?

Thanks

05-06-2011, 04:04:18

Grizzly

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayzon I am loving that the new technology for HTPC users like myself, as I am looking into this E35M1-M Pro board to build a low power HTPC. The only reason I would take this over the E35M1-M mini ATX board is that I need 2 PCIE slots for my Happauge Win Tv tuner cards, unless someone could tell me a great way of getting dual NTSC signals into one card ? Another question would the new form factor have any complications in fitting into a standard ATX case? Thanks

Most ATX cases will have the mounting holes for mATX as well, It'd be strange really if it didn't as they use some of the ATX mounting holes.

31-10-2011, 07:32:34

sigfreund

I built my HTPC around the E35M1-M Pro and have been very happy so far. I also have a HDHomerun for the tuner and it is awesome. Provides dual tuners to every computer on your network,It works great.

http://www.silicondust.com/products/hdhomerun/dvbt/

Related Content