E-350 APU vs. Athlon II X2 w/ 880G

[bucpound]

ASRock E350M1/USB3 AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, Dual-Core) AMD A50M Hudson M1 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157247
$115

ASRock 880GM-LE AM3 AMD 880G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157199
$55
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103903
$60
-------
$115


I am not set on getting ASRock, but they made for a good comparison even though I know I am losing HDMI, USB3.0, and SATA III with the 880GM-LE

The E-350 APU has a Radeon HD 6310 and the 880G motherboard has an integrated Radeon HD4250, but the Athlon II is a more powerful CPU.

I really want to get a bunch of opinions/experiences on which of these I should build around. I think watching streaming HD will be the most demanding activity that I perform, other than that I basically just a machine to use for surfing and HW.

 

[popatim]

The E350 can't play 1080p60 H.264 video.

 

[bucpound]

But the 4250 can?

 

[megamanx00]

^ the E350 depends on software that makes proper use of hardware acceleration to play back HD content, in which case it works fine.

Anyway, read some reviews on the E350 to see if it's right for you. I think for your needs it will be just fine.

 

[megamanx00]

Take a look at this link to compare the CPU utlization of H.264 decoding with an E350 and an Athlon II 240e with the 4250 IGP

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/asrock-e350m1-amd-brazos-zacate-apu,2840-3.html

If you want 3-D blu ray though, or just think it would be nice to have, I think you are best off getting the Athlon II 250 and spending a little more for a dedicated video card like a 5570.

 

[bucpound]

Best answer selected by BucPound.