AMD’s Brazos platform, driven by the Zacate APU, offers a lot of performance per watt. It comes up short on features, though. Eight manufacturers try to change that perception by adding slots, controllers, and even overclocking in a couple of cases.
Buying a low-cost, high-efficiency platform is kind of like choosing a cable package. For a few dollars more you can always get a killer feature that you really want. But then it seems like the features that are still missing really aren’t that much more expensive. It's a clever scheme to keep you constantly thinking about the next-best thing just a few dollars up the ladder.
You might face the same sticky decision when it comes time to shop for that inexpensive PC: go for the budget gold, or spend a few extra dollars on a faster processor (and then a few more dollars on a better graphics card, and a bit more on more memory, and...it really never ends). But AMD is hoping that its Brazos platform gives you enough compute horsepower, enough graphics performance, and enough value to squelch that never-ending desire to push just a little bit further. If you want a solid idea of what the platform includes, check out ASRock's E350M1: AMD's Brazos Platform Hits The Desktop First.
Today we have eight different Brazos-based platforms, priced from $115 to $175. If you're dead set on saving money, one of these setups should be able to satisfy you. Now it's time to figure out which tier in this little sub-market serves up the best value.

| E350 Fusion Motherboard Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASRock E350M1/USB3 | Asus E35M1-I Deluxe | ECS HDC-I | Foxconn AHD1S-K | |
| PCB Revision | 1.00 | 1.01 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| CPU | AMD E-350 APU | AMD E-350 APU | AMD E-350 APU | AMD E-350 APU |
| Chipset | AMD A50M FCH | AMD A50 FCH | AMD A50M FCH | AMD Hudson D1 |
| BIOS | P1.20 (02/24/2011) | 0902 (04/15/2011) | 4.6.4 (03/24/2011) | A931022 (04/19/2011) |
| 100.0 MHz Clock | 101.3 (+1.30%) | 100.0 (+0.0%) | 101.9 (+1.9%) | 100.0 (+0.0%) |
| Internal Interfaces | ||||
| PCIe x16 | 1 (x4-mode) | 1 (x4-mode) | 1 (x4-mode) | 1 (x4-mode) |
| PCIe x1/x4 | None | 1x mini PCIe (Filled) | 1x mini PCIe (Filled) | None |
| Legacy PCI | None | None | None | None |
| USB 2.0 | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) |
| USB 3.0 | None | 1 (2-ports) | None | None |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None | None |
| Serial Port | 1 | None | None | 1 |
| Parallel Port | None | None | None | None |
| Floppy | None | None | None | None |
| Ultra-ATA 133 | None | None | None | None |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| SATA 3.0 Gb/s | None | None | None | None |
| 4-Pin Fan | 1 | None | 1 | 2 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 1 | 2 | 1 | None |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| CD-Audio | None | None | None | None |
| S/PDIF I/O | None | Output Only | Output Only | Output Only |
| I/O Panel Connectors | ||||
| P/S 2 | 1 | 1 | None | 1 |
| USB 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| USB 3.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | None |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None | None |
| Network | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| eSATA | 1 | 1 | 1 | None |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical Only | Optical Only | Optical Only | None |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Video Out | DVI-D, VGA, HDMI | DVI-I, HDMI | DVI-D, VGA, HDMI | DVI-D, VGA, HDMI |
| Other Devices | None | Bluetooth Transceiver 802.11n Antennas | Bluetooth Transceiver | None |
| Mass Storage Controllers | ||||
| Chipset SATA | 4x SATA 6Gb/s 1x eSATA 6Gb/s | 4x SATA 6Gb/s 1x eSATA 6Gb/s | 4x SATA 6Gb/s 1x eSATA 6Gb/s | 2x SATA 3Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | None | None | None | None |
| Add-In SATA | None | None | None | None |
| USB 3.0 | EJ168A PCIe | 2x D720200F1 PCIe | ASM1042 PCIe | None |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None | None |
| Networking | ||||
| Gigabit LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe | AR8151 PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe |
| Wireless LAN | None | AR9285 PCIe | RTL8188CE PCIe | None |
| Wireless PAN | None | AR3011 USB 2.0 | AR3011 USB 2.0 | None |
| Audio | ||||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC892 | ALC892 | VT1708B | ALC662 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | Unspecified | Unspecified | DTS Connect | Unspecified |

| E350 Fusion Motherboard Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gigabyte E350N-USB3 | Jetway NC85-E350-LF | Sapphire Pure Fusion Mini E350 | Zotac FUSION350-A-E | |
| PCB Revision | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | Unspecified |
| CPU | AMD E-350 APU | AMD E-350 APU | AMD E-350 APU | AMD E-350 APU |
| Chipset | AMD A50M FCH | AMD Hudson-D1 FCH | AMD A50M FCH | AMD A50M FCH |
| BIOS | F2c (03/15/2011) | A02 (04/14/2011) | 0.31 (05/13/2011) | 1.01 (04/18/2011) |
| 100.0 MHz Clock | 100.0 (+0.0%) | 101.4(+1.4%) | 101.4(+1.4%) | 101.4(+1.4%) |
| Internal Interfaces | ||||
| PCIe x16 | 1 (x4-mode) | None | 1 (x4-mode) | 1 (x4-mode) |
| PCIe x1/x4 | None | 1x mini PCIe (Empty) | 1x mini PCIe (Empty) | 1x mini PCIe (Filled) 1x x4 (Open for x16) |
| Legacy PCI | None | 1 | None | None |
| USB 2.0 | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 2 (4-ports) | 1 (2-ports) |
| USB 3.0 | None | None | None | 1 (2-ports) |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None | None |
| Serial Port | None | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Parallel Port | None | None | None | None |
| Floppy | None | None | None | None |
| Ultra-ATA 133 | None | None | None | None |
| SATA 6.0 Gb/s | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| SATA 3.0 Gb/s | None | None | None | None |
| 4-Pin Fan | None | 1 | None | 2 |
| 3-Pin Fan | 2 | 2 | 1 | None |
| FP-Audio | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| CD-Audio | None | None | None | None |
| S/PDIF I/O | Output Only | None | Both | Output Only |
| I/O Panel Connectors | ||||
| P/S 2 | 1 | 1 | None | 1 |
| USB 2.0 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| USB 3.0 | 2 | None | 2 | 2 |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None | None |
| Network | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| eSATA | None | None | 1 | 1 |
| Digital Audio Out | Optical Only | None | Optical Only | Optical Only |
| Digital Audio In | None | None | None | None |
| Analog Audio | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Video Out | DVI-D, VGA, HDMI | DVI-D, VGA, HDMI | DVI-D, VGA, HDMI | DVI-I, HDMI DisplayPort |
| Other Devices | None | None | Bluetooth Transceiver | 802.11n Antennas |
| Mass Storage Controllers | ||||
| Chipset SATA | 4x SATA 6Gb/s 1x eSATA 6Gb/s | 4x SATA 3Gb/s | 5x SATA 6Gb/s 1x eSATA 3Gb/s | 4x SATA 6Gb/s 1x eSATA 6Gb/s |
| Chipset RAID Modes | None | None | None | None |
| Add-In SATA | None | None | None | None |
| USB 3.0 | D720200F1 PCIe | None | D720200F1 PCIe | VL800-08 PCIe |
| IEEE-1394 | None | None | None | None |
| Networking | ||||
| Gigabit LAN | RTL8111E PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe | 88E8057 PCIe | RTL8111E PCIe |
| Wireless LAN | None | None | None | AR9285 PCIe |
| Wireless PAN | None | None | AR3011 USB 2.0 | None |
| Audio | ||||
| HD Audio Codec | ALC892 | VT1705 PCIe | ALC892 | ALC892 |
| DDL/DTS Connect | Unspecified | Unspecified | Unspecified | Unspecified |
- Rounding Up Brazos-Based Boards
- ASRock E350M1/USB3
- Asus E35M1-I Deluxe
- ECS HDC-I
- Foxconn AHD1S-K
- Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3
- Jetway ND85-E350-LF
- Sapphire Pure Fusion Mini E350
- Zotac FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results: Aliens Vs. Predator
- Benchmark Results: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- Benchmark Results: Crysis
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: Photos And File Compression
- Power, Heat, And Noise
- Overclocking
- Overall Performance And Efficiency
- Value Conclusion
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500068
Only problem is that it is $160 instead of $130
Otherwise very nice roundup. I've been thinking of using one of these for a server/NAS.
Not good for much save storage, but that wasn't tested. Would have much rather see an A8 board roundup since they are on newegg now. Picked up one myself for my htpc/storage setup.
Uh no, Brazos is bast on the Bobcat core which is a low power version of Bulldozer. These are meant for ultra portables and netbooks, nettops, ultrathin notebooks and the likes.
Llano is the entry level desktop APU until they switch from Stars cores on those to the newer bulldozer cores.
And yet this roundup is .... desktop boards.
And brazos has nothing in common with bulldozer.
Net TOP. Meaning a low power ITX board. Brazos is merely a stopgap till AMD has the tooling to kick out tons of BD cores. Though I will agree this roundup is a bit late it is at least thorough.
Good call--that board only recently became available, after this story was scheduled to be published. We've since updated the conclusion and price chart to reflect the market as of July 4th, 2011.
Cheers,
Chris
Brazos is NOT a stopgap, it is meant for very low power applications. It's basically AMD's take on Atom style devices. Bulldozer is not meant to scale to this low power envelope. That's why there are already plans for Brazos successors. Ontario/Zacate will be replaced by Khrishna/Wichita. Llano will be succeeded by Trinity, which is Bulldozer based. Zambezi is supposed to be succeeded by something called Komodo, which I haven't read much about.
Llano for laptops is out-freaking-standing, Llano for desktops is amazing for cheap OEM-built desktops and small form-factor HTPCs. TBH, it shouldn't excite much of anyone else, nor was it intended to replace Phenom II + dGPU for enthusiasts.
Does anyone else feel the performance graphs would be more meaningful with a typical Atom and a cheap Athlon X2 as points of reference?
All of these setups are about twice as expensive as they should be. By the time you add all the trimmings to build up a complete system, you're spending nearly what you would for an economy desktop where a $100 WD TV or $200 pre-built Atom machine would be a much better investment. Wrapping a $10 chip in a $165 board just makes zero sense. In fact, I'd be very interested in seeing a detailed cost-breakdown on one of the more expensive boards - I just can't understand how they could possibly be valued so highly.
Perhaps a future article.
I really would love to use the AMD APUs for a lower power server application.
Only problem is that the boards are all 4x PCIE and single nic. Come on! Let see something with dual nics and 8x PCIE.
Yea yea yea Llano here now, but hell I've love to have an E-350 with a board like this. Its all about the power consumption baby!
The name "enhanced" Bulldozer had me guessing. I wasn't sure if the cores would actually be different in Trinity, or if it was the same BD cores "enhanced" with graphics. Did you read anything more detailed on it?
Well I always appreciate more data, so yes.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njk3NDJ8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1
VERY nice find!