The Brazos Update: AMD's E-450
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 1, 2011 4:57 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
- CPUs
- AMD
- Brazos
- Computex 2011
- E-450
At Computex there are a few systems floating around with an updated version of AMD's Brazos platform. The E-350 we reviewed not too long ago featured two Bobcat cores running at 1.6GHz alongside an 80 SP GPU running at 400MHz. Later this year AMD will refresh the platform with an E-450. You'll still get the same 2/80 core configuration, but clock speeds and memory support will be slightly different.
The E-450 runs at 1.65GHz, a mild increase over the E-350. Remember that AMD used a very GPU-like approach to the design of Bobcat. The chip was very easy to lay out and manufacture, but it doesn't have the frequency headroom of a traditional AMD CPU. Instead AMD will have to rely on process shrinks to really bring about larger increases in clock speed.
AMD will also add DDR3-1600 support with the E-450, a mild spec bump over the 1333MHz support we get today.
While the GPU doesn't get any more execution power it will both operate at a higher base frequency and apparently support some form of graphics turbo. Manufacturers at the show tell us that the CPU side won't be able to turbo up.
The E-450 is still a few months away from release, we'll see AMD's Llano followed by Bulldozer before Brazos gets this mid-cycle update.
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Zap - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - link
Actually, a Core i3 2100T would be a lot closer, and that's without even fiddling with manual undervolting. I don't think you can come that close to Brazos in power draw with any desktop Athlon II, undervolted or not. Besides, Brazos includes the graphics in the 18W. However much you undervolt an Athlon II, the chipset's integrated graphics will still draw power.Regarding the prices, Brazos seems to me a better value than Intel Atom for price/performance. The lowest priced dual core Atom with ION (closest to Brazos in performance) is $150 at Newegg. The lowest priced Brazos is $100.
chamucost20 - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - link
Yes, but even then... these boards are OVERPRICED. And you can achieve pretty much the same results with an undervolted Athlon II X2. Brazos is neat, there's not denying that, but prices need to come down, a lot.Zap - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - link
You can NOT achieve "pretty much the same results" in power draw for the platform (CPU+mobo) no matter how much you underclock/undervolt a desktop Athlon II.Also, you can get Brazos for $100. Not too common to be able to score an AMD Athlon II with motherboard for less than that, let alone a board that will let you undervolt since those are usually overclockable motherboards and not the cheap ones.
StormyParis - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - link
it really depends what you're looking for. I just replaced my X2+4850 with an E-350. What I gained:- silence, the thing is fully passive
- room, clutter and looks, a mini-itx tucked behind a screen is much more discreet than a Silverstone micro-atx rig
- simplicity. I went for the Asus board that has everything (wifi, bluetooth)
- money. the board was 150 euros. a mini-itx board (with IGP) + low-power CPU is about 130+80 = 210 euros (Intel)
What I lost:
- recent games
- room for expansion/upgrades
What stayed the same:
- dual screen with full screen SD video on one side, office/net on the other
- apart in games, I see no performance difference. I don't tax my system much, though.
I may yet change my mind about needing a vidcard, in which case I'll go the mini-itx in a silverstone case route, but for now I do not miss recent games.
zodiacfml - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - link
Exactly. Lower prices won't hurt though.mino - Thursday, June 2, 2011 - link
There is currently a HUGE shortage of Brazos parts ... that alone would suggest they are anything but overpriced. Quite the opposite.My 3 cents.
burntham77 - Friday, June 3, 2011 - link
It comes down to power draw. I am considering replacing my 45 watt Athlon X2 with Brazos.asmoma - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - link
E-350 does not support 133 MHz ram. Only one channel 1066 MHz. Other sites claims 1333 MHz support for E-450.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_Fusion_mi...
Goty - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - link
It may not "support" it, but it works just fine.rwpritchett - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 - link
^My E-350 runs just fine with 1333MHz sticks running at 1333MHz speed.