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Verdict
Mediocre CPU performance put the kybosh on our first review of the AMD E-350 fusion processor. Unfortunately, there's little the E-350-powered Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3 board can do to change that.
The performance of the 1.6GHz dual-core processor remains only slightly superior to Intel's equivalent Atom processor.
That's particularly disappointing given the E-350 out-of-order instruction execution. In theory, that should make AMD's new Fusion chip much faster than the Atom's simpler in-order architecture.
In practice, however, the GA-E350N-USB3 with AMD E-350 chip onboard still requires six and half minutes to labour through the CineBench R10 rendering test.
To put that into context, the fastest desktop processors are around 13 times quicker. For the record, overclocking isn't a realistic option, with 1.8GHz proving to be the highest stable CPU core frequency.
As for graphics performance, 80 DX11-class stream shaders give the E-350 very respectable raw 3D throughput. But as our benchmarks prove, the CPU simply can't keep up.
Even in a game as undemanding as Call of Duty 4, playable frame rates are out of reach.
That's a shame, because this board is otherwise very promising.
The PCIe x16 slot allows for gaming-class graphics to be added, for instance. And the pair of USB 3.0 ports ensure speed transfer of data to and from external peripherals. You also get a triple whammy of video ports, including VGA, DVI and HDMI, and 6.1 surround sound.
We liked
Gigabyte has given this AMD Zacate-based board some impressive desktop features including PEG16 graphics, USB 3.0 and a full-featured BIOS that even provides several overclocking options. Impressively, Gigabyte has crammed all that into a Mini-ITX form that suits the lower-power processor perfectly.
We disliked
There's only so much you can do with a weak-performing processor. The AMD E-350 fusion chip simply doesn't have the chops to deliver a satisfactory all round computing experience. In that context, high end features such as overclocking support and discrete graphics are effectively redundant.
Final verdict
With everything in mind, it's best not to think of the Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3 as a cut-price alternative to a proper desktop PC platform.
Instead, thanks to support for AMD's excellent UVD3 2D video feature set, it's an excellent basis for a compact, low-power home cinema system.
