Thread: AMD Based Computers

There are plenty of options - it just seems to me that the MP3 store has decided that (as of now) the Intel products are a better match for this application. I agree. I do not see the need for more than an Atom for what most folks are using their PC's to do. You will not find (in a prefab board/proc mini itx) a better solution that draws less power. The Fusion looks to have promise (from the reviews I have read on Anand and other sites) but is not a mature solution. For me, I want stable drivers and a proven board/processor combo with just enough oomph to display what I need. If that means a slightly older product that has a proven track record that is what I will use as long as it gives the performance needed. I feel you, however, as I am not an Apple fanboy... and will use other products when I can. I do have 2 ipod's... as they do perform that function better than what else is available... despite my not liking Apple.

Fusion has promise... I grant you that. I still believe a dual core Atom is a better solution... for now. Can you really get a Fusion solution for le$$? I haven't seen anything... yet...

I know Newegg.com has a very large variety of mini-itx motherboards using the that operate on both, the Atom and the Fusion. And if you look at their prices and specs, they have some pretty comparable prices. For example tak a look at these two board from ASUS. AMD Intel

Over all, these two board are pretty similar. There are some distinguishable differences though. First off, they are both fairly high end for being mini-itx boards so their going to be a bit pricy anyways. the biggest difference in these boards is that ones obviously AMD while the other is obviously Intel. They are both dual core but the intel is clocked a little bit faster at 1.8GHz while the AMD is 1.6GHz. But that may not always be a deal breaker. The AMD board also has 2 more USB 2.0 ports on the back, built in blue tooth, and built in wifi (which can be removed and replaced with a different expansion card because it is running on a Mini-PCIe slot but theres not much of an option for it) which the atom board does not have. You can also see that the Intel board has only a PCIe x4 slot while the AMD board has a physical PCIe x16 though it is latched at x4. Bothe boards will still fit a x16 expansion card. Another large difference is that the AMD board can support up to 8Gb of memory while the Intel board supports only 4Gb of memory.

Now you can see that the Intel board may perform a little bit better than the AMD in this case, but the AMD board comes with many more features than the Intel board and it is still $5 cheaper. If I had to choose between the two boards here, I would choose the AMD