Kabini 5350 a good option for basic usage?

[skipsneeky2]

My wife is wanting me to build her a tower that does Facebook/Netflix and Youtube.She does play Wizard 101 and that should certainly be fine for the 8400.

I found these parts...

AMD Athlon 5350

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113364&cm_re=5350-_-19-113-364-_-Product

Gigabyte GA-AM1M-S2H

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128696&cm_re=am1-_-13-128-696-_-Product


Budget does include a psu and these parts are in my price range.I will toss in one of my 4gb 1333 sticks momentarily till i can afford to get a 4gb 1600 stick later in the future.I have a extra hard drive as well she can use.

I got this older case that is like new,it only has a intake 80mm so i figured a quiet 25w 5350 build would be perfect assuming its up to the tasks at hand.

So anyone with experience with this know if this build seems good for her usage?Only other options in my price range appear to be older C2D towers.....

 

[AtenRa]

I dont know about netfix but for the rest its more than enough.

Just disable all the power saving features in the BIOS so that the CPU is always at 2GHz+. The difference is power consumption is only a few Watts but the user experience is greatly improved.

 

[frozentundra123456]

If you passively/aggressively hate your wife, go for it.

P.S. Have you been hanging out too much with Virtual Larry??

 

[AtenRa]

If you passively/aggressively hate your wife, go for it.

P.S. Have you been hanging out too much with Virtual Larry??

Out of curiosity, have you ever used an Athlon 5350 for browsing, Video playback and light office work ???

Because i have used both the Athlon 5150/5350 and Ivy/Haswell Celeron and in some cases (application that use the iGPU) the Athlon was way better. Specifically in Google Earth the IvyBridge Celeron user experience was awful. Haswell Celeron was much better but the Athlon 5150 had better performance at way lower power consumption and at lower cost.

As i have said above, if you disable the power saving features in BIOS and let the CPU work at its maximum CPU speed continuously, the user experience with a Quad Core Kabini at 1.6GHz or 2GHz is way better than people believe it is. It is way better than cheap 15W Intel SB/IV and Haswell dual cores Celerons/Pentiums found on the majority of cheap laptops.

 

[skipsneeky2]

As i have said above, if you disable the power saving features in BIOS and let the CPU work at its maximum CPU speed continuously, the user experience with a Quad Core Kabini at 1.6GHz or 2GHz is way better than people believe it is. It is way better than cheap 15W Intel SB/IV and Haswell dual cores Celerons/Pentiums found on the majority of cheap laptops.

My wife had a lap top till recently where it essentially fried itself.Was a 2000 series i5 or really a lowly clocked desktop i3.Major issues with throttling had it hitting close to 1.2ghz.Notebook model i found out had a tendency to overheat.She was pretty happy with it till it went out.

I figured the 5350 certainly would stick to 2ghz,have a better IGP then the HD3000 and it wouldn't be throttling.She is usually content with her cheap Tablet but a 8'' screen you know lol.

 

[AtenRa]

My wife had a lap top till recently where it essentially fried itself.Was a 2000 series i5 or really a lowly clocked desktop i3.Major issues with throttling had it hitting close to 1.2ghz.Notebook model i found out had a tendency to overheat.She was pretty happy with it till it went out.

I figured the 5350 certainly would stick to 2ghz,have a better IGP then the HD3000 and it wouldn't be throttling.She is usually content with her cheap Tablet but a 8'' screen you know lol.

Yea at 2GHz the Athlon 5350 is very nice for every day use like browsing, video/youtube playback (up to 1080p) and light office.
Install an SSD and this baby can fly. But even with an HDD its more than fine.

Price/performance for those tasks is very nice and the APU works quietly almost like it is fan-less

 

[Sweepr]

I figured the 5350 certainly would stick to 2ghz,have a better IGP then the HD3000 and it wouldn't be throttling.She is usually content with her cheap Tablet but a 8'' screen you know lol.

Haswell Celeron is a better option. Check this thread.
Superior single-thread CPU performance, which does matter for web browsing, and similar/better iGPU performance.

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157483
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116974&cm_re=celeron_1150-_-19-116-974-_-Product

LGA1150 also let's you upgrade to a better chip if you ever need to.

 

[crashtech]

Celeron G1840 is the same price, with much better performance. especially in single thread. Decent LGA 1150 motherboards are about $15 more, but the platform has far, far more potential than FM1 and will retain more usefulness going forward, since it can be retrofitted with very high performing quad cores.

 

[monstercameron]

atenra, netflix plays fine on this platform.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I would never, ever, consider atom, kabini, or dual core APU for a desktop. Yes, they might marginally do simple tasks, but why limit yourself when there are so much better choices for a very minimal cost. I know it is impossible to "future proof" a system, but a big core cpu like a haswell or newer pentium or above or quad core Kaveri like the A8-7600 offer a *lot* of extra headroom for the future in case your needs change or the games/software become more demanding.

Edit: This thread seems to have devolved from "is it a good choice" to "will it barely do the job". I just looked up the passmark cpu score for the 5350. The single thread performance is almost identical to my relatively low end (2.2ghz) E4500 Core 2 duo from 2008. Granted, because it is a quad core, the multithreaded is better for the 5350. But if you want single thread performance equivalent to low end 2008 big core cpu and no upgrade path, well, knock yourself out. Personally, I think it is a terrible choice for a desktop.

 

[monstercameron]

I would never, ever, consider atom, kabini, or dual core APU for a desktop. Yes, they might marginally do simple tasks, but why limit yourself when there are so much better choices for a very minimal cost. I know it is impossible to "future proof" a system, but a big core cpu like at haswell or newer pentium or above or quad core Kaveri like the A8-7600 offer a *lot* of extra headroom for the future in case your needs change or the games/software become more demanding.

Unless I'm missing something, he seems very budget constrained.

 

[MiddleOfTheRoad]

I would never, ever, consider atom, kabini, or dual core APU for a desktop. Yes, they might marginally do simple tasks, but why limit yourself when there are so much better choices for a very minimal cost. I know it is impossible to "future proof" a system, but a big core cpu like at haswell or newer pentium or above or quad core Kaveri like the A8-7600 offer a *lot* of extra headroom for the future in case your needs change or the games/software become more demanding.

Let's face it -- almost every platform is a dead end for future proof except for AM4, Skylake and 2001-v3. If future proofing is part of the equation, even Haswell probably not even a smart purchase. I wouldn't buy an FM2+ either.... Since its unlikely any new chips will be released for it.

 

[iSkylaker]

Athlon 5150 user here. It can do anything as far as basic tasks is concerned, (I'm also an user of the i7-6700K) and no complain about this APU from me. I remember watching 720p/1080p @ 60fps videos on the integrated GPU a while back and it played them with no issues, with 8GB of RAM I have had more than 12 chrome tabs opened and still running smooth.

For Neflix, I think I remember a friend telling me that some Neflix movies on HD used to have some noticeable lag when running on the integrated GPU, but I can't confirm that since I have a GTX 750Ti on it and it plays Netflix on HD just fine.

The only complain about it, which I'm not sure if it has to be with AMD itself or the mobo manufacturer (ASUS), is the quality of the VGA output that is horrible, it looks so washed out, for reference my old Atom based netbook looked as sharp as the DVI/HDMI output. Might not be relevant for you but just thought on pointing that out.

 

[AtenRa]

People in forums like AT will never understand there are users out there that dont upgrade, that dont have or doesnt want to spend more for something they can do with less.

Yes there are faster CPUs than Athlon 5350 but for the price of the platform you can do all the stuff the OP wants for less.
People are fine with slower Quad Core ARM CPUs in tablets when they do exactly the tasks the OP wants. The Athlon 5350 at 2GHz is more than fine for the tasks the OP wants and at a nice low price for the entire platform.

You want to spend a little more ?? pair the Athlon 5350 with an SSD and it will be way better than a Dual core Intel Haswell with HDD.

 

[dark zero]

Celeron G1840 is the same price, with much better performance. especially in single thread. Decent LGA 1150 motherboards are about $15 more, but the platform has far, far more potential than FM1 and will retain more usefulness going forward, since it can be retrofitted with very high performing quad cores.

Errr... the power comsumption is 50% at least.

I would say Cherry Trail, but their mediocre CPU performance is hated.

People in forums like AT will never understand there are users out there that dont upgrade, that dont have or doesnt want to spend more for something they can do with less.

Yes there are faster CPUs than Athlon 5350 but for the price of the platform you can do all the stuff the OP wants for less.
People are fine with slower Quad Core ARM CPUs in tablets when they do exactly the tasks the OP wants. The Athlon 5350 at 2GHz is more than fine for the tasks the OP wants and at a nice low price for the entire platform.

You want to spend a little more ?? pair the Athlon 5350 with an SSD and it will be way better than a Dual core Intel Haswell with HDD.

I heard that has Windows XP support, but seems that is really hard top find that.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Out of curiosity, have you ever used an Athlon 5350 for browsing, Video playback and light office work ???

Because i have used both the Athlon 5150/5350 and Ivy/Haswell Celeron and in some cases (application that use the iGPU) the Athlon was way better. Specifically in Google Earth the IvyBridge Celeron user experience was awful. Haswell Celeron was much better but the Athlon 5150 had better performance at way lower power consumption and at lower cost.

As i have said above, if you disable the power saving features in BIOS and let the CPU work at its maximum CPU speed continuously, the user experience with a Quad Core Kabini at 1.6GHz or 2GHz is way better than people believe it is. It is way better than cheap 15W Intel SB/IV and Haswell dual cores Celerons/Pentiums found on the majority of cheap laptops.

Nice way to do your usual goalpost shifting. What does that have to do with a desktop build? The essential point is that for a desktop where one is not space or TDP constrained, there are much better choices than a glorified tablet processor. And if you think this is some bias against AMD, I will certainly agree that desktop atom is even worse.

 

[AtenRa]

Nice way to do your usual goalpost shifting. What does that have to do with a desktop build? The essential point is that for a desktop where one is not space or TDP constrained, there are much better choices than a glorified tablet processor. And if you think this is some bias against AMD, I will certainly agree that desktop atom is even worse.

Yes at a low budget the better choice is to go with the Athlon 5350 and an SSD than simple buy a more expensive platform + faster CPU for simple tasks like browsing and Video playback.

The combination of the Athlon with an SSD is way better than any dual core Intel Celeron with mechanical HDD. But i havent seen anyone suggesting that, i wonder why

edit: It has to do with the fact that the vast majority of people buy low budget entry level 15W Dual Core Laptops that perform way worst than the Athlon 5350. And yet they can do all the tasks the OP wants.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Spend 15$ more and get a Core based Celeron. Kabini and Baytrail belongs nowhere on the desktop.

 

[Sweepr]

Spend 15$ more and get a Core based Celeron. Kabini and Baytrail belongs nowhere on the desktop.

Actually even less, a mere $6 difference compared to the Kabini option from the OP. Really a no brainer.

 

[TheELF]

Errr... the power comsumption is 50% at least.

No it's not! intel states thermals at ~50W for every CPU up to even the high end i3's.

Power consumption at full load is about 10w lower for the 5350 (cpu load graph in the link) but then again it will take longer to complete tasks so it will draw less power but for a longer period of time.
Notice that even the g1820 is faster at everything except for 7zip which has been last updated in 2013 for it's core algorithm.

http://www.techspot.com/review/806-amd-kabini-vs-intel-bay-trail-d/page8.html
And don't get fooled by the cpu+gpu graph either, apus heavily throttle their components if both cpu and gpu run at full load.
That's why atten said to disable power savings.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Yes at a low budget the better choice is to go with the Athlon 5350 and an SSD than simple buy a more expensive platform + faster CPU for simple tasks like browsing and Video playback.

The combination of the Athlon with an SSD is way better than any dual core Intel Celeron with mechanical HDD. But i havent seen anyone suggesting that, i wonder why

edit: It has to do with the fact that the vast majority of people buy low budget entry level 15W Dual Core Laptops that perform way worst than the Athlon 5350. And yet they can do all the tasks the OP wants.

Nice non-sequitor to compare one system with SSD to another without. In any case your math must be the "new math". Using NewEgg prices, the 5350 is 47.00, and the Pentium (not celeron) G3220 is 55.00. Would you care to link me an SSD that you can buy for 8.00, or even a decent capacity one that is only 8.00 more than a HDD?

In any case, you have to really stretch credulity to argue that someone is so budget constrained that they cannot spend 10 or 20 dollars more for a faster processor.

Edit: after looking at that price for the 5350, I am even more adamantly convinced that it is a terrible choice for a desktop.

 

[Magic Carpet]

So anyone with experience with this know if this build seems good for her usage?Only other options in my price range appear to be older C2D towers.....

I am using the mobile SKU, A4-5000, essentially the same thing only 500 Mhz clocked lower. What can I say? It's perfect for video consumption and small office server duties. Web browsing ranges from a bit laggy to noticeably laggy (compared with my 4770K), depending on site, but it's usable. Using it occasionally is kind of fun to me. Oh yeah, power consumption is great ~20w tops. Perfect for 24/7 operation. And yes, you want 8 gigs of ram w/ it. SSD or not (Windows 8.1/10 is recommended due to better iGPU drivers). Chrome/Firefox is fine. With a bit work, you can even do a FreeNAS out of it.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Unless I'm missing something, he seems very budget constrained.

Yup,this is about it.

The G1820 i could afford with a cheap Asrock mobo,but for light gaming would i even be better off with the 5350 and its IGP or the G1820?

I did mention in the Op my wife does play some Wizard 101,i haven't had much luck finding quality benchmarking of the IGP.Seems the market focuses on the higher end chips these days.

If the IGP in the G1820 is as fast as the 5350 i would pretty much disregard the 5350.I was under the impression that with lower end chips for gaming that the APU was the way to go.

 

[Sweepr]

If the IGP in the G1820 is as fast as the 5350 i would pretty much disregard the 5350.I was under the impression that with lower end chips for gaming that the APU was the way to go.

It is.

http://www.techspot.com/articles-info/806/bench/Gaming_04.png
http://www.techspot.com/articles-info/806/bench/Gaming_03.png

 

[monstercameron]

Yup,this is about it.

The G1820 i could afford with a cheap Asrock mobo,but for light gaming would i even be better off with the 5350 and its IGP or the G1820?

I did mention in the Op my wife does play some Wizard 101,i haven't had much luck finding quality benchmarking of the IGP.Seems the market focuses on the higher end chips these days.

If the IGP in the G1820 is as fast as the 5350 i would pretty much disregard the 5350.I was under the impression that with lower end chips for gaming that the APU was the way to go.

i am biased so take this with a grain of salt, but the 5350 is pretty good or even the intel counter part but try to get an ssd, that is where the speed and responsiveness comes into play for day to day tasks.