About the AMD E-350 processor and the HP PAVILION dm1-3100er netbook based on it

AMD has entered the netbook market!

Whenever it comes to choosing a mobile computer, laptops and netbooks built on the Intel platform are first and foremost paid attention. This is natural. Most of these offers, they differ in considerable variety, and there are no special complaints regarding the combination of consumer qualities for Intel mobile platforms. Nevertheless, Intel’s position in the mobile solutions market may well be shaken. The threat comes from the processors that AMD is going to flood the market in the near future - Ontario, Zacate and Llano.



These are fundamentally new products belonging to the AMD Fusion family. Wanting to emphasize their originality, the company even came up with a special abbreviation for their designation - not the CPU, but APU (Accelerated Processing Unit). Novelty is not only in the name. The essence of APU is that in one processor semiconductor chip there are not only x86 processing cores, but also graphic cores. The idea is that part of the daily work can be performed not only with traditional x86 cores, but also with the help of a graphics accelerator, whose shader processors are perfectly adapted to stream computing.

In theory, the use of APUs in mobile computers seems like a very attractive prospect. AMD promises a good level of performance in combination with low power consumption, that is exactly what is required for good laptops and netbooks. But so far no signs of revolutionary changes in the market have been observed. The fact is that AMD has not yet supplied Llano processors in series, offering manufacturers only samples of these promising APUs. Therefore, the main events in the mobile market are expected in the second half of the year.

At the same time, Ontario and Zacate processors are already available. However, they are somewhat, hmm ..., peculiar. Some laptop manufacturers are trying to put these processors in their 15-inch models, however, frankly, this does not end with anything good. The resulting products when compared with ultra-mobile "classmates" clearly lose in performance. In other words, no matter how much AMD wants it, the full-size Ontario and Zacate laptops look alien.

At the same time, putting an end to Ontario and Zacate and completely surrendering to the expectation of Llano should not be done either. Such processors can be quite suitable not so much for full-fledged laptops as for netbooks. This is logical, based on their relatively low productivity combined with low power consumption.



That is, Ontario and Zacate processors are more an alternative to Intel Atom than a competitor for LV and ULV models of full-fledged mobile Intel processors. Fortunately, some manufacturers have an understanding of this fact. Therefore, it is not surprising that the stores already have netbooks built on the basis of Ontario and Zacate processors. There are not many such netbooks, but in order to talk in detail about the pros and cons of the new AMD platform, this is quite enough. This review was born just like that - the HP PAVILION dm1-3100er netbook (dm1z outside Russia), based on the AMD E-350 processor, which belongs to the Zacate family, came into my hands.



A netbook made on AMD components is an interesting thing, but the Zacate processor itself is no less curious. The fact is that it is built not on the familiar K10 microarchitecture, which is widely used in Phenom II and Athlon II processors, but on a special new Bobcat microarchitecture. Like Intel, AMD realized that for the rapidly gaining popularity of compact devices, you need to make a special processor, which will focus on power consumption and heat dissipation. True, Intel's Atom processors have been around for three years, and AMD has come up with something similar just now. But AMD got the opportunity to look at Atom from the side and analyze its pros and cons.

Therefore, Bobcat microarchitecture is not an analog of Atom. Unlike its competitor, AMD engineers made an economical x86 core with a change in the sequence of executable commands. Atom does not know how to reorder instructions for more efficient loading of executive devices. Therefore, in the general case, processors with the Bobcat microarchitecture are faster than Atom by about 15-20% (when operating at the same clock frequency). On the other hand, the Bobcat microarchitecture is completely different from the K10. It contains both optimizations aimed specifically at saving energy, and significant simplifications. Therefore, Bobcat looks more like the ever-memorable K6-2 than some of AMD's modern products.



The Zacate and Ontario processors contain not only one or two Bobcat x86 cores. Since they belong to the Fusion family, they also have built-in graphics. Moreover, it’s not anyhow, like in Atom, but rather productive and compatible with DirectX 11, comparable in power to Radeon HD 5450 level graphics cards. The result is something comparable to the ION platform: an economical atom-like processor and good graphics. But in a single semiconductor crystal, faster and newer.



So in theory, the AMD platform for compact mobile systems looks quite “up to standard”. However, the stores do not sell processors, but finished products, so the success of AMD initiatives should be evaluated on specific netbooks. HP PAVILION dm1-3100er is a typical representative of a new generation - based on the AMD E-350 processor, a stylish netbook with an 11.6-inch screen and a weight of about 1.6 kg.

Hardware stuffing

Let's go briefly through the main hardware components of the netbook. The AMD E-350 processor, belonging to the Zacate family, is the fastest dual-core carrier of the Bobcat microarchitecture, operating at a frequency of 1.6 GHz. In terms of speed, it is slightly better than the oldest Atom for computers of this class, Atom D525.



The graphics core built into the AMD E-350 has 80 shader processors and is called the Radeon HD 6310. Its performance is slightly higher than the latest second-generation ION platform, which can be found, for example, in the ASUS Eee PC 1215N.



As I said above, the strength of the Fusion platform is the ability to use the graphics core's processing power for everyday tasks. This is not an empty phrase - the technology really works, however, only in specially optimized applications. Today there are not so many, but among them are quite common and important. Internet Explorer 9, for example, can draw on the power of the Radeon HD 6310 to render pages. Applications from Microsoft Office 2010 can use the graphics accelerator to speed up the playback of effects. A number of utilities for video transcoding can shift part of the work to stream processors of the graphic core. And of course, the graphics core speeds up HD video playback. And not only that which is played through regular player programs, but also that

This, perhaps, is worth emphasizing especially - any HD video on the HP dm1-3100er netbook can play without problems, despite the rather weak processor. Video playback is accelerated by the hardware of the AMD E-350 GPU. Moreover, it does not matter that the 11.6-inch screen has only 720p resolution. The netbook has an HDMI output (version 1.3b) and you can connect an external TV or monitor with a resolution of 1080p to it.

As standard, the HP dm1-3100er comes with 3 GB single-channel DDR3-1067 and a 320-gigabyte hard drive with a 7200 RPM spindle speed. That is, for a netbook, the configuration is quite solid. And the fact that the manufacturer puts on its creation a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium is not surprising.



The whole thing is powered by a 55 W ∙ h battery. According to optimistic forecasts of the manufacturer, it may be enough for nine and a half hours of work, which does not seem fantastic. The consumption of the AMD E-350 processor, which contains the graphics core, is limited to 18 W, which is lower than, for example, the total processor and graphics consumption in the second-generation ION platform built on Atom.

Exterior

Netbook HP dm1-3100er can not boast of too spectacular appearance. Having chosen a new hardware platform for HP for their product, apparently they decided that there was no need for additional design refinements. Therefore, the dm1-3100er looks quite casual, stingy rigor is violated only by the geometric pattern applied to the upper surface of the case. The coating of the body material is not glossy (in the traditional sense of the word), but there are still greasy spots on its surface.



However, the material chosen for the case deserves praise. Although this is plastic, but it is thick and tough, due to which nothing in the netbook is loose, does not creak and does not bend under physical influences. Moreover, it is not easy to scratch him. Therefore, the HP dm1-3100er will not be scared to wear even in a backpack.

The side faces, just like the inside surfaces of the netbook, are painted in a non-marking metallic color.



On the right side of the case are two USB ports, an SD / MMC card reader, a connector for connecting to a wired network, an analog monitor D-Sub output and a headphone output.



On the left side there is another USB port, an HDMI output, an outlet for connecting a power cable and an exhaust for the cooling system.



On the front and back sides of the case there is absolutely nothing interesting. You can only pay attention to the grid on the front edge of the computer. Behind it are quite decent quality Altec Lancing speakers, and in addition, air intake is provided through it to cool the inside of the netbook.



The bottom surface of the netbook is unusual. It is pristine, it does not even have vents. Therefore, the netbook without any fear can be placed on soft surfaces, and even on bare ground. He will not be able to pump through the bottom of any dirt or to remain without cooling due to the blocked openings of the air intake.



The bottom cover, by the way, rests on simple latches - roughly like in most cell phones. It is removed quite easily and immediately exposes the entire hardware stuffing. These netbooks really liked. Upgrading the HP dm1-3100er will be very simple - memory slots, a hard drive, a Mini PCIe slot - everything is right at hand.



The keyboard also leaves a very favorable impression. Despite the 11.6-inch form factor, HP managed to cram into the dz1m keyboard with very large and convenient island buttons.


This is a photograph of a pre-sale sample, without Russian letters on the buttons. On serial laptops, the keyboard is bilingual.

Typing on this is a pleasure. True, there was a catch. Due to the fact that the buttons are large, their full set on the keyboard of the 11.6-inch netbook did not fit. Therefore, you will not find either PgUp / PgDn or Home / End on it. They must be emulated through combinations involving the Fn key. In addition, the up arrow and down arrow keys are made in one block, which requires some skill to use.



But the touchpad deserves praise without any reservations. It is large in size (85x50 mm), supports multi-touch, and in addition, it is divided into the area of ​​buttons and sensitive surface only conditionally. Keystrokes, as well as cursor movement and multi-touch commands, are detected over the entire surface, which further increases its usable area. Another plus is the ability to simply (double-click on a point in the upper left corner) disable and enable the touchpad, which is very useful for blocking spurious keystrokes during intensive work with the keyboard.

The 11.6-inch screen of the netbook has a standard resolution of 1366x768 for such computers and, unfortunately, a glossy finish. In this regard, HP's solution is no worse and no better than most of the same Eee PCs of the same class.



However, I want to note one detail. It immediately seemed to me that the frame at the screen is too wide, especially from below. A comparison of the sizes of doubts was confirmed: the HP dm1-3100er is even a little larger than the ASUS Eee PC 1215 series, which use a 12.1-inch screen. In other words, the matrix in the model under consideration could obviously be bigger, but, alas, instead we have a massive frame.

Work impressions

I have already said that the AMD E-350 based netbook is better than the Atom and ION based netbook. And I do not intend to refuse my words. In all tests, the HP dm1-3100er shows better results than the most popular second-generation ION-based netbook, the ASUS Eee PC 1215N. For example, Windows 7 gives it a rating of 3.8, while the Asus competitor receives only 3.3 points.



Moreover, superiority is observed on all fronts: the processor, memory, and the HP dm1-3100er graphics subsystem get higher scores.

Approximately the same picture is observed in other tests:

• PCMark05:
  
  • ASUS Eee PC 1215N - 2349
  • HP dm1-3100er - 3300
• PCMark Vantage:
  
  • ASUS Eee PC 1215N - 1921
  • HP dm1-3100er - 2556
• 3DMark06:
  
  • ASUS Eee PC 1215N - 2691
  • HP dm1-3100er - 2238
• 3DMark Vantage:
  
  • ASUS Eee PC 1215N - 3490
  • HP dm1-3100er - 3536

By the way, AMD's platform is better than the second-generation ION in terms of its technological simplicity. NVIDIA graphics netbooks use cumbersome Optimus technology for energy efficiency, realizing interactive switching between the Atom processor’s simple graphics core and a powerful external graphics card. Some users are unsatisfied with this approach, as it does not always work properly. Particularly affected by Linux adherents. At AMD, the graphic core is one, it always works and is equipped with drivers for all common operating systems.

As for the sensations from working with the HP PAVILION dm1-3100er, he received such high (for a netbook) marks in tests not in vain. Surfing, Internet applications, watching HD video, office applications - work without any hesitation. Photoshop, of course, slows down a bit, but also within the acceptable range - you can work.

The situation is more complicated with games. The graphic part of the AMD E-350 has ample power to draw 1366x768 resolution at “low” settings even in the most modern games. But the x86-core, sometimes, "choke". Therefore, about comfortable performance in most modern shooters like Mass Effect 2, Battlefield 2: Bad Company, Crysis 2, Far Cry 2 and so on. have to forget. At the same time, casual games, and many online RPGs and strategies like World of Warcraft, Civilization V, or StarCraft 2, work on the HP dm1-3100er.

In the process of testing the netbook, it was curious to follow how the graphics core is used for everyday activity in applications that do not use 3D graphics. AMD offers a special utility for this purpose, showing the loading of x86 and the graphics core.

It turns out that the graphics core of the AMD E-350 processor is very actively involved in practice. For example, in the screenshot below, you can see what part of the work lies on the graph when surfing in Internet Explorer 9.



Well, HD video playback, in general, is assigned to the graphics integrated into the processor by more than half.



It turns out that the HP dm1-3100er is a smart netbook. AMD’s new platform and AMD E-350 processor make it guaranteed to be faster than any Atom-based solutions. But for netbooks, not only performance is important, but autonomy is also important.

Fortunately, the HP dm1-3100er does not fail here either. It works on a regular battery for a long time. To get the nine and a half hours declared by the manufacturer, apparently, you need to set the not very comfortable minimum brightness of the display. But even with an acceptable average brightness and with the WiFi module turned on, the netbook “holds” on the battery for a little longer than eight hours (with the display turned on, but without any work). With Internet surfing, battery life is reduced to seven hours. And when watching 720p-video in H.264 format, the netbook can not be connected to the power supply for more than four and a half hours, which is clearly enough for more than one movie.

Based on the Atom + ION bundle, the ASUS Eee PC 1215N netbook, judging by the reviews, runs on battery somewhere around 30% less, although there is a similar 6-cell battery there. Only those netbooks that are based on Atom N-series processors and use the integrated Intel GMA3150 graphics can boast a long battery life. However, such solutions have much lower performance, and they can not even play HD-quality video.

Everything speaks of the decent economy of the AMD E-350 and a mobile platform based on it. It looks like this processor heats up in practice even less than the hard disk installed in the HP dm1-3100er. At least the netbook case warms up more precisely in the place where the hard drive is located. However, "warms up" - it is said loudly. In fact, during operation, it becomes only a little warm, which is not able to cause at least some discomfort.

However, unfortunately, the price for this is the noise of the cooling system, which is equipped with a small and mournful impeller. This impeller begins to significantly make noise with any somehow significant load, including when playing a video. But there is salvation. Among the programs that HP ships with its netbook is the CoolSense utility, which allows you to adjust the behavior of this fan. And if you are ready to put up with heating the netbook, the noise from the cooling system can be minimized.

Formal specifications

conclusions

HP PAVILION dm1-3100er is a very worthy newcomer to the netbook market. Of course, it should be praised not so much HP as AMD. She was able to create a competitor to the Atom processor, which turned out to be much better. First of all, with a good graphics core, but at the same time, x86 kernels did not disappoint. As a result, the AMD E-350 turned out to be faster than Atom in terms of computational and graphic performance, which allowed us to significantly expand the range of tasks that modern netbooks can handle. For example, AMD E-350 can display HD-video, Atom - can not. E-350's performance is enough in many games, for Atom the way to entry-level gaming systems is ordered. Etc.

As you know, the ION platform can partially compensate for Atom’s main drawbacks, adding NVIDIA graphics to netbooks with Intel hardware. But the AMD E-350 overtakes, although not so significantly, even the combination of Atom and ION2. In addition, he can contrast his substantially better energy efficiency against this bundle. One AMD E-350 chip with an integrated graphics core is more economical than two chips - Atom + ION. As a result, the E-350 based netbook lasts significantly longer on battery power.

The price factor is also important. Based on the latest generation ION, the ASUS Eee PC 1215N costs about 18,500 rubles. Not inferior in capabilities to the HP PAVILION dm1-3100er with AMD filling, you can buy a little cheaper - the average price on the Yandex market is 15500 rubles.

It appears that AMD has released a very good performance platform for netbooks. While the use of the AMD E-350 in full-size laptops is a controversial option, netbooks based on this processor replay in all respects any similar systems with Intel and NVIDIA hardware. Therefore, if you are looking for a fast and functional netbook, you should definitely look towards the new systems on the AMD E-350.

For example, you can pay attention to the considered HP PAVILION dm1-3100er. This is a good example of a netbook on the AMD platform, which has its pros and cons.

Pros:

• High performance for its class.
• Good graphics core for viewing HD video
• HDMI output
• RAM capacity - 3 GB as standard
• Long battery life
• Netbook body almost does not get warm during operation
• Quality built-in speakers
• Rugged case
• Convenient keyboard with large buttons
• Comfortable touchpad with large surface area
• Easy access to hardware
• Acceptable price

Minuses:

• Glossy display
• High noise from the cooling system
• Lack of USB 3.0 ports
• The screen could be bigger