14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that the AMD Brazos platform is appealing enough that even those companies not normally known for their motherboards are eagerly promoting HTPC platforms, as proven by Sapphire.
What happened was that Sapphire Technology created a mini-ITX motherboard, much like how two of its competitors did not long ago.
What this means is that Micro-Star International and Gigabyte have already unleashed their respective Fusion-ready small for factor motherboards.
The product that Sapphire came up with is dubbed Pure Fusion Mini E350, uses the Hudson-M1 chipset and, as its name suggests, and just like its aforementioned competitors, boasts the E-350 APU.
The AMD E-350 accelerated processing unit is a dual-core processor with a clock speed of 1.6 GHz and a graphics core with DirectX 11 capabilities (Radeon HD 6310).
Said chip can be backed up by one or two memory modules, as the motherboard boasts two DDT3-1066 SO-DIMM slots.
There is also a PCI Express x16 slot, for better graphics, should the aforementioned, built-in accelerator not be sufficient.
Furthermore, five SATA 6.0 Gbps connectors ensure a large storage capacity and also a very high data transfer speed.
Other specifications include Gigabit Ethernet, a debut LED, Bluetooth 2.1, 7.1 channel audio, eSATA connectivity (one port), two USB 3.0 ports and three display connectors.
To be more specific, there is a D-Sub port, a DVI output and an HDMI connector, all for connecting to the obligatory display, or displays, should there be more than one.
“Despite the huge feature set, the SAPPHIRE Pure White Fusion E350M1W features very low power consumption,” states the press release.
“Its very compact mini-ITX (170 x 170mm) format is ideal for integration into small format or embedded systems.”
Unfortunately, Sapphire did not provide any pricing or availability details. Still, with CES almost upon us, it is only a matter of time until these final details become known.