System Level Power Consumption
We compared the power consumption of our review sample with current AMD and Intel platforms. Our Intel system uses Gigabyte’s G33-based GA-G33-DS3R, while the AMD platform is built around the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H using the AMD 780G chipset.
Since both platform systems we used for comparison support dual-channel memory configurations, we used two identical A-Data Vitesta RAM modules. The Intel D210GLY2 board we used only comes with one DIMM slot, so we chose a 2 GB DDR2-800 module made by TakeMS, carrying the designation TMS2GB264D082-805AP instead.
The remaining components are identical across all platforms.
| Processor | Platform |
| Athlon Sempron | AMD 780G Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H |
| Pentium Dual-Core | Intel G33 Gigabyte GA-G33-DS3R |
| Celeron | SIS 662 Intel D201GLY2 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital 3200AAJS 320 GB, 7,200 RPM, SATA-300 |
As we can see in the chart, we shouldn’t expect huge power savings from Intel’s D201GLY2 mini-ITX board. When idle, it only consumes about 13 watts less than the G33-solution using the smallest Pentium dual core E2140 CPU. When compared to the AMD platform, the difference is even less pronounced. Paired up to the Sempron LE-1100, AMD’s processor/motherboard combo draws 1 watt less. Also, don’t forget that these systems also pack quite a bit more performance punch than the mini-ITX board.
Under load, the differences are much more pronounced. Equipped with a Pentium dual core E2140 (M0 stepping), the Intel G33-based system consumes 69.5 watts, while the Celeron 220 board gets by with only 55.4 watts. Meanwhile, the AMD System draws 70 watts under load even when only equipped with the Sempron LE-1100.
