Does Intel's Dual-Core Atom Improve Efficiency?

Power Supply, CPU Comparison Table

A Suitable Power Supply is the Key to Efficiency

Once again, we used our compact, low-power 220 W Fortron FSP220 power supply. It is very important to match the power supply output to the loads you are expecting. Most power supplies are only efficient at common load states such as the ones defined by 80plus: depending on the efficiency you get at 20%, 50% and 100% load, you get a standard, bronze, silver or gold certificate. However, the testing doesn’t take into account very low loads, such as occur in the case of the test systems in this review. Consider that 30 to 60 W is 3-6% load in the case of a 1,000 W PSU, and efficiency is typically horrible in such a scenario, to say the least. However, a 30-60 W load is in the area of 13% to 27% of a 220 W supply, which takes us back into more efficient operating modes.

Keep in mind that the correct power supply is most important for low power or for high efficiency systems. If you don’t pay attention to this, it doesn’t even make sense to worry about the other system components.

CPU Comparison Table