Test Settings
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| APU | AMD E-350 (Zacate): 1.60 GHz, 1 MB Cache, BGA FT1 |
| RAM | Kinston HyperX DDR3-1600 CAS 9 2 x 4 GB (8 GB) Dual Channel Kit, SPD DDR3-1333 CAS 9 |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon HD 6310 (Integrated): 500 MHz GPU, Shared memory |
| Hard Drive | Samsung 470 Series MZ5PA256HMDR, 256 GB SSD |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | Seasonic X760 SS-760KM, ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold |
| Software | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 |
| Graphics | AMD Catalyst 11.5 |
| Chipset | AMD Catalyst 11.5 |
Note that the chart above doesn’t list a model number, just a performance level. That’s because today’s motherboards were split between standard DIMM and SO-DIMM support.
To make this a fair comparison, Kingston added its KHX1600C9S3K2/8GX dual-channel notebook kit to the KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX desktop kit we already had. Note that the one letter that separates these model numbers refers to slot type: Both 8 GB dual-channel kits support DDR3-1600 CAS 9 by XMP and DDR3-1333 CAS 9 by SPD.
Samsung’s 470-series 256 GB SSD minimizes the impact of drive performance on today’s benchmarks.
And now for the shocker in today’s test configuration:
We understand that most power supplies have fairly low efficiency below 25% load, but what about 2.5% load? We connected our power supply directly to a portable mid-sized liquid cooling system built two years ago for graphics card testing, wiring a digital multimeter in series with its 12 V connection. The meter showed that the liquid cooler drew 1.6893 amps, or 20.22 watts. Meanwhile, a second meter at the wall showed that the power supply consumed 24 W, and simple division proves that this 760 W power supply is capable of 84% efficiency at 2.5% load. A long search of the 80 PLUS Web site did not reveal any alternative units with a significantly higher efficiency level at our 20 W target.
Even though we weren’t able to improve efficiency using a lower-capacity unit, builders who need a physically-smaller part will find several 150 to 200 W units with similar efficiency at 20 W by repeating our search of the 80 PLUS site.
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Aliens vs Predator | Alien vs Predator Benchmark Tool Test Set 1: Low Textures, No Shadows/SSAO/Tesselation/AA, 1x AF Test Set 2: Low Quality, No Shadows/SSAO/Tesselation, 4x AA, 1x AF |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 | Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 seconds FRAPS) Test Set 1: Lowest Quality/Details, No AA Test Set 2: Lowest Quality/Details, 4x AA |
| Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool Test Set 1: Low Overall Quality, High Shaders, DX 10, No AA Test Set 2: Low Overall Quality, High Shaders, DX 10, 4x AA |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| iTunes | Version 9.0.3.15 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
| Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| MediaEspresso 6.5 | Version 6.5.1210_33281: 1080i HDTV (449 MB) to iPad H.264, 1024x768 |
| MediaConverter 7 | Version7.1.0.68: 1080i HDTV (449 MB) to iPad, SmartFit profile |
| Productivity | |
| Adobe Photoshop CS5 | Version 12.0 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| WinZip | Version 14.0 Pro: THG-Workload (464 MB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| WinRAR | Version 4.0 Beta 4: THG-Workload (464 MB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.2: THG-Workload (464 MB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
| Power, Heat and Noise | |
| Prime95 v25.8 | 64-bit executable, Small FFT's, eight-threads |
| P3 Kill A Watt P4400 | Global Power Consumption at AC outlet |
| Acu-Rite thermal probe | Thermal probe on VRM chokes, touching MOSFET sink Ambient temperature at 6" from motherboard front edge |
| Galaxy Check Mate CM-140 | Measured at 1/4 meter, corrected to 1 m (-12 db) |
