Efficiency: Core 2 Nukes Atom On The Desktop

By Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos
published

Test Setup and Benchmarks

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CPU IIntel Atom 230 (45 nm, 1.6 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache)
CPU IIIntel Core 2 Duo E7200 (45 nm, 2.533 GHz, 3 MB L2 Cache)
Intel Atom Chipset : 945GECS 945GCT-D, Rev. 1.0
Row 3 - Cell 0 Intel 945G Chipset, BIOS : 080013
Intel Core 2 Chipset : G31Foxconn G31MG-S, Rev. 1.0
Row 5 - Cell 0 Intel G31 Chipset, BIOS : April 29, 2008
RAM1x 2 GB DDR2-1066 Crucial CT25664AA1067 operated at DDR2-800 (Core 2) and DDR2-533 (Atom)
HDDSeagate Barracuda 7200.11, 500 GB
Row 8 - Cell 0 7,200 RPM, SATA/300, 32 MB cache
Blu-Ray DriveLG GGW-H20L
Graphicsintegrated 945G and G31 graphics
Power SuppliesFortron FSP220-60LE, 220 W
Row 12 - Cell 0 Etasis EFN-300, 300 W
Row 13 - Cell 0 Coolermaster, ATX 2.3, 850 W
Row 14 - Cell 0 OCZ Elite Xstream 1000, 1000 W

Please note that we only used a single DDR2 DIMM that ran at DDR2-533 speed with the Atom system and at DDR2-800 for the G31 motherboard. This was the only measure we took to bring the Core 2 Duo’s power consumption from 31 W to only 29 W, which was hence closer to the Atom system’s 28 W. This step makes little sense if you take a performance approach, as the memory bandwidth decreases. But it makes sense considering that many desktop Atom systems don’t even have a second DIMM socket to install more than one memory module.

Further power requirement reductions for our Core 2 Duo E7200 and G31 combo can probably be achieved by optimizing CPU voltage, which would involve “under-voltaging” the processor on suitable motherboards.

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Operating System Microsoft Windows XP SP2
DirectX 9 Version : April 2007
Intel Chipset INF : 9.0.0.1008
Java Java Runtime Environment 6.0 Update 1

Benchmarks and Settings

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BenchmarkDetails
iTunesVersion : 7.7.0.43 Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 min Default format AAC
Lame MP3Version 3.98 Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min wave to mp3 160 Kbps
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BenchmarkDetails
Winrar 3.80Version 3.70 BETA 8 WinZIP Commandline Version 2.3 Compression = Best Dictionary = 4096 KB Benchmark : THG-Workload
Winzip 11Version 11.2 Compression = Best Benchmark : THG-Workload
Maxon Cinema 4D Release 10Version : 10.008 Rendering from a scene (Water drop at a Rose) Resolution : 1280 x 1024 - 8Bit (50 frames)
Sysmark 2004 SEVersion 1.04 Office Productivity
Row 4 - Cell 0 Synthetic Benchmarks and SettingsRow 4 - Cell 2
BenchmarkDetails
PCMark05Version : 1.20 PCMark Benchmark Memories Benchmark CPU Benchmark Graphics Benchmark Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3646
Patrick Schmid and Achim Roos