Test Hardware And Software Configurations
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Socketed CPU | Intel Core i7-4770K (Haswell): 3.5 to 3.9 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, LGA 1150 |
| Embedded CPU | Intel Core i7-4770R (Haswell): 3.25 to 3.9 GHz, 6 MB Shared L3 Cache, BGA 1364 |
| Socketed CPU Cooler | Thermalright MUX-120 w/Zalman ZM-STG1 Paste |
| Embedded CPU Cooler | Gigabyte Brix proprietary |
| Socketed Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 4600: 1250 MHz GPU |
| Embedded Graphics | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200: 1300 MHz GPU |
| Socketed Motherboard | ASRock Z87-M8, LGA 1150, BIOS P1.20 (08/22/2013) |
| Embedded Motherboard | Gigabyte M4HM87P-IA, BIOS F1 (10/25/2013) |
| Hard Drive | Samsung 840 Pro MZ-7PD256, 256 GB SSD |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Software | |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 Professional RTM x64 |
| Graphics | Intel Graphics Driver 15.31.17.64.3257 |
| Chipset | Intel INF 9.4.0.1017 |
Curious to find out how much power benefit we’d extract from low-voltage SO-DIMMs, we needed a test platform that supported both 1.35 V and 1.50 V standards. That meant deviating away from a mobile or embedded Haswell-based CPU, since those only support 1.35 V modules. A member of its M8 barebones PC kit, ASRock’s Z87-M8 motherboard supports both voltage levels on two SO-DIMM slots by using a socketed processor.
We’ve heard that SO-DIMMs aren't very overclockable, but G.Skill is confident that its modules have headroom to spare when they're paired with an LGA 1150-based platform. While we weren’t able to follow through with a stable 2133 MT/s data rate, we were at least able to use the higher 1.50 volts to push CAS 9 timings.
Everything I’ve read so far lead me to believe that lower thermal and power limitations would slow the embedded version of Intel’s Core i7-4770 by up to 5%. Conversely, I’ve also been expecting that the company's Iris Pro graphics 5200 would deliver about 20% additional performance. The only problem is that CPU model doesn't let us compare different memory voltage levels. Moreover, I didn't have one at my disposal.
That is, until something "fell out of Gigabyte’s trunk" following BlizzCon. This thing packs the wallop of a huge copper sink to prevent thermal throttling, along with support for both 2.5” and mSATA SSDs. Those two advancements roughly doubled the thickness and weight of this enthusiast-oriented Brix compared to familiar models.
| Benchmark Settings | |
|---|---|
| Games | |
| Battlefield 3 | Campaign Mode, "Going Hunting" 90-Second Fraps Test Settings: Medium Quality Defaults (No AA, 4x AF) |
| F1 2012 | Steam Version, In-Game Test Test Settings: High Quality Preset, No AA |
| Far Cry 3 | V. 1.04, DirectX 11, 50-Second Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Settings: Medium Quality, No AA, Standard ATC., SSAO |
| Metro: Last Light | Steam Version, Built-in Benchmarking Tool DX11, Low Quality, 4x AF, Low Blur, No SSAO/Tesslation/PhysX |
| Adobe Creative Suite | |
| Adobe After Effects CS6 | Version 11.0.0.378 x64: Create Video which includes 3 Streams, 210 Frames, Render Multiple Frames Simultaneosly |
| Adobe Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Adobe Premeire Pro CS6 | Version 6.0.0.0, 6.61 GB MXF Project to H.264 to H.264 Blu-ray, Output 1920x1080, Maximum Quality |
| Adobe Acrobat 11 | Version 11.0.0.379: Print PDF from 115 Page PowerPoint, 128-bit RC4 Encryption |
| File Compression | |
| WinZip | Version 17.0 Pro: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to ZIP, command line switches "-a -ez -p -r" |
| WinRAR | Version 4.2: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to RAR, command line switches "winrar a -r -m3" |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.28: THG-Workload (1.3 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark Professional Edition | Version: 1.1, Benchmark Only, Ice Storm, Cloud Gate tests |
| 3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.1.0, Benchmark Only |
| PCMark 8 | Version: 1.0.0 x64, Full Test |
| SiSoftware Sandra | Version 2013.10.19.50, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / Cryptography, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |