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Power Consumption
Motherboard power consumption varies even between models using the same chipset
due to differences in power regulation, quality of components, and extra hardware
like third party controllers. As sucht, we measure power draw from both the
wall and from the AUX12V connector with the help of a pair of digital multimeters
and an in-line 0.1 ohm shunt resistor. The latter measures how much energy is
being drawn on the +12V line by the processor including inefficiencies lost
to the VRMs. This can help us narrow down the causes of power consumption differences
between two similar boards.
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DC Power Consumption: Idle/Load
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Test State
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Asus P7H55D-M EVO
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Intel DH55TC
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System
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CPU + VRM
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Diff.
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System
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CPU + VRM
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Diff.
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Idle
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31W
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9.9W
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21.1W
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18W
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5.3W
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12.7W
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CPU Load
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73W
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47.2W
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25.8W
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60W
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46.0W
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14.0W
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CPU + GPU
Load
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78W
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50.1W
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27.9W
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67W
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51.2W
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15.8W
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CPU Load (Turbo)
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76W
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49.0W
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27.0W
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63W
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48.0W
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15.0W
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CPU Load + GPU Load (Turbo)
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80W
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51.7W
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28.3W
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69W
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52.7W
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16.3W
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CPU + VRM power measured from the AUX12V connector
(combined DC draw of VRMs and CPU).
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When we initially reviewed the Clarkdale platform, we were blown away by the
low power consumption attained when pairing the Core i5-661 and Intel DH55TC.
The same processor on the P7H55D-M EVO is not nearly as efficient. Strangely,
the power measurements of the CPU and VRMs showed a 5W difference when idle
that evaporated when the system was placed on load. But whether idle or on load,
the system consistently used 11~13W more. This is a puzzling result that we
can't explain.
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DC Power Consumption: Video Playback
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Test State
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Asus P7H55D-M EVO
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Intel DH55TC
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Rush Hour
(H.264)
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37W
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31W
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Coral Reef
(WMV-HD)
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38W
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31W
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Disturbia
(Blu-ray H.264)
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51W
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43W
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Becoming Jane
(Blu-ray VC-1)
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46W
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39W
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Space
(x264/MKV)
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43W
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not tested
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TurboBoost disabled during video playback testing.
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The power discrepancy continued during video playback tests. As the exact same
hardware was used with both motherboards, it appears that something on the P7H55D-M
EVO is constantly using extra power regardless of what the system is doing.
As the graphics core is integrated on the processor itself and not the motherboard,
we omitted CPU usage figures as they were the same. Please refer to our Core
i5-661 review for more detailed test results regarding Intel's GMA HD
graphics.
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