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TEST RESULTS
Our test system is fairly basic, featuring an OEM 80Plus power supply, notebook
hard drive and Blu-ray drive. The CPU is a X2 4850e, a mid-level dual core 45W
processor. It is cooled by a stock AMD heatpipe cooler with PWM fan connected
to a variable DC fan controller (so the fan's power draw does not come into
play).
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Test Results: Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2
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Test State
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X2 4850e @ 2.5Ghz, C&Q
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X2 4850e @ 1.5Ghz/1.1V
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Mean CPU Use
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Peak CPU Use
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System Power
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Mean CPU Use
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Peak CPU Use
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System Power
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Off
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N/A
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2W
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N/A
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2W
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Sleep (S3)
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N/A
|
2W
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N/A
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2W
|
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Idle
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1%
|
2%
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31W
|
1%
|
2%
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33W
|
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Rush Hour
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42%
|
64%
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58W
|
62%
|
97%
|
46W
|
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Coral Reef
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37%
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46%
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58W
|
53%
|
63%
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46W
|
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Flight Sim.
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64%
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77%
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63W
|
86%
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96%
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50W
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Drag Race
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69%
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80%
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66W
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87%
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95%
|
51W
|
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CPUBurn
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100%
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92W
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100%
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56W
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CPUBurn + ATITool
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100%
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97W
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100%
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61W
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At stock CPU speed, the power consumption figures, especially at the low-end
were truly impressive. Idling at a 31W is a new record for a mATX board in our
lab. Video playback was good, though H.264 playback required more CPU support
than more modern GPUs due to the lack of ATI's UVD — typically it's the easiest
clip in our test suite.
With the CPU underclocked to 1.5Ghz, power consumption under load was much
better though both of our VC-1 test clips failed to play back properly — the
audio stream exhibited clipping when it was played. It seems that 1.5Ghz is
not quite enough to get through our test suite. Luckily the vast majority of
AMD's dual core processors are 2Ghz or faster.
Loading the GPU with ATITool while CPUBurn was running resulted in a 5W difference
at both CPU speeds we tested at.
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Test Results: 690G vs. 740G vs. 780G @ 2.5Ghz
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Test State
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Asus
M2A-VM HDMI
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Gigabyte
GA-MA74GM-S2
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Asus
M3A78 Pro
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Mean CPU Use
|
System Power
|
Mean CPU Use
|
System Power
|
Mean CPU Use
|
System Power
|
|
Off
|
N/A
|
2W
|
N/A
|
2W
|
N/A
|
2W
|
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Sleep (S3)
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N/A
|
3W
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N/A
|
2W
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N/A
|
3W
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Idle
|
1%
|
40W
|
1%
|
31W
|
1%
|
39W
|
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Rush Hour
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38%
|
70W
|
42%
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58W
|
6%
|
64W
|
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Coral Reef
|
33%
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68W
|
37%
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58W
|
42%
|
65W
|
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Flight Sim.
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58%
|
71W
|
64%
|
63W
|
71%
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69W
|
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Drag Race
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63%
|
72W
|
69%
|
66W
|
73%
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69W
|
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CPUBurn
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100%
|
89W
|
100%
|
92W
|
100%
|
82W
|
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CPUBurn + ATITool
|
100%
|
92W
|
100%
|
97W
|
100%
|
94W
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Compared to 690G and 780G boards from Asus, the MA74GM-S2's low-load power
efficiency is even more pronounced. When idle, it consumes a full 9W less than
the M2A-VM and 8W
less than the M3A78 Pro.
Power consumption during video playback was also noticeably lower. It is not
until the CPU is put at full load that the other two boards are able to claim
lower power draw.
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Test Results: 690G vs. 740G vs. 780G @ 1.5Ghz/1.1V
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|
Test State
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Asus
M2A-VM HDMI
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Gigabyte
GA-MA74GM-S2
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Asus
M3A78 Pro
|
|
|
Mean CPU Use
|
System Power
|
Mean CPU Use
|
System Power
|
Mean CPU Use
|
System Power
|
|
Off
|
N/A
|
2W
|
N/A
|
2W
|
N/A
|
2W
|
|
Sleep (S3)
|
N/A
|
3W
|
N/A
|
2W
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N/A
|
4W
|
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Idle
|
1%
|
43W
|
1%
|
33W
|
1%
|
34W
|
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Rush Hour
|
58%
|
52W
|
62%
|
46W
|
8%
|
40W
|
|
Coral Reef
|
48%
|
51W
|
53%
|
46W
|
52%
|
46W
|
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Flight Sim.
|
81%
|
53W
|
86%
|
50W
|
87%
|
50W
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Drag Race
|
87%
|
54W
|
87%
|
51W
|
87%
|
50W
|
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CPUBurn
|
100%
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59W
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100%
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56W
|
100%
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54W
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CPUBurn + ATITool
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100%
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62W
|
100%
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61W
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100%
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64W
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At 1.5Ghz, the MA74GM-S2 is more power efficient across the board than the
M2A-VM, albeit to a lesser degree than at stock settings. The 780G-equipped
board, with the UVD feature, had much lower CPU utilization and power consumption
during H.264 playback, but otherwise matched the MA74GM-S2 in every test state,
almost watt-for-watt. When the CPU clock and voltage are reduced, the playing
field is much more level.
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