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Advanced DDR3 Parameters Setup Page The screen shows setting as DDR3 2133 CL7 10-7-27 1T Voltage Page Milti-Steps Load-Line Disabled/Level 1~Level10 CPU Vcore 0.750~1.700V QPI/Vtt Voltage 0.860~1.530V Systrm Agent Voltage 0.715~1.495V Graphics Core 0.850~1.705V CPU PLL 1.195~2.435V DRAM Voltage 0.890~2.135V Sniper2 built in one HDMI output. User can use for Intel built-in GPU. It bundles with Lucid Virtu GPU Virtualization technology for user to switch high end 3D graphic card and Intel Quick Sync Video technology. PC Health Status UEFI is a very common word recently. It means 3TB support plus GUI. GIGABYTE all Z68 BIOS support EFI 3TB HDD. For GUI, they still need to catch up. This review I use Intel Core i7-2600K. As 2600K default performance, windwithme has test end of 2010. Recently, the other Z68 OC guide can be reference. If you want to refer to the 2600K default performance, you can search my previous article. The BIOS pics above are 2600K OC 5GHz setup. You may need to fine tune your system voltage and clock due to CPU and DDR3 quality. Windwithme reviews are taking long time to fine tune for stable OC. The OC ratio is passing stress burning which is my own requirement. Maybe it’s just an easy performance pic, it takes me several hours for fine tune the most suitable voltage and CPU clock for stable running. With DDR3 OC and fine tune parameters, finally, the CPU and DDR3 are all stable at highest performance. Then I start to lower voltage to find the lowest value. It takes few hours to days. I think the every MB best OC setup is worthy and really useful for users who are interested in OC. I also hope the OC will bring the budgeted hardware into highest performance. System Configuration CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K MB: GIGABYTE G1.Sniper2 DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT CMT4GX3M2B2133C9 VGA: msi N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II HD: Intel 510 Series 120GB POWER: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200W Cooler: CORSAIR Hydro Series H80 OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit Cooler is CORSAIR latest water cooling product. Hydro Series has 4 models, H50, H60, H80 and H100 from low to high. Below is H80 packing. It’s 5 years official warranty. The package is bigger than perviousH70. All 4 models support all CPU sockets include future LGA2011. Left hand is the all black radiator. The size is 120mm x 152mm x 27mm. The shell is also metal delicate which is better than H70. The both sides can install 12cm fans. The rotation rate can adjust by the button above cooler head. There are 1300, 2000 and 2500 RPM. The fan airflow is 46~92 CFM and acoustic is 22~39dBA. Hydro Series H80 advantage is can install in standard ATC chassis. This hydro cooling is very convenient for users. H80 new design improves the cooler head. The first one, the new mounting bracket is more stable and durable. The bottom still keeps the big dimension copper. Next is two 4-pin headers for 12cm fans. Near the cooler head, there are one small 4-pin and one big 4-pin headers. They are for MB or PSU to supply power to cooler motor. First of all, let’s test 2600K OC 4.5GHz performance. This setup is most ideal OC range for most suers. CPU 100.0 X 45 => 4501.5MHz 1.250V DDR3 1867.4 CL6 9-6-24 1T 1.610V Hyper PI 32M X8 => 13m 40.699s CPUMARK 99 => 693 Nuclearus Multi Core => 29030 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 35.31/16949

One of G1.Sniper2 key features is Killer E2100 LAN chip, called NPU. It bundles 1GB DDR2 for network traffic control. It can help to offload the network traffic from CPU. Another function is Game Networking DNA technology. It offloads gaming data directly to the NPU by bypassing the Windows Network Stack to save time. The other key feature is Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi audio processor, chipset code is 20K2. It built in 128MB Memory cache for 20K2. It’s only for high end Creative sound card. Nichicon MUSE ES(Green) and MW(Yellow) Japanese made audio caps with metal cover which is same as high end sound card design and components. Next is G1-Killer series special design heat-pipe. The design concept is shooting game, also called Locked and Loaded Heat-pipe. The part is a big heat sink. The center has 5 green LED which is on as booting up. The shape is same as magazine. The top is a copper bullet. The heat sink dimension and quality are impressive. VRM heat sink is similar to barrel. CPU is 8 phases Driver MOSFETs design for better power efficiency and temperature control. Booting Screen Main BIOS Tuning Menu, called M.I.T. It shows BIOS version, CPU/DRAM clock, DDR3 capacity, CPU temperature and CPU/DRAM voltage etc. You can adjust CPU ratio, clock and DDR3 multiplier. The screen is CPU 100.2Mhz/DDR3 2133 setup. CPU Detail Items 2600K default ratio is 38, 37, 36 and 35. Turbo Boost 2.0 technology has more critical CPU boost mode. Internal PLL Voltage Override items enhance CPU stability when OC to 5GHz. Z68 default is Enable. When OC CPU Clock Ratio to 50, I like to disable Intel Turbo Boost and C1E for better stability. Memory Setting Page Sandy Bridge multiplier has 800, 1066, 1333, 1600, 1866 and 2133.

GIGABYTE launched new series in early 2011 called G1-Killer with Intel chipset. First series use X58 chipset and there are 3 models, G1.Sniper, G1.Guerrilla and G1.Assassin. They are same as own high end model UD7, but have less power phases and PCI-E slots. G1 uses high end product components and focus on Gaming which enhance audio and network design. So far, Intel most popular product is Sandy Bridge. It’s been launching less than 1 year, however, there are Z68, P67, H67 and H61 chipset can supports SNB CPU. You can see Sandy Bridge can combine from entry to high end as users demand. From LGA 1155 CPU and chipset quantity, you can see the product life cycle should be longer than LGA 1156. This time, I got GIGABYTE 4th G1 product using Intel latest Z68 chipset with G1 series design concept. This model name is G1.Sniper2. You can see the color tone is black with green. It’s same as previous 3 G1 X58 series as focusing on war visual concept. Sniper2 is ATX and the size is 30.5 cm X 26.4 cm. It includes 5 Smart Fan controllable fan header which can adjust Z68 platform temperature more efficient. This time the magazine heat sink has no G1.Killer print. It’s just whole black design. Accessories Product manual, Software installation guide, Driver CD, IO panel, SATA cables and SLI bridge. Front Access Control Panel provides 2 USB 3.0 and 1 Power eSATA ports. Left side Quick Boost button can let user switch to OC mode to increase system performance easily. Bottom is G1-Killer poster and sticker. Lower-Left Corner 2 X PCI-E X16 supports AMD CrossFireX/nVIDIA SLI as X8 + X8. 2 X PCI-E X1 2 X PCI Very rare Bigfoot Killer E2100 LAN Chip. Built-in Creative CA20K2 audio chip supports Dolby Digital Live, DTS Connect, X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity and EAX Advanced HD 5.0 technology. It supports max 7.1 channels and High Definition Audio technology. Design in Taipei Lower-Right Corner 3 X Black SATA provided by Z68 supporting SATA2. 2 X White SATA provided by Z68 supporting SATA. You can build hybrid RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10. The max performance depends on SATA devices. 2 X Grey SATA provided by Marvell 9182 supporting SATA3, RAID 0 and RAID 1. 2 X 32 Mbit flash Dual BIOS for dual protection. Upper-Right Corner 4 X DIMM DDR3 support 800/1066/1333/1600/1866/2133 and DDR3 max capacity is 32GB. It supports Extreme Memory Profile. DDR3 uses 2 phases PWM and next is 24-PIN power connector. Upper-Left Corner LGA 1155 CPU Socket. The cover is plating process for better quality. G1.Sipner2 uses 8+2+2 phases PWM. DRAM and Chipset have individual 2 phases. Behind the upper heat sink is an 8PIN ATX 12V power connector. IO 1 X PS2 KB/MS 1 X HDMI 1 X O.C. Button 7 X USB 2.0(Red/Black) 2 X USB 3.0(Blue) 1 X eSATA/USB 2.0 Combo(Black) 1 X RJ-45 LAN 1 X S/PDIF optical fiber output

BIOSTAR TSERIES TA75A+ PROS 1. The package and material are both above par. The product falls in the mid-price range. 2. The internal display has three kinds of output interfaces, and the 3D performance of the A8-3850 internal display comes close to some basic VGAs. 3. It includes a Japanese solid capacitor, built-in POWER/RESET buttons and a simple debug LED. 4. Its BIOS has been upgraded to UEFI interface, with rich options, a large voltage range, as well as an excellent overclocking capacity. 5. It provides two PCI-E X1/PCIs and integrates the native SATA3 and USB 3.0 technology. CONS 1. BIOSTAR has no current distribution channel in Taiwan. 2. The DDR3 compatibility could need further enhancement. Performance ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Material ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Specification ratio ★★★★★★★★★☆ Appearance ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Performance vs. Price ratio ★★★★★★★★★☆ The BIOSTAR TA75A+ costs about US$99(NT$2875) in the U.S. Its BIOS has been upgraded to UEFI interface, with excellent overclocking capacity and debug LED design. It has also been integrated with the original new-era specification of the A75 chipset. It has high competitiveness among the A75 MBs of various brands. However, BIOSTAR still needs to exert effort in terms of increasing its market awareness. In addition, it should be noted that in CPU overclocking, as the A75 chipset increases the CPU 100MHz overclocking, the SATA frequency also increases accordingly. If the CPU overclocking is used for a long time, it is not certain whether it will affect the function of the HDD/SSD when operating with increased frequency. To safely increase the performance of the internal display, the DDR3 frequency should be increased first, and then adjusted to 1600/1866 to achieve stability according to the physical strength of the DDR3. The A75 MB with A8-3850/A6-3650 is an all-in-one platform for the mid-range market. It is highly attractive for users who require high specifications. The major difference with the A55 chipset is the absence of the USB 3.0 and SATA3. But the product is sold at a lower price and it is definitely a valuable option for entry-level computers. Specifically, an earlier model of the A6-3500 or a lower-level of the A4/E4 CPU sells for less the price. When the new-generation APU platform becomes popular in the future, it will be more affordable and valuable. This is good news to consumers who prefer to purchase low-configuration or entry-level computers. This article is also post in my own blog WIND3C Welcome your visit.

DDR3 1947 CL8 10-8-27 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 10971 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 18509 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 13163 MB/s Increasing the CPU frequency causes the new FM1 platform to increase the bandwidth for the DDR3 as well. However, the increased performance is only about 500 MB/s, which is exactly the required enhancement for AMD architecture. When the overclocking is close to DDR3 1947, it can offer nearly 11000 MB/s bandwidth, which is relatively good for the AMD platform. The overclocking range of the DDR3 is also increased in the FM1 platform which is normally between 1650-1800 on the AMD platform. Temperature performance (ambient temperature is about 32 Celsius. ) System standby - 13~16 CPU full speed - 55 Intel Burn Test v2.4，Stress Level Maximum Test with the AMD C&Q power-saving technology turned on. The CPU frequency is greatly reduced when the system is on stand-by therefore the temperature is much lower. When the CPU is at full speed while working with an advanced heat sink, the temperature is acceptable at around 55 Celsius . I hope that AMD can attain the 32nm process in its CPU series in the future, so as to help increase its competitiveness. Power consumption test System standby - 28W CPU and GPU at full speed - 178W Power Supply test in OCCT When the system is on stand-by, power consumption is quite satisfactory due to the power-saving feature. On the other hand, when at full speed, power consumption is still high. The 178W-power consumption at full speed is primarily caused by the CPU. This is not good since it adopts a 32nm process. Compare this with previous tests. The power consumption of Intel’s 32nm CPU at full speed is a dozen watts less than that of the A8-3850. Power consumption is another aspect that AMD needs to improve on in the future. It takes a long time to realize the 32nm process, and power consumption could not be reduced effectively. 3D test Internal display AMD Radeon HD6550D 3DMark Vantage => P5216 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1280 X 720 => 109.58 FPS Unigine Heaven Benchmark => 15.3 FPS In my previous article, I shared the test data of CPU/DDR3 with 100/1866 ratio, and the 3DMark Vantage was about P4500. This score has reached the same level as the nVIDIA GT430, and it is 10% better than the Radeon HD5570 under the same brand. In this test, it works with CPU overclocking, so as to increase overall 3D performance by 10~20%. According to the Llano APU data posted on the internet, the 3DMark Vantage can achieve nearly P7000 at most, which has an amazing 3D internal display performance. Video Playback Testing Start up it to play the original copy of a Blu-ray video on hand –named Inception. Below is the publishing corporation’s copyright ownership. PowerDVD 10 software Starting menu Until now, the CPU occupancy rate is as low as 1-6%. Playing process The CPU occupancy rate is 2-10%. The A8-3850 internal display is represented by the Radeon HD6550D, which is capable of playing 1080P videos. Generally, the new generation Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Llano APU have integrated the internal display function to usher in a new era of technology. Aside from multiplying 3D performance several times, the CPU occupancy rate is much lower than the old platform when playing high-definition videos. In the future, you need not worry about lagging problems when selecting the internal display platform for playing videos.

Performance test CPU 138.0 X 25 => 3450.3MHz DDR3 1840.2 CL8 10-8-27 1T Hyper PI 32M X 4 => 19m 30.146s CPUMARK 99 => 499 Nuclearus Multi Core => 14018 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 17.77/8530 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 199037 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 4.11 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.05 pts PCMark Vantage => 7420 Windows experiential index - CPU 7.4 Increasing frequency multiplication is a feature not available in the A8-3850. Also, the external frequency range is not very wide, so the AMD 32nm CPU overclocking limit has yet to be confirmed. When the black-box edition CPU is released, the overclocking limit of the CPU’s resultant frequency would have a better performance. According to the above test software, the CPU performance can be increased by 20% after the A8-3850 2.9GHz overclocks to 3.45GHz. DDR3 is part of the U.S. CORSAIR VENGEANCE series, with model number CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9R It is indicated on the package that the product supports Intel/AMD platforms, and the DDR3 capacity is 2 X 4GB The frequency is DDR3 1866, and the parameter is CL9 10-9-24 1.50V The AMD FM1’s preset DDR3 voltage is 1.50V. Given the preset settings, the DDR3 frequency can be increased to 1866. If you prefer to just rely on the high-frequency DDR3 and can do without debugging, the DDR3 1866 product is quite good and convenient. The appearance is also different from the earlier common Dominator design. VENGEANCE uses the new and large heat sink with elegant red color. DRAM bandwidth DDR3 1840.2 CL8 10-8-27 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 10555 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 17485 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 12701 MB/s DDR3 1866.8 CL8 10-8-27 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 9933 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 16127 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 10979 MB/s

The heat sink covers the AMD A75 chipset. Despite its small volume, the BIOSTAR heat sink appears to have better texture. The heat sink in the power supply uses eye-catching colors. The design makes heat dissipation conveniently larger. BIOS home screen O.N.E. debugging page The CPU Clock is one of the key points of overclocking. If the HDD/SSD on the SATA device is powerful enough, it could reach 140~155MHz. The IGD Clock Control adjusts GPU frequency, but increasing the frequency doesn’t help 3D performance. To start from the Core FID is recommended followed by a reduction of the CPU frequency multiplication and an increase in the external frequency of the CPU; these would result in a wide overclocking range. Voltage page APU-Core Over Voltage +0.050~1.450V APU-NB Over Voltage +0.050~0.200V DDR Memory Over Voltage -0.400~+0.450V(BIOS data 1.596V) APU DDR-PHY/PCI-E Over Voltage +0.010~0.450V FCH Over Voltage +0.010~0.450V DRAM parameter settings The most efficient way to improve the 3D performance of the Llano APU is to increase the frequency of the DDR3. To increase the external frequency of the CPU, it is recommended to first set the DDR3 at 1066/1333. More advanced DDR3 parameter options PC Health Status So far, the A75 overclocking has two internal display GPU methods. One is by taking the default CPU value and setting the DDR3 at 1600 or 1866 operation. The other is by reducing the CPU frequency multiplication and the DDR3 frequency, followed by increasing the CPU external frequency to achieve the main purpose. The former is a simple and stable overclocking method while the latter is for users who want to explore the CPU/DDR3/GPU performance limits. The BIOS setting mentioned above applies the latter’s overclocking method. It took me quite some time to achieve this setting. Test platform CPU: AMD A8-3850 MB: BIOSTAR TSERIES TA75A+ DRAM: CORSAIR CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9R VGA: AMD Radeon HD6550D HD: WD3200BPVT 320GB POWER: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 Cooler: Thermaltake BigTyp 14Pro OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit SP1

In early July, AMD released a new platform with FM1 pin grid array, which supports the CPU and adopts an updated APU technology. It has updated its own architecture and integrated a GPU with higher performance into the CPU. For users who support the reasonably-priced AMD, this is definitely another option with new specifications. In 2011, AMD plans to release a CPU with higher performance called the Bulldozer which is set to strengthen its medium and high-end product lines. The Llano APU platform has two kinds of chipsets, the A75 and A55. The newly released A55 has low configurations. In the past, the quad-core CPU only had two options, the A8-3850 and A6-3650. However, recently the tri-core A6-3500 was released to the market. When the A55 gains a foothold in the market in the future, it can combine with the A6-3500 to present a valuable, new generation high performance internal display platform. I (nickname: windwithme) have discussed the A75 performance of the Micro ATX in my last article, and now I will talk about the A75 MB of the ATX specification. The greatest feature of the A75 is its capability to provide native support of USB 3.0 and SATA3, as well as a wider range of specifications. Major MB brands have many A75 models available in the market and hopefully, there would be an A75 product with ITX specification released in the future. I patronize the BIOSTAR TA75A+. The BIOSTAR brand is affordable and has overclocking features; it represents a relatively good C/P value. The package adopts a simple design with red color and words/patterns that describe the supported functions and technologies. Attached accessories User’s manual, IO board, SATA wires and software driver disc BIOSTAR TA75A+ appearance The advantage of the ATX is its good scalability. Its large size makes the computer mainframe larger. Choosing the A75 of the Micro ATX or ATX specification depends on the different requirements of users. The PCB is black in color while the other extended slots are either red or white. I believe that replacing white with black would bring better texture. Currently, many advanced MB products generally use black and red colors. This is because black appeals to a lot of consumers. The lower left section of the motherboard 2 X PCI-E 2.0 X16 supports 2Way CrossFireX technology, and the bandwidth is X16+X4 2 X PCI-E X1 2 X PCI Realtek RTL8111E network chip Realtek ALC892 audio chip supports 8-channel HD Audio The lower right section of the motherboard 4 X red SATAII connectors are provided by the A75 chip; these are of SATA3 specification and support RAID 0, RAID 1, and RAID 10. Blue is the front extended USB 3.0 slot, Power, Reset buttons, and a simple built-in Debug LED The upper right section of the motherboard 4 X DIMM DDR3 slots support 800/1066/1333/1600/1866/2000(OC), and the highest DDR3 capacity supported is 32GB. Specification of DDR3 2000 can be only achieved through CPU overclocking, along with a 24-pin ATX power connector. The upper left section of the motherboard TA75A+ requires 4+1 phase power supply, supports AMD A8/A6 CPU and A4/E4 series to be released in the future. The 8-pin power input is positioned in the upper left. In the past, the AM2+/AM3 heat sink were also installed on the FM1 pin grid array. IO 1 X PS2 keyboard VGA/DVI/HDMI 4 X USB 2.0(black) 2 X USB 3.0(blue) 1 X RJ-45network hole

StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1280 X 720 => 98.62 FPS FINAL FANTASY XIV 1280 X 720 => 1818 LOST PLANET 2 DX9C 1280 X 720 TEST B - 10.3 fps A8-3850 built-in Radeon HD6550D and A6-3650 built-in Radeon HD6530D. The spec and performance is a little different. The test is higher level HD 6550D. 3D performance is close to entry level VGA card. This is impressive part for Llano APU. Game Benchmark is 3~4 times more than pervious 890GX. You can see the advantage for GPU leading company here. As Llano APU 3D performance, it’s decided by DDR3 clock and CPU FSB. If you set DDR3 at default 1066, 3DVANTAGE is about P3000. Comparing to DDR3 1866, 3DVANTAGE increase about 50%. Of course, APU 3D limitation is not only this. If you OC CPU FSB and higher DDR3 clock, it can be over P6000. GIGABYTE A75M-D2H Good 1. 100% Japanese made solid caps, USB 3x power design and On/Off Charge practical features. 2. Rich BIOS items for complete CPU/GPU/DDR3 OC requirement. 3. APU latest IGP technology. Most high end HD 6550D 3D performance is leaping. 4. Native 6 SATA3 and 2 USB 3.0. Also support 2 front USB 3.0 devices. 5. AMD Dual Graphics and Dual-link DVI is good for Gaming or multimedia. Weakness 1. CPU PWM has no heat sink. 2. 4 DIMM DDR3 will be better 2. AMD 3850/3650 + A75 MB price is too high currently Performance ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Components ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ Specification ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ Outlook ★★★★★★★★☆☆ C/P Value ★★★★★★★★☆☆ A8-3850 is 32nm which has been waiting for long time by AMD fans. 3D IGP performance is leaping and A75 also supports USB 3.0 and SATA3. It enhances AMD advantages in market competition. However, for CPU performance, power consumption and temperature is same after moving to 32nm. Also DDR3 bandwidth hasn’t been improved for years. AMD should improve these points soon. Maybe, the future 8 Cores CPU, Bulldozer, performance will be better. Llano APU built-in 3D performance is very impressive. It’s may stimulated by Intel which focus on IGP performance improvement in these 2 years. AMD(ATI) is one of the two GPU leading manufacturer. However, this time they cannot care entry VGA market profit this time. After merging ATI, AMD must improve IGP performance to lead in 3D field. OF course, you won’t disappoint the AMD GPU. HD6550D win back the IGP leading position again. As previous AMD is for mid to low end market, Llano APU price is higher. If you think it’s X4 955 and entry level VGA, APU platform is cheaper actually. As AMD just launched Llano APU structure in early July, it’s only A75 chipset now. It will have A55 chipset later. CPU is only A8-3800 and A6-3600. If A6-3600 plus A55 MB, the cost performance will be enhanced. Intel Sandy Bridge fires the IGP war, and AMD Llano APU hold the leading positon. Even though they both launched only high end product in the beginning, as new structure be more popular, you will see more mid to entry products. According to 2011 IGP performance war, I believe users are the final winners. You can get better performance system with lower price. This article is also post in my own blog WIND3C Welcome your visit.

Temperature(It’s 32℃ in room. All temperature is showed by ℃ in the test below.) Enter to OS Desktop - 34 CPU Full Speed - 65 Intel Burn Test v2.4，Stress Level Maximum For temperature, ADIA64 score is much lower and Core Temp only can test single core. So I pick ADIA64 and Easy Tune6 for standard. Personally, I feel Easy Tune6 is close to real temperature. Comparing to Athlon II or Phenom II I used to test, the temperature didn’t drop much as 32nm. It might causes by CPU integrated GPU. I hope the future yield rate can improve this issue. Power Consumption Test Enter to OS Desktop - 32W CPU Full Speed - 146W Intel Burn Test v2.4，Stress Level Maximum CPU and GPU Full Speed - 171W OCCT Power Supply Test BIOS enable Cool&Quiet technology and just enter to OS desktop, the temperature is very good. CPU full speed, it increases to 113W, and CPU/GPU full speed up to 134W. You can see GPU effect 26W. The main power consumption of whole system is CPU. Built-in GPU is not high as Desktop system. A75 chipset native support SATA3. SATA transfer rate is another key for AMD platform. I use CORSAIR Performance 3 Series, supports SATA3, for higher SSD performance. Model is P3-256. The size is common 2.5”. Capacity is 256GB and weight is 80 grams. Official spec, max reading is 480 MB/s and writing is 320 MB/s. (Test by ATTO Disk Benchmark) Silver shell and MTBF 150000 hours. 3 years warranty. ATTO DISK Benchmark over 32k test is very close to max performance. The reading is 482.5 Mb/s and writing is 328.2 MB/s. File Benchmark over 512k test the writing is over 300 MB/s. AS SSD Benchmark Seq Read - 438.20 MB/s Write - 288.70 MB/s CrystalDiskMark reading is 444.8 Mb/s and writing is 313.9 MB/s A75 SATA3 transfer rate is over standard. ATTO max Read/Write can achieve 438/328 MB/s. In other benchmark software, the scores are not far from official spec. You can see AMD chipset great leap in this part. It supports 6 SATA3 ports. It’s good for more and more SATA3 HDD or SSD products in the markret. AMD Radeon HD6550D Performance Test Default Clock 600MHz 3DMark Vantage => P4450

CPU is AMD latest A8-3850. There is another model, A6-3650, in the market. It’s also Llano APU structure. The core name is Llano, 32nm, TDP 100W, clock 2.90GHz and 4MB L2 Cache. In L2 cache, it’s higher than Phenom II 2MB, but it’s no L3 cache. Performance Test CPU 100.0 X 29 => 2900.1MHz DDR3 1866.8 CL8 10-8-27 1T GPU 600MHz Hyper PI 32M X 4 => 22m 43.084s CPUMARK 99 => 453 Nuclearus Multi Core => 12559 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 15.08/7240 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 204026 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 3.46 pts CPU(Single Core) => 0.88 pts PCMark Vantage => 12276 Windows Experience Index - CPU 7.3 A8-3850 double L2 cache and no L3 cache compare to Phenom II. The performance is similar. Even though phase in 32nm is exciting for AMD fans. However, they might be upset for same performance. I do hope Bulldozer 8Core CPU can show users the leap improvement. DRAM Bandwidth DDR3 1333.4 CL6 6-6-18 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 8088 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 12640 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy -9455 MB/s DDR3 1600.2 CL7 8-7-24 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 9229 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 15266 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 10655 MB/s DDR3 1866.8 CL8 10-8-27 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 9556 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 16192 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 10979 MB/s FM1 DDR3 spec is 1.50V. CPU in default clock, memory can reach DDR3 1866 which is improved. You can see the performance improve most from DDR3 1333 to 1600. From 1600 to 1866, the improvement is much less. For DRAM bandwidth, it’s weak point for AMD for many years. They should try to solve this issue soon…

Even though AMD A75 chipset is mid end range, if MOSFET has heat sink will be better. A75 chipset heat sink is new design this year and the matte handle quality is good. A75M-D2H use Realtek ALC889 audio chip and GIGABYTE emphasize it’s 108dB SNR, Signal-to-Noise Ratio. If I get time, I will test it with other MBs ALC889 by high end speakers or headset to compare the difference. BIOS M.I.T. Menu Voltage Range DDR3 Voltage Control 1.025~1800V CPU VDDP Voltage Control 0.900~1.480V CPU Vcore 0.750~1.795V CPU NB VID Control -0.600~+0.300V CPU Voltage Control -0.600~+0.400V Memory Clock AM3 platform can support up to DDR3 1600. FM1 socket can pull clock to DDR3 1866. IGX Setup Items You can set share memory as 256, 512 or 1024MB. Dual-link DVI enable item can support highest resolution to 2560 x 1600. VGA Core Clock can adjust GPU clock. However, APU 3D performance is not pulling by this item. Advanced DDR3 Parameters Setup CORSAIR XMS 8GB DDR3 1600 CL9 OC to 1866 CL8 CPU related items, you can enter IGX setup page from here. PC Health Status BIOS items are similar with AM2+/AM3. If you used to use previous AMD platform, it won’t be problem to you. A75M-D2H provides plenty items for users to fine tune. Test Configuration CPU: AMD A8-3850 MB: GIGABYTE A75M-D2H DRAM: CORSAIR CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 VGA: AMD Radeon HD6550D HD: CORSAIR Performance 3 Series P3-256 SSD POWER: Thermaltake TR2 450W Cooler: Thermaltake Jing OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit SP1

Few months ago, AMD launched new product line called APU. It’s AMD dual core E-350 CPU which integrate GPU and the chipset is Hudson-M1 FCH. This combo main competitor is Intel Atom platform, and not popular in consumer market. E-350 CPU performance is similar to Atom, however, its GPU performance is much better than Atom which even better than AMD own IGP performance. It breaks the trend of IGP performance slow improvement. In the past, built-in graphic is integrating in Chipset. Since last year, Intel LGA 1155 platform integrated GPU into CPU. It makes Intel IGP performance catch up AMD platform. This is the first time Intel lead the IGP performance. AMD IGP is always the leader in the market. However, each generation 3D performance improvement is small; it causes the UMA market no breakthrough products. 2011, Intel LGA 1156 changed the trend. Early this year, Intel launched LGA1155 Sandy Bridge, the performance improves 20~30% more. Intel HD2000/3000 performance is leaping. Finally, AMD launched new Llano APU high performance IGP structure which is the key role this review. Llano APU chipset has A75 and A55. So far you only can find A75 products in Taiwan. First of all, let’s see GIGABYTE A75M-D2H package. It is white background and feature and technology logos. GIGABYTE recently promotes SUPER 4 in entry products. At the first sight, I thought it’s new Japanese Super Sentai series... GIGABYTE A75M-D2H SUPER 4 are Super Safe, Super Speed, Super Savings, and Super Sound. If you are interested in, you can search internet to compare with other brands A75 MB. This year, GIGABYTE mid to high end MB is black PCB design. Personally, I prefer water blue or sky blue color. A75M-D2H color tone is pretty good. It’s Micro ATX and size is 24.4 cmx 22.5 cm. Bundle Accessories Product manual, quick installation guide, I/O panel, SATA cables and Driver CD. Lower-Left Corner 2 X PCI-E X16, first one is X16 and second one is X4 which support AMD CrossFireX technology 1 X PCI-E X1 1 X PCI Realtek ALC889 audio chip supports 7.1 channel and High Definition Audio technology. Realtek RTL8111E LAN chip and TPM module connector in black. Lower-Right Corner 6 X Blue SATA provided by A75. It’s SATA3 and supports RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, JBOD. Left side has USB 2.0/3.0 front panel connector and right side is DualBIOS. Upper-Right Corner 2 X DIMM DDR3 supports 1066/1333/1600/1866/2400(OC) and DDR3 max capacity is 32GB. Next is 24-PIN power connector. Upper-Left Corner AMD new Socket FM1 latch is different with AM2+/AM3, but the cooler is common in use. It’s 4+1 phase PWM. One phase can supply 30~40W, it’s really enough design. Upper-Left is 4-pin power input. IO 1 X PS2 KB/MS D-SUB/DVI/HDMI Output 1 X S/PDIF Fiber Output 4 X USB 2.0(Red) 2 X USB 3.0(Blue) 1 X RJ-45 LAN

G850 Enter to Desktop - 30W G620 OCCT POWER SUPPLY Mode - 64W G850 OCCT POWER SUPPLY Mode - 75W Comparing previous H55 plus G6950 platform, it’s 32nm CPU structure as well, however, G620/G850 Enter to Desktop is lower 8W and Full Speed is lower 30W. Sandy Bridge platform show it’s advantage in power consumption. These 2 CPU is testing under OC GPU, so the power consumption is higher than standard. Intel HD Graphics Performance Test 3DMark Vantage => P1292 3DMark Vantage => P1455 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1280 X 720 => 30.98 FPS StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1280 X 720 => 34.22 FPS FINAL FANTASY XIV 1280 X 720 => 427 FINAL FANTASY XIV 1280 X 720 => 479 You can know Sandy Bridge built-in GPUs are HD Graphics 2000 and HD Graphics 3000. Pentium G series GPU named HD Graphics and follow 2000/3000. However, the clock is same, 850/1100, so 3D performance is same as HD2000. For GPU OC, G850 clock can be higher to achieve 1433MHz and pass 3D tset. Comparing to previous LGA 1156 GPU, 3D performance is much higher. This is the other new platform strength. Intel launched 3 Pentium CPU this time and price is lower than Core i3-2100. MB you also can have Micro ATX H61 or H67. It’s good small PC or office PC. ITX boards are getting more and more in the market. Mainly, the chipset is H61 or H67. Usually, HTPC hardware price is higher. More and more makers sell ITX MB in these 2 years. HTPC users can lower the HTPC budget to normal ATX or Micro ATX PC. H67N-USB3-B3 features and expansion are quite good. The rich BIOS features can OC GPU, fine tune DDR3 parameters, also can lower CPU voltage to make system be good performance and green. I also saw some H61N-USB3 news in website. I think the C/P value will be even higher. The article is sharing Intel latest entry level CPU mainly. You can see the some improvement of CPU performance and power consumption. However, the DDR3 bandwidth and 3D performance improvement is bigger. Recently, H61 price is lower and many MB makers start to kill price. No matter ITX or Micro ATX platform, you can take it as your reference. I wish everyone can use lower budget to build higher performance next generation PC. This article is also in my blog. WIND3C Welcome your visit.

Windows Experience Index - CPU 6.4 Windows Experience Index - CPU 6.7 Windows Experience Index is simple and fast benchmark software. User can understand system performance easily. G620 and G850 are both 2 Cores CPU, but get good score. I hope this software can revise to be more detail test. As my experience, i3 3.3GHz is 7.1分, i5 2.8GHz s 7.4, i5 3.3GHz is 7.7 and i5 4.8GHz is 7.7 I think the full score should be 7.9. If the hardware performance is good enough the index over 7 is difficult to make a distinction. DDR3 Test G620 DDR3 1064.2 CL5 6-5-18 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 13035 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 13849 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 14196 MB/s G850 DDR3 1330.4 CL6 7-6-18 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 15553 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 17250 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 16723 MB/s LGA 1156 CPU, built-in GPU, causes low DDR3 performance. LGA 1155 Sandy Bridge platform has corrected this issue. The bandwidth is higher 10~20% than previous platform. BIOS setup is AUTO. G620 is DDR3 1066 and G850 is DDR3 1333, which are the official spec. Actually, if you use high end chipset, the DDR3 clock can be even higher. G620 DDR3 1872.2 CL9 9-8-24 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 16638 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 21978 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 16605 MB/s P67/Z68 OC series chipset, if your DDR3 quality is good enough, you can set as 1866 or 2133. Due to G series is entry model for higher C/P or office PC, most users won’t consider to use P67/Z68. I just would like to show entry CPU has higher DDR3 performance, so changing to Z68 here to share G620 high DDR3 bandwidth. Temperature G620 Enter to Desktop - 31~32(Air condition 27℃) G850 Enter to Desktop - 42(Room temperature 33℃) G620 Full Speed - 49~52(Air condition 27℃) Intel Burn Test v2.4，Stress Level Maximum G850 Full Speed - 53~56(Room temperature 33℃) Intel Burn Test v2.4，Stress Level Maximum As these 2 CPUs clock are similar, so I make different environment to share the temperature test. In hot summer, the highest temperature in open case is 56 and G850 in chassis is around 60. If you change to air conditioning room, G850 full speed is 50~52 which is higher 2~3 than G620. The temperature is key advantage for 32nm CPU. Power Consumption G620 Enter to Desktop - 30W

Performance Test G620 CPU 99.8 X 26 => 2594.1MHz DDR3 1064.2 CL5 6-5-18 1T GPU 1100 OC 1350MHz G850 CPU 99.8 X 29 => 2893.4MHz DDR3 1330.4 CL6 7-6-18 1T GPU 1100 OC 1433MHz Below is using same benchmark software. The first is G620 and second is G850. Hyper PI 32M X 2 => 13m 31.794s CPUMARK 99 => 400 Hyper PI 32M X 2 => 12m 07.461s CPUMARK 99 => 446 CPUMARK is simple benchmark for testing CPU single core performance. Hyper PI can test system stability and multi-core software. Currently, Intel structure is faster. G620/G850 clock difference is 300MHz, so the performance is 10% gap. Nuclearus Multi Core => 9059 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 8.08/3876 Nuclearus Multi Core => 10055 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 9.01/4324 You can see the performance under Fritz Chess Benchmark is around 10%. CrystalMark 2004R3 => 148458 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 162889 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 2.01 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.04 pts CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 2.25 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.15 pts PCMark Vantage => 8598 PCMark Vantage => 10325 It’s the H67 platform and I use CORSAIR F40 SSD to set RAID0. You can see the advantage. Comparing to last generation Intel Pentium Dual Core G6950, both are 32nm, G series performance is improved. Even though CPU performance is not big improved, there are many parity price H61/H67 MB in the market. For new generation office PC, C/P is better. Also, Sandy Bridge has more features.

Boot Screen with some feature logos. BIOS Main Page MB Intelligent Tweaker, called M.I.T. Clock Setup Page CPUFSB/Ratio, DDR3 Clock, Integrated Graphics clock… CPU Related Items You can adjust CPU cores and C1E is power saving feature. DDR3 Clock Setup Advanced DDR3 Parameters Setup Voltage Page CPU Vcore 0.750~1.795V QPI/Vtt Voltage 0.900~1.500V Graphics Core 0.850~+1.705V PCH Core 0.900~1.500V DRAM 1.100~2.400V PC Health Status H67 is setting as IGP chipset, so it cannot OC as 2500K/2600K. GIGABYE H67N-USB3-B3 BIOS provides rich features for end users to adjust. For non-K i3, i5 or Pentium CPU, you can fine tune system by CPU voltage, DRAM parameters and GPU clock OC. Test Configuration CPU: Intel Pentium Processor G620/G850 MB: GIGABYTE H67N-USB3-B3 DRAM: CORSAIR CMX8GX3M2A1600C9 VGA: Integrated Graphics HD: CORSAIR CSSD-F40GB2 Raid0 POWER: Thermaltake TR2 450W Cooler: Intel Cooler OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit

Jan 2011, Intel launched new structure LGA 1155 socket Sandy Bridge platform. In the first stage, Intel focus on mid to high Core i5 and Core i7. The chipset is P67 and H67 which are also positioning at mid end. For the entry product, Intel launched H61 and Core i3 in March. In the market, Core i3 2100 or 2120 price is still high for entry CPU segment. For the users, lower than 100USD Sandy Bridge CPU is more suitable for office or worksheet users. LGA 1156 has Pentium G6950 which is cheaper and enough performance. However, in Taiwan, G6950 is the only model for 1156 platform. Sandy Bridge launched 3 Pentium CPU, G620/G840/G850, in May. It’s better structure and richer options for Intel platform CPU. First of all, let’s check Intel Pentium Processor G620, the clock is 2.6GHz. Physical 2 Cores don’t support Hyper-Threading. It can support 2 threads which called 2C/2T. 32nm and Max TDP is 65W. L3 Cache is 3MB. It’s most entry 2 Cores CPU in LGA 1155. Lower-Left is G620 back. Upper-Right is bottom of original cooler for 2 Cores CPU. Intel uses non0-sooper design. Another more high end G series, Intel Pentium Processor G850, clock is 2.9GHz. The other specs are same as G620. The main difference of G850 and i3 -2100 are Hyper-Threading and Intel GPU version. For advanced technology, i3 can support more. You can find the detail in official spec documents. G850 back is same as G620. Besides the clock, G850 DDR3 also support to 1333. It owns Embedded Options Available. These are key difference between G620 and G850. MB is H67 chipset, GIGABYTE H67N-USB3-B3. The price is not high as ITX and H67. Also the components and features are good quality. C/P is acceptable. CPU is 4+1 phases PWM. 2 DIMM DDR3 support max 16GB. It built-in 2 SATA3 and 1 PCI-E X16 which is quite good spec for ITX IO 1 X S/PDIF fiber and coaxial output 1 X D-SUB/2 X HDMI 4 X USB 2.0(Black) 2 X USB 3.0(Vlue) 1 X RJ-45 LAN 1 X eSATA(Yellow) USB 3.0 chip uses NEC D720200AF1, made in Japan. If GIGABYTE can add Bluetooth and mSATA wireless slot will be more practical for HTPC. AMD normally has more advantage in ITX MB. Some brands have many product lines but not easy to find in Taiwan. Since Intel IGP performance is much improved, H55 and H67/H61 all have many ITX MB. The price is cheaper than AMD ITX MB. Users can have more options within budget. H67N-USB3-B3 price is higher than entry H61 boards. Normally, USB 3.0 H61/H67 is around 10~15 USD higher. If you don’t need RAID or higher spec, you can choose H61 to have better C/P.

WD 320GB is the OS drive and add 510 120GB SSD. 39~40W, it’s around half-half. 320 160GB SSD is the OS drive add 320GB HDD, it’s still at 39W. For power consumption, no matter if there is SSD, it only increase 1~2W. Comparing to platform with both HDD and SSD, HDD power consumption is little bit higher than SSD but not big gap. NoteBook platform use TOSHIBA 2nd generation Core i7. The chipset is Intel HM65. You can figure out this TOSHIBA NB quality just need to use for a while. Speaker quality is very good in my experience. The Keyboard touch feeling and plastic copy hair line surface texture is very good as well. These 3 designs compare to my “Dual A” new NB are even better. 320 SERIES 160GB ADIA64 Linear Read Average 252.6 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark Seq Read - 253.81 MB/s Write - 166.77 MB/s 4K-64Thrd Read - 135.70 MB/s Write - 59.43 MB/s FDEBENCH test reading is 252.2 Mb/s and writing is 172.3 MB/s ATTO DISK Benchmark over 32k test is achieving max reading 280.7 Mb/s and writing 174.8MB/s CrystalDiskMark test reading is 256.4 Mb/s and writing is 170.5 MB/s 510 SERIES 120GB ADIA64 Linear Read Average 370.5 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark Seq Read - 440.53 MB/s Write - 204.73 MB/s 4K-64Thrd Read - 81.84 MB/s Write - 63.49 MB/s FDEBENCH test reading is 374.4 Mb/s and writing is 204.8 MB/s ATTO DISK Benchmark over 32k test is achieving max reading 479.3 Mb/s and writing 228.9MB/s CrystalDiskMark test reading is 433.3 Mb/s and writing is 212.9 MB/s The performance at NoteBook is still good. Some benchmark is same as PC, but the gap is not big. Personally, I think SSD has more advantage in NB than PC, because 2.5” HDD is slower than 3.5” HDD, also 2.5” HDD is more expensive. Even though SSD has no advantage at capacity, the difference with 2.5” HDD is smaller. It doesn’t mean SSD is not fit PC. Just consider about C/P value, it’s lower than NoteBook platform. Small capacity SSD use for Z68 SRT hybrid acceleration technology with 2~3TB HDD is more suitable for PC platform. If in the future, the TRIM technology can use under RAID mode, the SSD advantage at PC platform will be more clear. Intel SSD is easy to find in the market. This time, these 2 series SSD price is higher than the other brands. Due to Intel brand awareness and good after service, the SSD acceptance is still high. I hope 320/510 price can be lower in the future. It can enhance the completion force and market share. Currently, many read/write performance around 200 MB/s 128GB SSD price is 200USD. In same price position, SSD capacity increase to 128GB from 64GB in the past. It’s really helpful for execution. Of course, the unit price of SSD is still much higher than HDD. We do can look forward the lower unit price in the future. For most users, before buying 3C products, you need to study some basic information to avoid get unsatisfied products. Such as outlook, spec, after service, performance and executive features are all important. This review includes 2 Intel new series SSD performance data for readers who has SSD demand. This article is also in my blog. WIND3C Welcome your visit.

Intel 510 SERIES 120GB installs at white SATA3. Non OS system drive without data, model is SSDSC2MH120A2, test performance at PC platform. HD Tune Pro 4.60 Benchmark Read - Average 347.7 MB/s Access Time 0.183ms Write - Average 212.2MB/s Access Time 0.069ms Random Access Extra tests Sequential middle Read - 351.765 MB/s Write - 216.879 MB/s Random seek 4KB 12766 IOPS File Benchmark over 512k test is over 400 MB/s. ATTO DISK Benchmark over 32k test is achieving max reading 461.2 Mb/s and writing 230.0 MB/s. HD Tune Pro Benchmark SSD test result is always lower in my experience. It might be caused by the software. File Benchmark and ATTO File Benchmark can achieve 510 SERIES highest performance. Basically, reading is over 400~500 MB/s and writing is over 200 MB/s are grouping as high-end SSD. ADIA64 Read Test Suite - Linear Read(Middle) 444.4 MB/s FDEBENCH test is reading 385.6 Mb/s and writing 204.8 MB/s. CrystalDiskMark test is reading 442.0 Mb/s and writing 214.1 MB/s. ADIA64 Linear Read Average 420.8 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark Seq Read - 405.85 MB/s Write - 204.7 MB/s 4K-64Thrd Read - 85.32 MB/s Write - 62.97 MB/s ADIA64 Random Read 350.5 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark 4K-64Thrd Read - 21843 iops Write - 16120 iops CrystalMark Sequential Read 390.51 MB/s Sequential Write 208.82 MB/s SiSoftware Sandra 400.126 MB/s Controller IC is always key factor of SSD performance. This is the first time Intel use Marvell 88SS9174. The reading performance is excellent. The highest performance in PC is 461.2 Mb/s. Even though Intel 4k performance is always in leading position, 510 doesn’t have any big surprise. I hope there is a new product can break through the 4K performance. Power Consumption Enter to OS desktop for 3 minutes and take the lowest Watt. 2.5” WD 320GB is the OS drive. It shows 39W still. WD 320GB is the OS drive and add 320 160GB SSD. Most time, it’s 39W and less to 40W.

Z68 exclusive support Intel Smart Response Technology which provide hybrid mode of small capacity SSD and HDD acceleration feature. GIGABYTE even provides more convenient EZ Smart Response for users enable SRT as HDD is under AHCI or IDE mode. User doesn’t need to set BIOS as RAID mode and reinstall OS. It save lots of time. Test Configuration CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 MB: GIGABYTE Z68MX-UD2H DRAM: CORSAIR VENGEANCE CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 PK1 VGA: Intel HD Graphics 2000 HD: Intel 320 SERIES 160GB / 510 SERIES 120GB POWER: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 Cooler: Intel Original Cooler OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit Intel 320 SERIES 160GB installs at blue SATA2. Non OS system drive without data, model is SSDSA2CW160G3, test performance at PC platform. HD Tune Pro 4.60 Benchmark Read - Average 205.3 MB/s Access Time 0.121ms Write - Average 158.0MB/s Access Time 0.080ms Random Access Extra tests Sequential middle Read - 207.169 MB/s Write - 157.031 MB/s Random seek 4KB 11339 IOPS File Benchmark over 512k test is above 250 MB/s. ATTO DISK Benchmark over 32k test get max reading 282.4 Mb/s and writing 175.8 MB/s. 320 SERIES is not high-end performance SSD. However, most HD Tune Pro test has quite good performance. Especially the writing performance, it’s over 60% improvement comparing previous X25-M G2 which is only 70~100 MB/s. ATTO DISK Benchmark max read/write performance is 280/175 MB/s. This is over official spec. ADIA64 Read Test Suite - Linear Read(Middle) 266.7 MB/s FDEBENCH is reading 267.3 Mb/s and writing 168.1 MB/s CrystalDiskMark is reading 274.6 Mb/s and writing 174.2 MB/s ADIA64 Linear Read Average 265.1 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark Seq Read - 264.09 MB/s Write - 170.07 MB/s 4K-64Thrd Read - 139.28 MB/s Write - 60.99 MB/s ADIA64 Random Read 214.9MB/s AS SSD Benchmark 4K-64Thrd Read - 35655 iops Write - 15614 iops CrystalMark Sequential Read 259.73 MB/s Sequential Write 166.15 MB/s SiSoftware Sandra 265 MB/s AS SSD Benchmark 4K-64Thrd test result is big gap with official spec. I have been test over 10 times but same result. I think it should be software and drive has compatibility issue. 320 SERIES has stable performance with most benchmark software. 270/165 MB/s spec and 4K performance is still Intel SSD strength. It’s middle range above performance in current SSD market. You can treat 320 SERIES as X25-M G2 enhance version. The reading performance is similar, but writing and manufacturing are enhanced.

Solid-State Drive also known as SSD is new PC storage in last 3 years. It owns linear transfer performance and super-fast seek time. The performance is leading HDD obviously. Some users also cannot be used to HDD speed after using SSD for a while. Comparing to 100/80 MB/s old type SSD and 100/100 MB/s HDD booting and opening file, the SSD is still much faster. SSD performance isn’t like HDD unstable dues to inner and outer gaps. Also, SSD seek time is very fast. These 2 points make SSD performance is much faster than HDD. As SSD performance development roadmap, it’s been stuck at 300MB/s for a period.It may cause by SATA2 bandwidth. Since SATA3 becomes popular and Intel chipset support natively, the SSD which is over 300MB/s started to sell since last year. Till this year, you even can see many 400~500 MB/s high speed SSD. The SSD products segment and price are decided by capacity and performance. Intel enters SSD business for long time. It owns own R&D ability for NAND Flash and controller chipset. Previous 2.5” version it uses X25-E/X25-M to distinguish SLC and MLC. After that, it launched MLC entry model, X25-V. SLC structure is better; however, the cost is too high. That’s why you see less and less SLC SSD in the market. In naming, these 2 new SSD product lines change to 320 and 510. First, let’s start with 320 SERIES 160GB. The packing is same as new CPU which all with Intel new logo. Of course, blue is Intel color. The warranty increase to 5 years from 3. It’s good news for users. Accessories 2.5” to 3.5” bay mounting bracket, screws, 4-Pin to SATA power cable and SATA cable. Installation CD, installation guide and sticker.s The outlook is same as G2 34nm X25-M. 320 capacity is 40~600GB which is much bigger than previous version. Controller chip is PC29AS210BA0. MLC NAND FLASH is 29F16B08CCMEI, total 12 chips and cache buffer is 64MB. 320 series is 25nm and model change to G3. The max capacity is 600GB. 160GB official spec is reading 270 MB/s and writing 165 MB/s. 4K reading is 39000 IOPS and 4K writing is 21000 IOPS. As SSD capacity is getting bigger, the performance is also improved. Backside is metal texture. If it has polishing, the quality will be better. Upper-Right golden finger is SATA and power connector. It supports SATA2 which is reasonable for 320 SERIES performance. Another model is 510 SERIES which has 120GB and 250GB. The shell is different with Intel other SSD product. The controller IC is 0Marvell 88SS9174. MLC NAND FLASH is 29F64G08CAMDD, total 16 ICs, and cache buffer is 128MB. The accessories are same as 320 series. The only difference is 510 using black SATA cable. Official warranty is 3 years, which is different with 320SERIES. I hope it can extend to 5 years in the future. Backside and front side are the same. Lower-Left is SATA and power connector. It supports SATA3. 510 120GB official spec, SATA2/SATA3 reading are 265/450 MB/s and writing are 200/210 MB/s. 4K reading is 38000 IOPS and 4K writing is 14000 IOPS. 510 SSD bigger capacities have better performance. Desktop PC platform uses GIGABYTE Z68MX-UD2H. Z68 is Intel latest Sandy Bridge chipset. I use it to test SATA performance. Z68 owns P67 OC and H67 built-in GPU simultaneously. Chipset native support SATA3 and all MB makers use other chip to support USB3.0 and other latest technology.

Power Supply test in OCCT - 266W When overclocking the CPU and using the built-in GPU, the power consumption is not so high when on system standby. When the CPU/GPU are fully loaded during the OCCT Power Supply test, the highest power consumption was about 260~270W. CPU OC 4.8GHz /GPU GTX560 Ti default value No software running on the OS desktop - 111W Power Supply test in OCCT - 476W –Using the GTX560 Ti at medium or advanced level, its power consumption increased significantly at full speed, reaching around 480W. The efficiency of CX430 is about 80%. The test above environment used 110V and a maximum 476W. The highest power output after conversion is about 381W. Even under the heavy load of the test platform, it passed the burn-in test, and it maintained a low temperature – as determined by touching the the CX430 shell.. It proves that a 430W power supply is enough. BIOSTAR TSERIES TZ68A+ Advantages 1. High-end Intel chipset like the Z68, with a low price, is really rare. 2. Japanese solid capacitor, built-in POWER/RESET buttons and a simple debug LED 3. Its BIOS has been upgraded to UEFI interface, with rich options, a large voltage range, as well as excellent overclocking capacity. 4. Even if It is a low-price version, it still provides two PCI-E X16s, supporting 2Way ATI CrossFireX technology 5. The onboard GPU, with three output ports, also supports Intel SRT and Lucid Virtu. Weaknesses 1. BIOSTAR has no distribution channel in Taiwan currently. 2. It will be more practical if the USB ports at the rear IO are increased to 6. Performance ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Material ratio ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ Specification ratio ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ Appearance ratio ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Performance vs. Price ratio ★★★★★★★★★★ The two major features of Z68 chipset are the Intel Smart Response Technology and the Lucid Virtu. I hope the above test sharing can help the user interested at a Z68 have a better understanding to it. Together with all the features of the Sandy Bridge platform, the Z68 is a rather good choice for the user who is looking for multi-function and high performance. The price of this BIOSTAR TZ68A+ will be about US$99(NT$2855). It is surprising to see the Z68 with this low price for the first time on the market, which is even as low as some basic chipsets, like the H61. After comparing all prices of the Z68 on the market, this one could be the lowest-priced Z68 MB, though the materials and specifications are not as good as the other Z68 MBs with higher price. However, it has all the basic features and technologies, such as USB 3.0, so it could be quite a practical Z68 product. Other advantages are: the BIOS with UEFI interface, and rich features, wide voltage range; it has outstanding performance in overclocking. One weakness is that there are only 4 USBs on the rear IO, which is kind of inconvenient to the users who need many USB ports. Another is that it is the only Z68 product BIOSTAR currently has. I hope they will release more low-price Z68 products in the future, like TP67XE specification This article is also posted on my blog WIND'S 3C 3C fans are welcome to visit and propose suggestions.

DDR3 1863.6 CL8 10-9-27 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 22603 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 24737 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 26252 MB/s DDR3 is the 1600 CL9 9-9-24 1.65V version of CORSAIR basic series After actual adjustment, the parameter is set as CL7 8-7-21 1T/DDR3 1866 CL8 10-9 -27 1T for DDR3 1600 or so. The frequency range for overclocking and the reduced parameter data both get good performance. The most significant performance improvement can be observed after it is increased to DDR3 1866. Intel HD Graphics HD3000 performance test Preset frequency 1100MHz OC 1800MHz 3DMark Vantage => P3135 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1280 X 800 => 61.87 FPS FINAL FANTASY XIV 1280 X 720 => 1202 LOST PLANET 2 DX9C 1280 X 800 TEST B - 12.1 fps There are two kinds of onboard display of Intel Sandy Bridge: the HD2000 and the HD3000 Windwithme has shared much about the 3D performance of the HD2000, and also compared the test results of overclocking. HD3000 used in this test can reach up to of 2000MHz, but the 3D performance did not significantly increase after 1800MHz. So I completed the test shown above at 1800MHz. The performance after overclocking is 3 or 4 times better than that of HD2000. HD3000 can be used for 3D software or games with medium or lower requirements as long as the resolution is not adjusted too high. Temperature performance (Ambient temperature is about 28 Celsius) System standby - 33~42 CPU full speed - 67~74 The highest temperature is about 74~77 Celsius. The ambient temperature now is much higher, but it is still within the acceptable range. Additionally, it can undergo the complete burn-in test of Intel Burn Test v2.4. If it is in the computer case, the temperature difference will be 5 Celsius more. Sandy Bridge is made using the 32nm manufacturing process, so extreme frequencies are obviously increased. However, for overclocking over 4.2GHz, it is recommended to install an advanced heat sink to reduce the temperature effectively, which is also my main reason for using Frio OCK for this test. If the original heat sink is used during CPU overclocking, the temperature will greatly increase when burning-in it above 4.2GHz. For the overclocking platform of Z68, I want to make a more detailed comparison on the power consumption test. Power Supply used is the CX430 of CORSAIR Builder, with an output specification of 430W. The matte black shell, plus the entire black color, makes for good texture. Even with a 12cm fan, it runs quite silently. The latest version of CX430 is the V2. The difference between these two versions is whether it has an 80Plus white label certification Power consumption test CPU OC 4.8GHz /GPU HD3000 OC 1800MHz No software running on the OS desktop - 87W

PC Health Status The monitor chip built in the MB is used to view the status of various primary voltages and temperatures in the system. It seems that the CPU temperature reading tends to be higher than the ambient temperature around the heat sink, or the temperature displayed by the software in the OS. BIOSTAR is abreast with the trend of using UEFI, which also makes for a more user-friendly interface and makes operating more convenient. Even if the TZ68A+ belongs to the low-price range, it is rich with options. The settings above are for CPU OC 4.8GHz and DDR3 OC 1866, providing reference for users with similar configurations. I used the first version of Frio. You can use one or two 12cm fans, if you want. According to the test, there is a high-level of cooling performance, so I’m having a good impression of the Frio series. This time, I have used the most advanced Frio OCK of Thermaltake, which is designed for CPU overclocking. OCK is designed for enhanced heat dissipation. The user needs to install dual-fans and heat sinks, which is easy, but its bulky. No problem is found on LGA 1366 platform has no, but on the LGA 1155 platform, it might interfere with one or two DIMMs due to a different slot location. In this case, the problem can be fixed if you install DDR3 DIMMs of standard height. It will interfere if you have installed large overclocking DDR3 DIMMs. The two cooling fans both have variable fan speeds controlled by a single VR knob based on your specific needs for cooling performance and noise. At the bottom, there are six heat pipes on each side. Compared to the last version of the Frio, there are two more heat pipes on this one. Overclocking performance CPU 99.8 X 48 => 4791.9MHz 1.376V DDR3 1863.6 CL8 9-10-27 1T 1.600V Hyper PI 32M X 4 => 8m 05.223s CPUMARK 99 => 738 Nuclearus Multi Core => 27532 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 29.69/14251 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 313513 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 7.49 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.94 pts Windows experience index - CPU 7.7 PCMark Vantage => 12328 After overclocking 4.8GHz of 2500K, the performance increased by 30~40% compared to the default value, according to most of the software test results. I personally hope to conduct overclocking test on a CPU under 1.4V. It can be stable for a long time. Moreover, the increased frequency and voltage, the temperature won’t be much higher. Generally, this system can meet the common demands. The CPU can get quite high scores under various test software. DDR3 performance DDR3 1587.4 CL7 8-7-21 1T ADIA64 Memory Read - 20426 MB/s Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 21619 MB/s MaXXMEM Memory-Copy - 23035 MB/s