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PowerCache high electric capacity of compensation, 80mm PWM a pair of ball fans…etc to add its character. VGA is HD5830 of ATI latest series After AMD merged ATI, it feels that AMD developed a very well market on VGA in the past two years. ATI is comparatively fast to lunch new products, and the C/P rates seem also higher to make the two “A” group creating a bigger market for themselves. By the way, high-end VGA board seems a little bit longer than previous ones. The 5830 on hand is longer than GTX260. And the “Black/Red” of ATI VGA seem a very good match on AMD MB. Let’s go outside and take some fresh air and then we are going to do some function tests later on. Test platform CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition MB: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR CMD4GX3M2B1600C7 VGA: ATI Radeon HD 5830 CrossFire HD: CORSAIR CMFSSD-128GBG2D POWER: Antec TPQ-1200 Cooler: Thermaltake Frio OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit Preserve efficiency CPU 200.7 X 16 =>3210.9MHz DDR3 1605.4 CL7 7-7-21 1T Hyper 12 X PI 32M=> 23m 18.745s CPUMARK 99 =>494 Fritz Chess Benchmark =>23.54/11298 CrystalMark 2004R3 =>212169 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU =>5.67 pts CPU(Single Core) =>1.09 pts PCMark Vantage =>13009 The records of Phenom II X6 1090T seem much higher than Phenom II X4 by the major testing programs. Especially the efficiency of Phenom II X6 1090T can be higher 50% more than X4. Phenom II X6 also can save some operation time for users if they require “multi-high-loading” software. Temperature The stand-by of the system -27/38

The CPU market has made its great improvement recently. All we saw before were 2-Core or 4-Core models on the market, but nowadays, we could find some 6-Core models released after Q2 / 2010. AMD is the one of the biggest CPU manufacturer in the world, they launched two types of Phenom II X6 CPU at the end of April 2010, meanwhile, they also issued the next generation of high-end 8-Core series chips which combined north bridge 890FX with south bridge SB850 together, which made AMD platforms toward the new field. There are two versions of AMD Phenom II X6 have been launched, one is middle level version of 1055T, the other is the high-end version of 1090T Black Edition. The market price of the 1055T is at around $6,300 NTD and the 1090T Black Edition is at around $9,300 NTD in Taiwan, based on 6-Core CPU that the pricing this time can be regarded as the par route. We can say AMD thirst for the popularization of the market rapidly. The more noteworthy one is the new Turbo Core technology, which is similar as the function of automatic over-clocking. For example, the normal frequency of the 1090T Black Edition is at 3.2GHz, but it can be achieved to 3.6GHz by opening Turbo Core function through BIOS settings. But the function is limited which only can be actuated by using 3-Core; if higher than 3-Core, the frequency won’t be increased to 3.6GHz. In the past few years, AMD put out all in one chipset with IGP function quite often and the updates were also very fast. But for the high-end models, we hope the performance of AMD 890FX can be higher than 790FX which was released 2-3 years ago. Let’s introduce more basic information about AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition, the core name is Thuban, 6-Core, 45nm, TDP 125W, supports Turbo Core, frequency is 3.2GHz and 3MB for L2 Cache / 6MB for L3 Cache. The back stitch of X6 1090T is compatible with AM3, users don’t need to pay extra expense to upgrade the platform, what we need to do is to update new BIOS for 785G. For MB segment, Asus Crosshair IV Formula is best partner to collocate AMD together. The red and black match colors is in At bottom left of the MB 4 X PCI-E of frequency is 2 X8 for 2 X16, to support CrossFireX 2 X PCI Realtek 8111D dual network chip, to support Teaming SupremeFX X-Fi uses VIA sound result chip, to support 8 sound channel and High Definition Audio/X-FI/EAX Advanced HD 4.0 technology Power.Reset and also have over-clocking button At the bottom right of the MB 6X Red SATA, SB850 is offered, SATA3 specification, to support RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 At the right top of the MB 4 X DIMM DDR3, to support the 1066/1333/1600 (O.C. ) / 2000 (O.C. ), the supreme DDR3 capacity can be 16GB 24 - PIN power beside it At the left top of the MB The installation place of AM3 CPU, adopt 8+2 phases to supply power Above see by USB the 3.0s NEC chip IO 7 X USB 2.0 2 X USB 3.0 (blue) Network hole of 1 X RJ-45 1 X eSATA 1 X S/PDIF Out 1 X 1394a Clr CMOS presses the button PSU is the supreme TPQ-1200 from Antec, the matching of red and black is suitable for this kind of high-end AMD platform This PSU is certificated with 80 Plus silver medal certification for high efficiency and energy-conservation.

BIOSTAR TA890GXE Merits: 1. Motherboard material adopts whole Japanese solid capacitors, SATA 3.0, and 4+1 phase power supply. 2. The matching colour red makes the product appearance eye-catching. 3. The range of voltage adjusting in BIOS is wide, and options of other setting are many. 4. The overclocking range of CPU frequency is wide; after the testing, 300MHz is very steady. 5. The clock of HD4290 is higher, and has wider range for overclocking. Demerits: 1. BIOSTAR products are not very common in some countries. 2. The overclocking range of DDR3 is only about 1700, and compatibility of BIOS leaves some to be desired. 3. USB 3.0 is suggested to add on this motherboard. Performance: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Material: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Specification: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Appearance: ★★★★★★★★★☆ Price: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ The default clock of 890GX HD 4290 is about 700MHz, a bit higher than 500MHz, the default clock of 785G HD 4200. At default setting, 3D performance improves a little; moreover, the overclocking range of HD4290 is wider than that of HD4200. Although AMD does not change GPU structure a lot, 890GX, with the rising clock, can improve 10~20% 3D performance. The main features of BIOSTAR products are parity and overclocking. This time, TA890GXE also shows excellent overclocking ability. The latest version of TA890GXE also supports ACC technology, and it is convenient for users with X2~X3 CPU. For consumers wanting to buy AMD Micro ATX platform in the near future, two options are being provided: cheaper 785G, and 890GX with higher price and specification. In my opinion, budget is the primary concern because it is easy to update X6 CPU in future; most AMD products are easy to expand with moderate price. In near future, I shall share testing report of AMD high-level platform—X6 CPU with 890FX chipset. I hope AMD can make newer Leo structure perform higher performance, and release cheaper and better high-level products.

Overclocking performance testing: CPU 300 X 12.5 => 3750.2MHz DDR3 1600 CL7 7-7-21 1T VGA 1009MHz Hyper 4 X PI 32M=> 20m 42.477s CPUMARK 99=> 496 Nuclearus Multi Core => 16524 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 19.06/9150 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 212111 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 3.26 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.13 pts PCMark Vantage => 11667 Due to the differences of every testing software, 910e, after overclocked to 3750MHz, has 20~30% performance improved. C3 process has been adopted, so DRAM arguments are better; besides, the whole clock can be overclocked more 100~200MHz. 3DMARK2006 => 2547 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1024 X 768 => 30.10FPS Biohazard5 Benchmark 800 X 600 => 17.6 fps The advantage of HD4290 is that CPU can be overclocked higher clock, and it is not necessary to add too much voltage to make the CPU reach 1009MHz. About the result of 3DMARK2006, compared with that of HD 4200, the 3D performance of HD4290 has 10~15% improved. As to Biohazard5 needing higher 3D ability, it is suggested to add extra VGA to make the game run more fluently. DDR3 bandwidth testing: Default CPU Frequency: 2600Mhz DRAM DDR3 1600 CL7 7-7-21 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 12525 MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 8976 MB/s Default CPU Frequency: 3750Mhz DRAM DDR3 1600 CL7 7-7-21 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 13513 MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 9526 MB/s DDR3 performance of AM3 structure is so-so, bandwidth performance is just ok. As for DDR3 frequency, the frequency was limited about 1600~1700, and some 890GX/890FX MB of the new generation performs over DDR3 1800. It is judged that AMD wants to improve DDR3 frequency first, hoping to improve DDR3 bandwidth performance with new structure in future.

PSU: be quiet! latest version Straight Power Deluxe 400W, certified by 80Plus Bronze. Japanese solid capacitors, quiet 12cm FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) fan, and 87% conversion efficiency all make it possbile that there will be enough power supply to update this AMD platform, either using X6 CPU or basic VGA. Default performance testing: CPU 200 X 13 => 2600.1MHz DDR3 1600.2 CL7 7-7-21 1T VGA 698MHz Hyper 4 X PI 32M=> 26m 48.425s CPUMARK 99=> 361 Nuclearus Multi Core => 10859 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 13.43/6447 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 163303 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 2.32 pts CPU(Single Core) => 0.79 pts PCMark Vantage => 9673 AMD Phenom II X4 910e, although without high clock, still can easily deal with almost all software; particularly with X4 multi-cores, this CPU shows great performance on drawing, conversion, multimedia, etc. 3DMARK2006 => 2247 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 1024 X 768 => 25.66FPS Biohazard5 Benchmark 800 X 600 => 14.2 fps Most consumers expect that for the sake of higher 3D performance, 890GX should be with the next generation HD 5X00; however, HD4290 is adopted finally. Compared with that of 785G HD4200 and 890GX HD429, the 3D performance shows little difference. Therefore, this time some people feel a bit of pity that 3D performance is not as expected after AMD releases new chipset.

4+1 phases power supply, with bigger silver aluminium heatsink: Heatsink of southbridge SB850: The main feature of BIOS is overclocking. The following illustration is TA890GXE with 300Mhz. Main page of T-TSERIES setting: CPU information: If frequency is overclocked over 300Mhz, it is suggested that NB FID should be lowered to 1400MHz. Clock setting of built-in GPU HD4290: Voltage adjusting: Memory Over Voltage -0.600~+0.945V HT Over Voltage +0.015~+0.315V NB Over Voltage +0.015~+0.900V NB IO Over Voltage +0.05~+0.15V NB 1.1V Over Voltage +0.05~+0.15V SB Over Voltage +0.05~+0.15V Side Port Over Voltage +0.05~+0.15V DDR3 Timing Configuration Setting of built-in IGP: Including Internal Graphics Mode, UMA Frame Buffer Size, and SIDEPORT Clock Speed. Testing platform: CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 910e MB: BIOSTAR TA890GXE DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR CMD4GX3M2B1600C7 VGA: ATI Radeon HD 4290 HD: CORSAIR CMFSSD-128GBG2D POWER: be quiet!Straight Power Deluxe 400W Cooler: Thermaltake V1 AX OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 910e is used, with 65W, and also an AMD low-voltage product.

Over these years, AMD’s All in One products, with ATI technology in the field of GPU, have been very popular in the market; moreover, AMD built-in GPU chipset also shows great 3D performance, usually being in the lead. AMD released several Micro ATX products, such as AMD 780G/790GX/785G, all of which were also very popular. Recently, the highest C/P All in One motherboard should be AMD 785G. Another advantage of AMD CPUs is more parity. Therefore, MB manufacturers released plenty of 785G motherboards, and 785G with ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) technology was more popular. In March and April this year, AMD rapidly released new chipset—Northbridge 890GX and Southbridge SB850—to update its product line. At the early stage of marketing, since new SB850 did not support ACC function, most MB manufacturers made 890GX use or unlock hidden cores by updating version, modifying BIOS, or adding jumpers. 890GX motherboards can be classified two specifications according to their size: the price of ATX is higher, and that of Micro ATX lower. However compared with that of 785G, the price of 890GX is much higher. This time I use BIOSTAR TA890GXE, and the price is about USD 120, $20~30 lower than other MB manufacturers’ Micro ATX 890GX motherboards. The appearance: The main matching colour of recent BIOSTAR products is bright red: 890GX of ATX-version: GIGABYTE released higher-level 890GPA-UD3H, and the price is about USD 140 The latest version 2.0 supports ACC technology; version 1.0 also supported this function by updating BIOS. Back to the introduction of BIOSTAR TA890GXE: Lower-left of the motherboard: 1 X PCI-E X16 1 X PCI-E X1 2 X PCI LAN chipset: Realtek RTL8111DL Codec: Realtek ALC892, with 8+2 channels and supporting Blu-ray Audio Lower-right of the motherboard: SB850 provides 5 X red SATA3 ports, supporting RAID 0 / 1 / 5 / 10 Power button, reset button, and debug indicators Upper-right of the motherboard: 4 X DIMM DDR3, supporting 800/1066/1333/1600(OC), maximum capacity of DDR3 is 16GB 1 X IDE, 24-pin power connector Upper-left of the motherboard: Location of AM3 CPU, with 4+1 phases power supply IO: 1 X D-SUB 1 X DVI-D 1 X HDMI 4 X USB 2.0 1 X RJ-45 1 X eSATA/USB 1 X S/PDIF Out 1 X IEEE 1394 Heatsink of Northbridge 890GX, beside it is 128MB DDR3 SidePort Memory.

Power Consumption Test System Wait Time - 49W OCCT - 100W Intel Burn Test v2.4, Stress Level Maximum To compare power consumption before and after overclocking, the CPU at standby was 11W, and only 73W at full-speed operation. Hopefully, we can soon see Intel able to use 32nm CPUs in its 4 cores so a lower temperature, lower power consuming CPU will become common in the market. ECS H55H-I Strengths 1. The color of the external packaging gives a good feel to the product. 2. ITX motherboards rarely have many so BIOS options. The voltage range is large, and the external viewing and adjustment option are numerous. 3. With the internal IGP, the CPU can overclock to 180MHz, which is higher than many ATX or M-ATX H55s. 4. The overall performance of the ITX platform can be increased using the H55 chipset with newer CPU support. 5. Price is around US$80. With ITX motherboards usually being more on the expensive side, the C/P’s pricing is reasonable. Disadvantages 1. The outer appearance would have a better feel if the PCB was black. 2. Changing to all solid state capacitors would make consumers have more faith in the quality of the product. 3.CPU-Z and EVEREST are still unable to acquire the proper CPU voltage for the H55H-I Performance ★★★★★★★★★☆ Components ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ Specs ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Appearance ★★★★★★★★☆☆ Price ★★★★★★★★★☆ In terms of CPUs, the Intel Pentium G6950 follows the Core i7 high-level framework, even though it only has Dual Core and L3 3MB specs. Its performance is not inferior to Core 2 Duo CPUs. The 32nm CPU allows for a wider overclocking range, and also effectively reduces temperature and power consumption. Even more importantly, the 32nm CPU enjoys higher performance and better C/P values when coupled with an IGP platform,. The Core i5 level 32nm is currently priced a bit higher. If the price is lowered in the future, consumers will be able purchase high-performance HTPC platforms more easily. As a result of the release of the H55 chipset, which replaced previous generation Intel G4X chipset products, early this year, the overall 3D performance of PC platforms was increased. In the current market, the H55 is a very popular among products with M-ATX specs. Motherboard manufacturers are now successively releasing various models of H55 motherboard products. In the past, rudimentary versions of the ITX motherboards were about TWD4500 (US$143) or more, which is quite expensive. Industrial ACP-level ITX motherboards mainly use high-quality components, and if coupled with a GM45 chipset, cost US$300 or more. ITX products are generally more expensive than ATX/M-ATX products and seem to be on the path to even higher prices. The ECS H55H-I follows the trends of the average consumer market, so when the mini-ITX spec H55 motherboard was released, it is more favorable in terms of pricing. Due to its adoption of Intel’s newest IGP chipset, the commonly-seen BIOS overclocking options won’t lose out to other large-size H55 motherboards. If ECS were able to further improve the components it uses, I believe it could provide consumers with an additional option for affordable, high-performance motherboard products. 

HDD Test With Intel’s value SSD, X25-V 40GB The texture of the back casing would be much better if it were polished. HD Tune Pro 4.01 Benchmark Average 195.2 MB/s, Access Time 0.1ms CrystalDiskMark read at 190.3 Mb/s, write at 43.47 MB/s When the ATTO DISK Benchmark is tested at 128k and above, a highest read of 196 MB/s and write of 43 MB/s can be achieved. EVEREST Read Test Suite Randon Read 281.3 MB/s FDEBENCH Test achieved read at 187.2 Mb/s, write at 42.8 MB/s X25-V official specs are 170/35 MB/s; During the tests of the H55 chipset, most reached a standard of 190/40 MB/s or above. The greatest advantage of the Value model X25-V SSD is that the RAID 0 performance seems to have doubled, while the price remains about the same as buying a single X25-M 80GB. Overclock Efficiency Test CPU 180.5 X 21 => 3790.4MHz DDR3 1444 CL7 7-7-21 1T IGP 533MHz Hyper 2 X PI 32M=> 11m 11.456s CPUMARK 99=> 585 Nuclearus Multi Core => 13572 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 10.79/5179 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 134258 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 2.40 pts CPU(Single Core) => 1.23 pts After overclocking, the CPU performance test was improved by about 20-30%, while only 1.212V were used. For the original heat sink, Dual Core with a 32nm CPU has a high overclocking ability. External viewing of 180MHZ or more requires an external VGA. Other H55 motherboards, used previously, had an internal IGP which could not be turned on if overclocking was set at 170-175MHz or more. The overclocking ability of the ECS H55H-1 is quite good. Heat Test System Wait Time - 37/41 Intel Burn Test v2.4 - 70/72 Stress Level Maximum When overclocking at 3790MHz with the original heat sink at full speed, it reached a temperature of around 72 degrees. Standby and full speed temperatures are around 5-10 degrees higher than if overclocking was not used.

CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU => 1.76 pts CPU(Single Core) => 0.91 pts PCMark Vantage => 7268 This performance is, of course, much more powerful than the commonly-seen LGA 775 Atom framework. Although the Intel G6950 is the most rudimentary of its kind, its new framework enjoys a high clock rate and L3 enhancement. In terms of CPU performance, it is also a little better than the Core 2 Duo platform used by most mid-tier ITXs. 3D Effects 3DMARK2006 => 1751 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 800 X 600 => 20.41FPS The G6950’s GPU clock rate is 533MHz, which is a little lower than the 733MHz of other 32nm Clarkdales. However, the G6950’s 3D performance is superior to the previous generation G4X series. Heat Test System Wait Time - 31/36 Intel Burn Test v2.4 - 57/59 Stress Level Maximum The bare machine reached nearly 60 degrees at full speed in a room temperature environment of 25 degrees. This temperature is considered reasonable. Power Consumption Test System Wait Time - 38W OCCT full speed - 73W Intel Burn Test v2.4, Stress Level Maximum Power consumption is a proud feature of the 32nm CPU. It only uses 73W when the CPU is at full speed. Hopefully we will see Intel using 32nm CPUs in its 4 cores soon. DRAM Bandwidth Performance DDR3 1064 CL6 6-6-18 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 9097MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 7614MB/s DDR3 1444 CL7 7-7-21 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 12742MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 10210MB/s The DDR3 performance of the Clarkdale platform was not as high as that of top-tier i5/i7 CPUs, because of the Clarkdale’s internal IGP. In terms of DRAM bandwidth, the Clarkdale performed slightly better than the same-brand LGA 775 and the competitor’s AM3. The voltage performance of the new framework is better than past platforms, with DDR3 voltage usually only needing around 1.5-1.7V.

BIOS Main Interface M.I.B II mainly serves as a page for adjusting the clock rate and voltage functions CPU.CPU VTT.DRAM Maximum added voltage of 0.63V DRAM options 800/1066/1333/1600 Since i3/i5CPU support is different, only DDR3 1066 or 1333 can be used. PC Health Status For an ITX motherboard, the BIOS options available on this ECS product are quite plentiful. All appropriate overclocking settings are available so that the user can adjust them at will. The overclocking ability won’t be weaker than a normal ATX/MATX H55. With the internal IGP, the CPU can still overclock to 180MHz and remain stable. Testing Platform CPU: Intel Pentium Dual Core G6950 MB: ECS H55H-I DRAM: CORSAIR CMD8GX3M4A1600C8 VGA: Intel Clarkdale 533MHz HD: Intel X25-V 40GB POWER: be quiet! STRAIGHT POWER DELUXE 400W Cooler: Intel Cooler OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit CPU used Intel Pentium Dual Core G6950, the current most rudimentary 32nm CPU. Core is Clarkdale, clock rate is 2.80GHz, L2 2 x 256KB and L3 3MB Default Value Test CPU 133 X 21 => 2893.3MHz DDR3 1064 CL6 6-6-18 1T IGP 533MHz Hyper 2 X PI 32M=> 15m 02.414s CPUMARK 99=> 430 Nuclearus Multi Core => 10050 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 8.00/3840 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 108881

As a result of power-efficient, internet-capable motherboards, such as Atom and ION, coming onto the scene over the last one or two years, the computer market has changed so that internet PCs that save energy and conserve power are now quite common. Prices are also lower than the average PC, and are approaching those of notebooks. Numerous brands are releasing ITX motherboard products this year, which is driving the evolution of this technology. In the past, consumers who wished to purchase an ITX motherboard almost always needed to buy a brand-name PC with ITX specs. In addition, ITX motherboards are comparatively smaller. Most of the products are similar to notebooks in that there are no changeable settings in the BIOS. It seems that many motherboard manufacturers became more interested in the ITX market after DFI introduced the ITX P55. After I published the article on the ITX P55, certain consumers are more interested in the internal IGP H55 series. The main player this time is the mini-ITX H55 chipset product, the H55H-I released by ECS. It seems to me that I have bought several ECS products before, but that was many years ago during the K7 motherboard era. My friends and I bought and used their products because they were cheaper than other brands. Later it seemed ECS left Taiwan for a period of time, but you could still find news online that said that ECS was one of the top three motherboard manufacturers based on their product shipments. In the past year, ECS has wanted to re-enter the Taiwanese market. It is my hope that they will bring cheap but good-quality products to the market. First we looked at the product packaging. Since it is a product with mini-ITX specs, the packaging is more compact. It is blue and black in color and the design and feel of the package are not bad. Enclosed Accessories Product manual, quick installation guide, motherboard driver disc, IO partition plate and cables. ECS H55H-I The major part of the product uses solid state capacitors while other parts use electrolytic capacitors. Green PCB is not commonly seen in the consumer market. If it was changed to black PCB, I believe it would have a better feel. 1 X PCI-E X16, allows VGA installation to enhance 3D performance. Realtek ALC892 audio chip, which supports 8 channels and High Definition Audio technology 4 X orange SATAII, Intel H55 chipset, no RAID functions 24PIN power source input, red is Clear CMOS Jump 2 X DIMM DDR3, which supports 1066/1333, DDR3 capacity that can support up to 8GB IO 6 X USB 2.0 1 X eSATA 1 X S/PDIF Fiber optic / coaxial output 1 X RJ-45 LAN port 1 X D-SUB 1 X DVI 1 X HDMI LGA 1156 CPU installation base, three CPU power supplies Below the black heat sink is the H55 chip. The 4-PIN power source input port is to the top-left.

Relatively to more cores CPU products output, it is good news to the users who have more requirements for PC. In the initial stage of Hexa-Core CPU, Intel only launched Core i7-980X Extreme Edition, There’s no big different from Intel i7 965/975 Extreme on the pricing segment, all of them quoted at USD999. Frankly speaking, it will be a loading to users who want to upgrade their PC system but the budget is limited. On the other hand, dynastic changes faster is good for us, as we can pay few and get the best quality goods in the short time. It’s better to launch new Core i7-980X Extreme Edition at par, one way to get more competitive in the market, the other way can promote Hexa-Core CPU to be popular more and soon. Recently I just bought the introduction to Canon which is the best edition of ABC DSLR-550D last week Hopefully to introduce the best buy of Kiss X3 (500D) and the popular edition of ABC of machine 550D these two cameras to all of you soon.

3DMark Vantage CPU SCORE =>66464 To upgrade 980X EE to achieve 4.2GHz under 1.364 voltage, normally speaking, based on each CPU’s quality adjusts its voltage to make sure CPU running stable to compare OC with preserving frequency, it’s easy to upgrade 15~25% of the CPU performance. DRAM width frequency DDR3 1857.4 CL7 7-6-24 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 29607MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 18535MB/s DDR3 2005.2 CL8 8-8-24 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 32040MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 19790MB/s DDR3 2005 CL7 7-6-24 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 32771MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 20140MB/s Though the P55 of chip frame is same as X58, all are memory controller build inside in CPU, but dual channel performance of P55 is still hard to catch up triple channel performance of X58. Temperature behaves 39~49 under the system of stand-by OCCT full speed operation 75~88 Intel Burn Test v2.4, Stress Level Maximum Intel Burn Test is a kind of extreme burning software, the CPU loading is relatively high, there are 10 degrees different from select Stress Level High/Maximum these two styles, 980X EE is 6C/12T, what temperature displays as 4C/8T is pretty much the same, if CPU temperature can be reduced a little more, it will be more ideal state The power consumption testing The system of stand-by 319W CPU full speed operation 516W CPU FSB 220MHz Certainly the limit FSB of 980X EE is not only 200MHz, there are some space to upgrade its FSB, it can achieve better record if we add VTT voltage or no require to pass Hyper 12 X PI 32M. Actually 980X EE of FSB ability can beat i7 Quad-Core Due to the Hexa-Core i7-980X EE is made with 32nm processing, compares with the products of i7 920~975 Quad-Core 45nm processing. The performance of i7-980X EE is much better than expectation no matter on temperature, power consumption and efficiency of OC program.

NOVA SSD series with the graceful black tone to be its surface ATTO DISK Benchmark exceeds above 128k and can be played to read 266 MB/s at most while testing, writes into 200 MB/s CrystalDiskMark reads 248.4 Mb/s, writes into 168.4 MB/s In Intel low stage chip frame, almost north and south bridge unified into one, but X58 still follow old frame to divide north and south bridge, that’s why I highlight the wide frequently of 1CH10R when I do SSD full speed operation The OC efficiency frequently BIOS main page CPU Feature Voltage The focal point frequently lies in CPU VTT Voltage to draw high outside CPU DDR3 parameter is set up CPU 200.5 X 21 =>4210.7MHz DDR3 2005 CL8 8-8-24 1T Hyper 12 X PI 32M=> 13m 59.173s CPUMARK 99 =>660 CrystalMark 2004R3 =>320922 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU =>10.75 pts CPU(Single Core) =>1.47 pts PCMark Vantage =>20957

Preserve efficiency CPU 132.7 X 26 =>3449.6MHz DDR3 1857.4 CL7 7-6-24 1T Hyper 12 X PI 32M=> 16m 23.847s CPUMARK 99 =>541 CrystalMark 2004R3 =>275225 CINEBENCH R11.5 CPU =>8.81 pts CPU(Single Core) =>1.21 pts PCMark Vantage =>18709 3DMark Vantage CPU SCORE =>58967 980X EE efficiency was mainly high to compared with CPU of past 4 Cores, thus, it’s easy to get high mark on above common test software. Especially Hyper-Threading turns into 6C/12T and Turbo Boost automatically upgrade its frequently, both of them are useful to improve the efficiency of CPU Temperature 30~37 under the system of stand-by OCCT full speed operation 52~62 Intel Burn Test v2.4, Stress Level Maximum Normally the temperature of each CPU Core is different and its OC performance is easy affected 980X EE only have 30 degree under stand-by status, 60 degree under full speed operation The power consumption testing 270W under the system of stand-by CPU full speed operation 363W SATA frequency wide testing of the south bridge ICH10R uses CORSAIR NOVA 128GB SSD

IO interface 4- WAY SLI bridge device. Exclusive ECP V2 panel Except that the large-scale heat pipe to dispel the heat, additional fan is necessary to enhance the heat convection for X58 The independent heat sink mould dispels the heat for Mosfet, 10 phase Digital designed for CPU of power supplier PSU I used ANTEC CP-1000, the special products designed, to afford enough power supply capacity under high load The special fan designed and volume which is similar as industrial required, but please noted that CP-1000 have to install in ANTEC of Case, there are 3 kind of case can be selected. Test platform CPU: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition ES MB: EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT CMG6GX3M3A2000C8 VGA: GIGABYTE GTX260 OC SLI 3WAY HD: CORSAIR NOVA V128 POWER: ANTEC CP-1000 Cooler: Thermaltake Frio OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit The radiator is Thermaltake of Frio Cooler. Personal impression on Thermaltake Cooler was the easy disassembly and assembly in the past, and it still has good efficiency The user can choose to install one or two fans, all have additional thread to control the rotational speed, m/while there are five pipes in the both sides bottom each

In the remembrance, the Core 2 Duo double-core processor was just announced by Intel at the Grand-Hotel in July 2006. After around a half-year later, Intel started Quad-Core era, which was following Core 2 Due structure to make Core 2 Quad CPU. After that, Intel launched Core i7 to enhance its performance with L3, HT and triple- channel functions in November 2008, even if Core i7 was based on Quad-core and simulated with Octa-core (eight-core) in use, but the market was still look forward to hearing from real Hexa-Core (six-core) CPU. After all, the real Hexa-Core CPU was released by Intel in March 16, 2010, meaning the generation was completed replaced by the era of Hexa-Core CPU. The first Hexa-Core CPU was named Core i7-980X Extreme Edition and the specs. is not only have Hyper-Threading, supports Turbo Boost, but supports un-locked frequency. The best frequency can reach to 3.6GHz. Moreover, the Entity of the Hexa-Core comes with Hyper-Threading technology, it can be up to 12-threading, abbreviated as 6C/12T, 32 nm processing, with 12MB of L3 cache. Above all, the Hexa-Core CPU shows the best standards at present. Hereinafter referred to as 980X EE, 980X EE belongs to LGA 1366-pin family, which supports X58 chipsets, and there’s no difference from the Non-Hexa-Core i7 on the surface. Difference with past Core i7 edition from the back of Core i7-980X EE Enclosed inside Cooler is the different from the past edition. There are 4 copper pipes in the bottom in addition to enhance spreading the heat. As regards Mother Board segment, EVGA is very popular in USA and Europe portion recently, X58 4 Classified - Way SLI is the highest version in their product line, EVGA should put out edition of USB3/SATA3 in the future. The tone of black and red match pretty well and quite showy 7 X PCIe X16/X8 is greatest selling point in this kind of X58, to build NF200 chip inside to support supreme SLI 4 - WAY display cards too The black heat sink is the south bridge ICH10R inside There are 8 SATAII device inside for expanding Triple channel is particular in X58, there are 2 kits DIMM altogether can be expanded to DDR3 24GB capacity at most Use three phases power supply to strengthen DDR3 stability LGA 1366 CPU

StreetFighter IV Benchmark 800 X 600 => 34.31FPS The clock of Clarkdale GPU from 700Mhz to 933Mhz is to be some help on 3D performance. As for test results from previous two software, 3D performance leaves about 20% to be desired. But if you still need more 3D performance, I recommend that buying VGA to upgrade your system is a better choice. Temperature Test: System standby: - 38/33 OCCT full loading: - 68/62 In the test what I install is OEM cooler, and the above temperature values are low. If you install a higher-level cooler, the result which is less 10℃ ~ 20℃ than the above temperature values may appear. Power Consumption Test: System standby: - 63W OCCT full loading: - 105W Intel Burn Test v2.4，Stress Level High If you don’t install VGA or too many other computer peripherals, the power consumption of 32nm-Clarkdale normally doesn’t exceed 100W. Although overclocking results in a bit more power consumption, the range observed from the test is not high. DDR3 Bandwidth Test: DRAM DDR3 1337.6 CL8 8-8-24 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 11169 MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 8746 MB/s DDR3 1802.6 CL11 11-11-30 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 14851 MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 11310 MB/s DRAM DDR3 1602 CL8 8-8-24 1T Sandra Memory Bandwidth - 15509 MB/s EVEREST Memory Read - 12131 MB/s As far as DDR3 bandwidth is concerned, Clarkdale platform doesn’t show better performance than 45nm Core i5/i7. However compared with LAG 775 and AMD’s two platforms, Clarkdale is still better. And about voltage, Clarkdale is better than the previous platforms; DDR3 1800 can run steadily under only 1.60V. After the test of CORSAIR’s introductory DDR3 product, I find it has nice overclocking ability. With the limit no more than 1.308V, CPU still can be overclocked to 4.2GHz with OEM cooler. Hyper 4 X PI 1M=> 16.109s CPUMARK 99=> 647 Intel Core i3-530 CPU has very high C/P, and its performance, temperature, and power consumption are satisfactory. Especially overclocking, the clock raised to about 4GHz need not too high voltage and higher-level cooler. The process technology of 32nm makes Intel CPU products more competitive. I sincerely hope Intel releases quad-core CPU with 32nm soon. Most prices of H55 MB are about NT$3500 ~ 4200 (about US$110 ~ 113). If MB manufacturers can lower prices 10% ~ 20%, I believe H55 MB will be more popular and universal. BIOSTAR products mainly focus on parity and overclocking. This time the price of BIOSTAR H55 is also friendly, deserving much praise. Intel releases the latest structure IGP platform in 2010, and releases a series of many product lines so that consumers have more choices. At present the prices of H57 chipset and high-level i5 CPU are too high, but H55 and introductory Pentium G6950 or Core i3 530 still have very high C/P. After the appearance of Intel Clarkdale platform, one condition has changed in Micro ATX PC market for a few years: in the past if consumers wanted to choose IGP with higher 3D performance, they usually intended to choose AMD platforms. But now in 2010 Intel begins to focus more on this market, and also has excellent competitiveness. Besides some products I use in this test, you can buy HDD and case so as to build a nice small PC machine. Every consumer of course has his or her favourite brand or budget concerned, so building a PC can be adjustable according to marketing sale. Finally I hope this article can be a good reference to this kind of product information. Thank you!

OCCT full loading: - 82W Intel Burn Test v2.4，Stress Level High With 32nm new technology, Intel has an advantageous position in the aspect of power consumption. After overclocking, power consumption is 39W under stand by, and only 82W under full loading. Clarkdale structure’s low power consumption is satisfactory. Overclocking Performance Test: CPU 180.3 X 22 => 3966MHz DDR3 1802.6 CL11 11-11-30 1T VGA 945MHz BIOS Setup Utility: BIOSTAR H55 HD, like other mid-level H55 products, also has many options for user to overclock. However, as an introductory product, the range of voltage is not wide, 3~6 levels at most. But the product still shows great overclocking performance, in any case. CORSAIR DDR3 also has good performance with overclocking, and the setting 1.60V can run 1800 CL11 steadily. Hyper 4 X PI 32M=> 16m 10.000s CPUMARK 99=> 612 Nuclearus Multi Core => 15424 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 15.02/7207 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 169052 CINEBENCH R10 1 CPU=> 5448 x CPU=> 12447 PCMark Vantage => 7307 After CPU and GPU are overclocked, we can observe from previous software that performance improve 30% ~ 50%. Furthermore, with OEM Cooler, 3966Mhz can also be steady under 1.212V; 32nm-CPU also shows excellent overclocking ability. 3DMARK2006 => 2170

Default Performance: CPU 133.8 X 22 => 2942.9MHz DRAM DDR3 1337.6 CL8 8-8-24 1T GPU 733MHz 128mb Hyper 4 X PI 32M=> 20m 12.640s CPUMARK 99=> 452 Nuclearus Multi Core => 10881 Fritz Chess Benchmark => 11.18/5367 CrystalMark 2004R3 => 128706 CINEBENCH R10 1 CPU=> 3982 x CPU=> 9236 PCMark Vantage => 5541 The platform based upon Core i3 530 basically has great performance, so it can easily deal with most software making CPU high loading. It also has excellent performance to deal with HD 1080P films or file converting. 3DMARK2006 => 1751 StreetFighter IV Benchmark 800 X 600 => 27.80FPS 3D performance of Intel Clarkdale structure has been almost the same as that of 785G. Intel Clarkdale can easily deal with many introductory 3D games. 3D requirement of StreetFighter IV is more than mid-level, and the software can run nearly smoothly. As far as built-in GPU standard is concerned, 3D performance is good. To those who prefer small PC machine, they can consider buying Intel’s new structure if needing higher-performance 3D platform. Temperature Test: System standby: - 24/26 OCCT full loading: - 55/52 After all, the default clock of the dual-core CPU is near 3GHz, and the temperature is quite low with OEM thin Cooler. And, the temperature is also acceptable even if CPU is full loading. Power Consumption Test: System standby: -39W

In the past as far as built-in GPU platforms were concerned, Intel usually used “G Series” to name its products. G45 or G41 as Intel’s main chipset were commonly seen in the market in the last generation. At the beginning of 2010, Intel released new “All in one PC” structure, and firstly introduced the new technology that GPU was directly built in the CPU. Moreover, Intel improved its CPU to 32nm process, and also released a series of CPUs that support the platform. At present, there are 6 CPUs in the market: low-level Pentium G6950; mid-level Core i3 530/540; and high-level Core i5 650/660/661/670. As to MB chipset, Intel released H55/H57 to support new CPU design, and the main difference was with and without RAID function. Therefore, this time I am going to build a Micro ATX PC based upon Intel’s new structure. As to CPU: I choose Intel Core i3 530, with 73W and the latest 32nm process. The code name is Clarkdale, with clock 2.93GHz, L2 2 x 256KB and L3 4MB. The price was about USD about 120. The OEM coolers of Clarkdale series are all non-copper bottom design, so I infer that copper bottom is not definitely necessary for dual-core CPU with 32nm. The main difference between Core i3 530 and Pentium G6950 is that the former supports HT technology; higher-level Clarkdale i5 also supports TurboBoost auto-overclocking technology. As to DRAM: I choose American brand CORSAIR TWIN3X4G-1333C9A. Its capacity is 2GB X 2, and the clock 1333 CL9 9-9-24 1.50V. The price is about USD about 75. CORSAIR has unique DDR3 heat sink, and the appearance and quality are also good. As to MB: I use H55 chipset—BIOSTAR H55 HD, with higher C/P. There are no whole solid capacitors, no USB3, and no sumptuous material on this mothboard, but the price of the product is the lowest in H55 market, about USD 57. BIOSTAR has another TH55B HD, with 4 DIMM DDR3 and high C/P, and the price is only USD 90. Recently BIOSTAR seems to like using red as material colour, making products more impressive. If this H55 MB can adopt Japanese electrolytic capacitors, I think this product can be more perfect. As to Power Supply: Judging from Intel’s latest 32nm platform, because of built-in GPU, I observe the power consumption of the whole system is low. Antec’s latest Neo ECO 400W is chosen, so the power supply will be enough to add VGA card higher than mid-level. The price is about USD about 55. The power supply uses Japanese high-performance capacitors and quiet 12-centimetre fan with 2 Ball Bearing; this product is also 80 PLUS certified. Test Platform: CPU: Intel Core i3 530 ES MB: BIOSTAR H55 HD DRAM: CORSAIR TWIN3X4G-1333C9A VGA: Intel Clarkdale 733MHz HD: WD 6400AAKS 640GB POWER: Antec Neo ECO 400W Cooler: Intel OEM Cooler OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit

HD Tune Pro 4.01 Benchmark Average 170.1 MB/s Access Time 0.2ms HD Tune Pro 4.01 Random Access 1MB 201.404 MB/s AAM 0.1ms EVEREST Linear Read Ave. 213.3 MB/s and the max is 224.7 MB/s FDEBENCH Read is 214.9 Mb/s and Write is 177.1 MB/s ATTO DISK Benchmark above 128k benchmark can reach max reading 231.9 Mb/s and writing 185.9 MB/s CrystalDiskMark Read is 220.0 Mb/s and Write is 178.6 MB/s NoteBook transfer rate is not as fast as PC, but the difference is not big. Most benchmark can reach read 210~220 MB/s and write 177~178 MB/s Comparing to current 2.5” HDD, 5400/7200rpm transfer rate is around 60~90 MB/s. SSD really improve NoteBook transfer performance. It also makes system shorten the waiting time. For the power, I previous review used Battery Eater Pro V2.70 to test the standby time, SSD would have 15 more minutes. But after that, I just realized this benchmark software is for CPU full speed and 3D. According to my friend, since he changed to SSD, the standby time increase around 30 minutes. I think SSD power saving feature is also attractive for NoteBook users. The potential SSD buyers are most using NoteBook. Even though SSD price is higher, but the higher performance, lower power consumption and anti-shock ability are still very attractive. Many of my friends are considering to move to SSD for their NoteBook. For PC platform, 3.5” capacity is higher and performance is better than 2.5” HDD. PC platform also doesn’t concern the shock issue as it’s not moving often. That’s why SSD is less attractive for PC users. Some enthusiasts still buy SSD to make RAID to enhance their PC performance. CPRSAIR P128 SSD owns very high data transfer rate and uses pure SAMSUNG MLC Chips. Currently, CORSAIR also launches most hi-end Force series SSD. The read/write performance is 295/285 MB/s. Force series must be the fastest MLC SSD product. Of course, the price will be higher than P128. I am still looking forward for lower price SSD. It makes SSD be more affordable. This high performance SSD storage can benefit more users if it becomes more popular in the future. Recently, I bought some headset. SONY MDR-DS7100 headset is one of them. Finally, I still would like to Thanks for referring my article.

System performance HD Tune Pro 4.01 Benchmark Average 199.6 MB/s Access Time 0.1ms EVEREST Linear Read Ave. 235.9 MB/s and max is 247.9 MB/s HD Tune Pro 4.01 AAM 0.1ms ATTO DISK Benchmark above 128k benchmark can reach max reading 233 MB/s and writing 181 MB/s EVEREST Read Test Suite Randon Read 248.1 MB/s CrystalDiskMark Read is 236.7 Mb/s and Write is 180.1 MB/s FDEBENCH Read is 222 Mb/s and Write is 181 MB/s P128 internal is 8 channel design and writing performance is 180 MB/s. The reading performance in most benchmark is around 220 MB/s. P128 read/write benchmark is almost same as official spec. The seek time is only 0.1ms. It’s exclusive high performance by SSD and the seeking speed enhance the data search time. PC with P128 RAID 0 HD Tune Pro 4.01 Benchmark Average 414.7 MB/s Access Time 0.1ms EVEREST Linear Read Ave. 451.9 MB/s and max is 498.5 MB/s HD Tune Pro 4.01 AAM 0.1ms ATTO DISK Benchmark above 128k benchmark can reach max reading 422.2 Mb/s and writing is 384.3 MB/s EVEREST Read Test Suite Randon Read 426.0 MB/s CrystalDiskMark Read is 429.3 Mb/s and Write is 369.0 MB/s FDEBENCH Read is 396.8 Mb/s and Write is 363.1 MB/s Using MB built-in chipset, some condition cannot reach double performance in RAID0 as its theory. For P55 single chipset, its SB performance is quite good. Most benchmark reach x2 performance. P55 compares to X58 IC10R, the RAID transfer performance are almost the same. However, users need to fine tune some P55 BIOS to achieve the high performance. NoteBook I use DELL Latitude E series and the SB is ICH9M

New storage device, I believe most people will think of SSD first. SSD full name is Solid-State Drive. SSD is very popular in the past 2 years. It also breaks the performance barrier for NoteBook. Most SSD key features are light, power saving, higher performance and secure data protection. However, SSD price is much higher and less capacity than traditional HDD. I still remember that before 1H 2009, SSD focused on performance and capacity improvement. But the price was not big change. Mainstream 64GB SSD price was around 200USD. Also, the MLC performance was reading at 200~220 MB/s and writing at 150~180 MB/s. Recently, I saw some non-SAMSUNG SSD controller can enhance MLC performance. USA famous Memory manufacturer, CORSAIR, also announced many SSD products these 2 years. So far you can find 6 models CORSAIR SSD and the capacity are from 32 to 512GB. Also, there are Performance/Force/Reactor/Nova/Extreme/Legacy series for users to choose. This time I got is CMFSSD-128GBG2D. It belongs to Performance series and 128GB. 2 years warranty. CORSAIR P128 SSD packing It’s 2.5 inches. Product ID is P128. 2 years warranty. Official spec is 220/180 MB/s Built-in 128MB DRAM as buffer cache. The key differences between P128 and P64 are capacity and slower writing speed as 64GB spec is 220/120 MB/s. Metal case with hairline brushed finish. It makes look and texture being better. Official data shows the weight is 80g which is lighter than 2.5” HDD. Backside with SAMSUNG warranty sticker SATA connector supports SATAII and compatible with PC and NB. Weight by electronic scale/ CORSAIR CMFSSD-128GBG2D is 73g TOSHIBA 120GB 5400rpm is 112g Most 2.5” HDD are around 100~115g. It means the traditional HDD is heaver than P128 SSD around 51~57%. Someone think it’s just 27~39g lighter. However, for NoteBook users, you still can feel the weight difference. At least, my most using NoteBook are around 1.0~1.4kg. After changing to SSD, I can feel the NoteBook become lighter. PC platform is using GIGABYTE P55A-UD7. Last time, I used X58 and ICH10R to test. This time I change to latest P55 to test the performance. P55A-UD7 supports 3Way-SLI.USB 3.0 and latest SATA3.0 Configuration CPU: Intel Core i7-870 MB: GIGABYTE P55A-UD7 DRAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR-GT CMG6GX3M3A2000C8 VGA: MSI N9600GT Diamond HD: CORSAIR CMFSSD-128GBG2D POWER: be quiet E7 Cable Management 480W Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme OS: Windows7 Ultimate 64bit