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Low Energy PC Testing
Investigating PC Power Consumption
Information TechnologyTaree TAFE
Low Energy PC TestingObjective:
Test the power consumption and performance of a personal computer based on a low energy motherboard.
Low Power System:
Based on Via MM3500 (Microprocessor on Motherboard) system using Via C7-D 1.5GHz Processor.
Low Energy PC TestingTest Parameters:
• Tests carried out on the low energy PC and a standard desktop PC of equivalent power.
• Both machines loaded with the same software.
• Performance testing carried out using benchmarking software to measure performance and to load the machine for power consumption readings.
• Power consumption measured using a mains power meter.
Low Energy PC Testing
Via MM3500 Compaq EVO D500
CPU VIA C7-D 1.5GHz Intel Pentium 4 - 1.6GHz
Chipset VIA CN896 + VT8237A
Intel 845
RAM 1GB DDRII 256MB PC133
VideoVIA Chrome9 HC DX9 IGP
nVidia Vanta 16MB 3D AGP4x
Disk 20GB IDE 20GB IDE
CD Drive CD/DVD ROM CD-ROM
Test Systems (Hardware):
Common Equipment:• IBM ThinkVision 17 inch Flat screen monitor• 4GB Memory Stick (Dick Smith Electronics)
Low Energy PC TestingTest Systems (Software):• Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2)
• OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 Office Suite
• PassMark Performance Test 6.1
Power Monitoring:• MS6115 LCD Main Power Monitor (Jaycar Electronics)
Low Energy PC Testing
Configuration 1Win XP USB/CD
Configuration 2Win XP HDD/CD
Configuration 3Win XP HDD
Hard Disk No Yes Yes
CD Drive Yes * Yes No
Memory Stick Yes ** No No
VIA MM3500 Test Configurations:
Notes:
* Windows XP would not boot correctly from the USB memory stick without the CD drive connected (further study required)
** USB memory stick formatted with NTFS and full Windows XP SP2 loaded using standard installation from CD
Low Energy PC TestingPower Consumption (System Unit):Configuration 1 - Win XP USB/CD:
12 12
35
55
37
95
38
95
37
60
45
6155
11 12 12
0
20
40
60
80
100
Via MM3500 Compaq EVO
Wa
tts
System Off System Running - Idle
Running CPU Test Running Graphics Test
Running Disk Tests Running CD Tests
HDD Off Standby
Hibernate
Notes: ‘HDD Off’ and ‘Hibernate’ do not apply to the VIA system (no hard disk present)
Low Energy PC TestingPower Consumption (System Unit):Configuration 2 - Win XP HDD/CD:
12 12
37
55
43
95
44
95
41
60
43
61
31
55
12 1212 12
0
20
40
60
80
100
Via MM3500 Compaq EVO
Wa
tts
System Off System Running - Idle
Running CPU Test Running Graphics Test
Running Disk Tests Running CD Tests
HDD Off Standby
Hibernate
Low Energy PC TestingPower Consumption (System Unit):Configuration 3 - Win XP HDD:
12 12
34
55
41
95
42
95
38
60 61
29
55
12 1212 12
0
20
40
60
80
100
Via MM3500 Compaq EVO
Wa
tts
System Off System Running - Idle
Running CPU Test Running Graphics Test
Running Disk Tests Running CD Tests
HDD Off Standby
Hibernate
Notes: ‘Running CD’ Tests does not apply to the VIA system (no CD Drive present)
Low Energy PC TestingPower Consumption (Full System):Configuration 3 - Win XP HDD (IBM ThinkVision 17in monitor)
19 1919 19
58
85
62
120
60
110
61
95
41
60
38
60
19 1819 18
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Via MM3500 Compaq EVO
Wa
tts
System Off / Monitor Off System Off / Monitor Standby
System Running - Idle Running CPU Test
Running Graphics Test Running Disk Tests
Monitor off HDD Off
Standby Hibernate
Low Energy PC TestingPower Consumption (System Unit):Comparison – Via Configurations
12 12 12
3537
3437
4341
38
4442
37
4138
4543
3129
11 12 1212 12
0
10
20
30
40
50
VIA USB/CD VIA HDD/CD VIA HDD
Wa
tts
System Off System Running - Idle
Running CPU Test Running Graphics Test
Running Disk Tests Running CD Tests
HDD Off Standby
Hibernate
Low Energy PC TestingPerformance (PassMark):Configuration 1 - Win XP USB/CD:
172.3
224.7
120.3 124.4
42.2
20.7
149
199.3
46.9
305.4287.3
202.8
130.5
195.8
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Via MM3500 Compaq EVO
Wa
tts
CPU Mark 2D Graphics Mark 3D Graphics Mark
Memory Mark Disk Mark CD Mark
PassMark Rating
Low Energy PC TestingPerformance (PassMark):Configuration 2 - Win XP HDD/CD:
170.9
224.7
121.1 124.4
4220.7
153.3
199.3
385.6
305.4
158.4
202.8187.1 195.8
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Via MM3500 Compaq EVO
Wa
tts
CPU Mark 2D Graphics Mark 3D Graphics Mark
Memory Mark Disk Mark CD Mark
PassMark Rating
Low Energy PC TestingPerformance (Subjective Measures):
The VIA system was loaded with OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 office suite and tested on typical office tasks such as word processing and Internet browsing.
The system performed adequately doing these tasks, with the only noticeable delay occurring when running using the USB memory only. In this case the system was much slower with disk operations, as would be expected.
System boot times were also noticeably longer when using the USB memory only.
Low Energy PC TestingMonitor Power Consumption:
IBM ThinkVision 17in Flat Screen
Diamond View 17in CRT Monitor
HP 1502 15in Flat Screen
Off (Front Panel Switch)
7 0 7
On - Standby 7 7 7
On - Operating 30 50 24
Note that the flat screen monitors still used the same amount of power when turned off as they do in standby mode.
Low Energy PC TestingConclusions:
All configurations of the VIA MM3500 based system achieved significant power savings over a ‘conventional’ machine configuration of approximately equal power. The power saving was between 30 and 50 percent for the system as a whole, and between 40 and 60 percent for the system unit.
While using a USB memory stick to boot and run Windows XP Pro allowed the removal of the hard disk, the amount of power saved was not sufficient (approx 3-4 watts) to make this option practical due to the extremely slow disk performance of the USB memory.
The CD drive required more power to operate than the hard disk and could be more easily replaced with other devices such as external CD drives or USB devices.
The most effective configuration would be with a low power hard disk and no CD drive. Attention should also be paid to the power consumption of the monitor as this was a major contributor to the overall system power requirements.
Low Energy PC TestingResources:
The steps for installing Windows XP Pro onto a USB memory stick are given here http://www.ngine.de/index.jsp?pageid=4176 .
A useful utility for formatting USB memory as NTFS is this one from HP http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=197
Other useful tools for manipulating the USB boot sectors are ‘TestDisk‘ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download and ‘mkbt’ http://www.nu2.nu/mkbt/
The performance benchmarking software used was PassMark Performance Test 6.1 (trial version) http://www.passmark.com/download/pt_download.htm
Contact: Terry Wade, Taree TAFE, [email protected]
