HARDWARE

Intel’s Next Unit Of Computing Review - The Future Desktop Or Another Nettop? (Part 4)

4/18/2013 2:37:47 PM

To test our DC3217IYE mini-system, we completed our bare model with two 4GB DDR3-1600 SO-DIMM modules with 11-11-11-28-1T timings and an Intel SSD 520 180GB mSATA SSD drive.

The DC3217IYE mini-system

The DC3217IYE mini-system

This configuration obtained a pretty high score from Windows Experience (5.5), and according to Windows, Intel HD Graphics 4000 core was the main bottleneck of this system.

For comparison, we decided to use a Zotac ZBOX Nano with similar geometrical parameters, particularly the flagship AD12 PLUS model. This minimized computer mostly shares the same size (127x127x45mm), but is built on AMD Brazos 2.0 platform with an 18W dual-core E2-1800 processor working at 1.7GHz frequency and equipped with an internal Radeon HD 7340 graphics core.

Zotac ZBOX Nano looks similar to Intel NUC

Zotac ZBOX Nano looks similar to Intel NUC

As you see, Zotac ZBOX Nano looks similar to Intel NUC. Though, the using an AMD platform limits its sub-memory to a single-channel mode only, so the AD12 PLUS setting we tested only provided one 4GB memory module. Moreover, Zotac engineers managed to fit a 2.5in drive into their system, so we could use a fully-fledged Intel SSD 520 240GB SSD.

Plus, we will also compare Intel NUC’s performance against that of Mini-ITX systems assembled with traditional components. Thus, today we will also test a system built on MSI Z77IA-E53 mainboard with desktop Core i3-3225 and Pentium G2120 processors. This platform incorporates 8GB of dual-channel DDr3-1600 SDRAM and an mSATA Intel SSD 520 180GB drive.

Mini-ITX systems assembled with traditional components

Mini-ITX systems assembled with traditional components

As a result, we measured the benchmarks for four different systems within our test:

The four systems

The four systems

All tests were carried out in Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise x64 OS.

Performance

In order to check the systems performance in general-purpose apps, we used Futuremark PCMark 7 benchmarking suite. Note that besides the average score for performance, we also used PCMark 7 to test systems performance in unique usage cases: in office apps, during creating and processing digital contents and for use in games and entertainment tasks.

Futuremark PCMark 7

Future PCMark 7

Productivity

Productivity

Creativity

Creativity

Entertainment

Entertainment

We used Futuremark 3DMark11 to test the performance of systems computing during gaming. This benchmark emulated the operation of a complicated gaming system with multiple objects.

Physics

Physics

The performance in tasks with the Internet was tested with SunSpider JavaScript released in the newest version (version 23) of Google Chrome available at the time of our tests. The chart indicates the time allotted to complete the test, thus smaller numbers shows faster speed.

SunSpider JavaScript

SunSpider JavaScript

Additionally, we also used three popular synthetic benchmarks: WinRAR achiever, Fritz chess app and Cinebench 11.5 rendering task.

Cinebench 11.5

Cinebench 11.5

Fritz Chess

Fritz Chess

WinRAR 4.2

WinRAR 4.2

Intel NUC based on Core i3-3217U processor managed to reach new performance records among minimized systems. Intel’s platform with sleek components turned out many times faster than Brazos 2.0 with AMD E2-1800 processor. The innovative Ivy Bridge microarchitecture and 22 nm process should definitely be grateful for this success. They allowed overclocking full functionality of an x86 processor into a 17W TDP. AMD can’t boast similarly: their Brazos 2.0 uses more rudimentary Zacate processors, explaining a significant performance difference between Intel NUC DC3217IYE and Zotac ZBOX Nano AD12 PLUS.

Meanwhile, I have to stress that the Core i3 inside the compact Intel NUC is actually not the Core i3 that we see in desktop systems. Although the NUC processor has two cores supporting Hyper-Threading technology, its clock frequency is just half of that in the regular processor. So, that is why its performance is more like of a desktop Pentium rather than of desktop Core i3. In other words, if we consider Intel NUC as a potential replacement for a regular desktop PC, remember that its performance will be equivalent to that from a low-segment system.

Another aspect of Intel NUC performance is its 3D graphics speed. The recognizable thing about Core i3-3217U processor is that it has HD Graphics 4000 inside – Intel’s best graphics core available nowadays. However, can it successfully win Radeon HD 7340 from Brazos 2.0 platform? Now, try answering this question by running some 3DMark11 benchmarks and gaming tests in Full-HD resolution plus low image quality settings.

3DMark11

3DMark11

Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2

Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

As we can see, Intel HD Graphics 4000 core outperforms Radeon HD 7340 graphics integrated inside AMD E2-1800. The performance difference between Intel NUC and a Brazos-2.0-based system is again clear and not AMD’s advantage. Saying differently, Intel’s new platform is surely superior to energy-efficient solution from AMD, while staying within comparable power level and thermal cover. This is good news for Intel, as no configurations having Atom processors could successfully compete against Brazos 2.0.

Concurrently, Intel NUC system‘s graphics performance almost places it at the level of a desktop Core i3-3225 and above a desktop Pentium G2120. Of course, it doesn’t make Intel NUC an ultimate gaming machine since Intel HD Graphics 4000 is not powerful enough for that, yet it should be more than sufficient for various online and casual games.

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