FYI...Atom D510 vs. AMD E-350 Power Usage

[mfeller2]

Last year, I built a small "server" with an Atom D510/Intel MB, 1GB DDR2, 320GB WD 5400 RPM disk, in an Antec ISK300-65 case. It runs Linux "headless"...command-line only, no monitor, keyboard, etc. Typical power measured at the outlet: 22W.

I needed to build a second, similar "server", and thought I would try the AMD E-350. The build ended up being the MSI E350IS-E45, 4GB DDR3 (1.5V), same 320GB WD Scorpio blue model, this time with the Antec ISK300-150. Same type of Linux install. Typical power measured: 32W. A 10W increase for more CPU, more RAM, and who knows what impact of the 150W supply (vs the 65W of the other case).

(FYI...the fan on the E-350 is noisy. I ended up setting "target CPU temp" to 60C, and min fan speed to 12.5%, and this seems to keep the noise at a more acceptable, low "whoosh". If I were to do the second build again, I would go with a fanless E-350 solution, and back to the ISK300-65 to get back to a near-noiseless solution).

 

[Ancalagon44]

I think the increased RAM alone could account for that difference. It may be DDR3, which runs at a lower voltage, but you do have 4 times as much of it.

 

[hans007]

well the isk300 150 uses a non solid state power supply. and the isk300-65 uses a ac brick i am fairly sure.

the power efficiency of the 150 watt is not 80 plus, and most AC bricks are 97-98% for laptops. so that alone is probably 4-5 watts of the difference. if you have more than 1 stick of ram that would be about 2W per stick probalby also.

i figure the e-350 uses slightly more than a d510 but not 10W

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Yeah, the 10W increase can be accounted for by the difference in power supplies and increased RAM in the AMD vs. Intel systems. The E-350 systems I've put together with solid state power supplies idle around 20W and load around 30W.

 

[Zap]

The 150W version also has an extra fan, which adds to the power draw. You can test for this by (temporarily) unplugging the rear fan.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Regarding RAM and power consumption, it would only matter if increased amount of RAM was due to having more "sticks". A single 4GB module shouldn't consume more power than single 1GB module unless its being used to its capacity.

Intel boards generally have the lowest power consumption, and using lower wattage power supplies will lower power consumption too.

-Few W from the CPU
-Little from PSU
-Little from motherboard

 

[Drakula]

How loud is the fan? Currently considering an E-350 for DVR.

 

[mfeller2]

How loud is the fan? Currently considering an E-350 for DVR.

There are E-350 boards that are passively cooled with large heat sinks. I would definitely pick one of those. The fan on the board is by default INTRUSIVELY high-pitched and loud. Walk into a room, and you notice it. As I said, I tweaked the BIOS settings so that the fan is running at something like 12.5% voltage or stock speed...not sure exactly what the BIOS setting corresponds to. At this setting, it is much more tolerable, and is easily drowned out when the heating/AC comes on.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

How loud is the fan? Currently considering an E-350 for DVR.

I had the Gigabyte E-350 board in an ISK-100. It was nearly inaudible sitting on my desk 3-4 feet from my ears. It was entirely inaudible on my couch ~10' from the desk. I just went in for a hearing test and (surprisingly) my high-end hearing is still fine, and I never noticed any high-pitched whining from the board's fan.

 

[Drakula]

There are E-350 boards that are passively cooled with large heat sinks. I would definitely pick one of those. The fan on the board is by default INTRUSIVELY high-pitched and loud. Walk into a room, and you notice it. As I said, I tweaked the BIOS settings so that the fan is running at something like 12.5% voltage or stock speed...not sure exactly what the BIOS setting corresponds to. At this setting, it is much more tolerable, and is easily drowned out when the heating/AC comes on.

I had the Gigabyte E-350 board in an ISK-100. It was nearly inaudible sitting on my desk 3-4 feet from my ears. It was entirely inaudible on my couch ~10' from the desk. I just went in for a hearing test and (surprisingly) my high-end hearing is still fine, and I never noticed any high-pitched whining from the board's fan.

Thanks for the replies and sorry to hijack your thread. Was looking at the pictures of both boards and the fan seems to be the same size. Maybe the difference were done in the BIOS or MSI one might be using louder fan? The only fanless E-350 board is made by Asus in mATX form. Looks fairly good though. By the way, is there a way to tell the temperature of the CPU and speed of the fan? Currently, software like Core Temp and Speedfan have yet to implement support.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Thanks for the replies and sorry to hijack your thread. Was looking at the pictures of both boards and the fan seems to be the same size. Maybe the difference were done in the BIOS or MSI one might be using louder fan? The only fanless E-350 board is made by Asus in mATX form. Looks fairly good though. By the way, is there a way to tell the temperature of the CPU and speed of the fan? Currently, software like Core Temp and Speedfan have yet to implement support.

The fans are the same size, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're the same fan. There's a lot of variation in fan quality especially in terms of noisiness. Also, Asus has a fanless mini-ITX board (link), though it is the most expensive Zacate mini-ITX board on Newegg. The fan on the ISK-100 is in a good position to cool it. Finally, HWMonitor reported the temperature and fan speed on my Gigabyte board.

 

[obidamnkenobi]

I'm going to build a similar server, but can't seem to find any <200W PSUs that aren't low efficiency and/or off-brand and cheap looking. Would an 380W 80+ rated PSU be a waste, and use much more power than say a 150-200W one (non 80+ rated)?

There is also the issue that low watt PSUs tend to have very few connectors, so as I stuff in hard drives that might become a problem..

 

[Drakula]

The fans are the same size, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're the same fan. There's a lot of variation in fan quality especially in terms of noisiness. Also, Asus has a fanless mini-ITX board (link), though it is the most expensive Zacate mini-ITX board on Newegg. The fan on the ISK-100 is in a good position to cool it. Finally, HWMonitor reported the temperature and fan speed on my Gigabyte board.

Yeah, I know the same size fans do not translate to same performance and everything. Must have missed that Asus Mini-ITX, that or was not really considering it because of its price. From the look of it, it is not bad, but do not really need wireless that much. I think my brother might use normal mid tower to do house the board if ever get one, not sure if he want to get a Mini-ITX case any time soon. Sounds great that HWMonitor can report the temperature and fan speed, was not sure which software might be able to do the job. What is the max temperature of your system and RPM on your fan? Curious how hot the system might be.

I'm going to build a similar server, but can't seem to find any <200W PSUs that aren't low efficiency and/or off-brand and cheap looking. Would an 380W 80+ rated PSU be a waste, and use much more power than say a 150-200W one (non 80+ rated)?

There is also the issue that low watt PSUs tend to have very few connectors, so as I stuff in hard drives that might become a problem..

A 380W 80+ PSU should not be a waste and probably would not use more power than the PSU that uses less than 200W, that is if the 380W PSU is efficient enough at low power usage, some are not. Of course, using a 380W PSU would also mean that you will not be able to use Mini-ITX cases, but guess you probably already know that and prepared already.

 

[obidamnkenobi]

Specifically I've been looking at the Antec Earthwatts green 380W, which is 80+ bronze certified.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371033
But with a zacate board and a few drives this would probably operate at not much above 10% capacity most of the time. That's why I was wondering if a smaller PSU would be better, but like I said I haven't found any good options. I think Anand tested this at some point, I should go back and look at that again.

I got a cheap mid tower for the case so size is not really a problem. The server will be in the basement of my house so fortunately I don't have to worry much about size or noise.
Thanks

edit: the review rates that PSU at 79.34% efficiency at 10% load. That sounds pretty good to me. Now if it could just go on sale!

 

[Zap]

jonnyGURU.com tested Pico PSUs a few months ago. Those can be reasonably quiet, efficient and have good DC output (all depending on the power brick you use).

 

[obidamnkenobi]

For anyone interested, check out this test of the Asus E35 board on SPCR;
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1167-page5.html

That test shows power at idle of the E350 same as an Atom D510, and slightly higher under load, by about 4-8W.

 

[Drakula]

By the way, what is the CPU temperature reporting in the BIOS for the Zacate? The MSI one I got is almost always reporting in high 60's and into 70's within about 5 to 10 minutes of booting up. Is that something normal?