Technical Stuff

	D-Sub(VGA) The 15-pin VGA connector is common to most monitors and high definition television.

	Dual-Link DVI Equipped with the most popular Dual Link DVI (Digital Visual Interface), this card is able to display resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600 at 60Hz.

	HDMI 1.4a HDMI 1.4a builds on previous generations of HDMI connectivity with support for Deep Color, 7.1 High Bitrate Audio, and 3D Stereoscopic support, ensuring the highest quality Blu-ray and video experience possible from your PC.

Microsoft DirectX® 11 Get intense gaming performance and unrivaled image quality with stunning 3D visual effects, realistic lighting and lifelike imagery with SAPPHIRE graphics cards supporting DirectX®11. New features in DirectX®11, such as Hardware Tesselation, HDR Texture Compression, Multi-threading support and DirectCompute bring lifelike gaming and an experience never possible on a PC before.

	OpenGL® 4.1 Supports the latest OpenGL API (Application Programming Interface) to accelerate performance of applications outside of DirectX®, i.e. Adobe Autodesk 2D/3D graphic design.

	Shader Model 5.0 Supports the latest Shader Model 5.0 feature set including VTF (Vertex Texture Fetch) which is a key feature used extensively in many of the games that ship today. Without support for this feature the game will fall back to a lesser shader path resulting in the loss of cool, lifelike effects made possible by Shader Model 5.0

	AMD Catalyst Control Center™ The AMD Catalyst Control Center™ software application gives you complete control over the performance and visual quality of your SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon™ based graphics card allowing for the best experience on your PC.

AMD PowerPlay™ Dynamically manage power efficiency and take control of your performance with AMD’s revolutionary AMD PowerPlay[tm] power management technology, delivering high performance features when needed and conserving power when the demand on the graphics processor is low. This seamless technology dramatically reduces the overall power consumption allowing for break-through energy efficiency.

	Enhanced Unified Video Decoder 3 (UVD 3) Watch the hottest Blu-ray movies or other HD content at full 1080p (and beyond !) display resolution. Enjoy a feature rich video experience with enhanced Unified Video Decoder 3 (UVD 3), offloading the bulk of the video decoding tasks from the CPU to the GPU allowing for a cooler, quieter and more balanced system.

	Enhanced Internet Browser Applications Not just for video and games, the power of your GPU can now accelerate the latest versions of some Internet browsers (IE9/Mozzilla FireFox) utilizing Direct 2D rendering for a faster and more responsive browsing experience including high quality image rendering and media playback.

	Microsoft Office 2010 Take advantage of improved picture and media editing capabilities in Office 2010 as well as edit and share your content in real time. See more, and get more done. Enhanced productivity with accelerated GPU processing for Office applications.

	Windows® 7 support WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) Certified drivers and logos are available for all SAPPHIRE HD2000, HD3000, HD4000 and HD5000 series cards ensuring compatibility and reliability with Microsoft Windows 7.

AMD App Acceleration Use the power of your AMD Radeon™ GPU to speed up everyday applications like your web browser and Microsoft Office 2010 using AMD App Acceleration. Do more, and do it faster. Watch Blu-ray movies, online streaming video and other HD content using your AMD Radeon™ GPU and get smooth – high quality playback with amazing image quality.

There is really nothing special in the package and the software is just a basic driver package with what is needed to get one up and running. Considering all the bells and whistles that the Catalyst Control Center includes the only real addition that could be considered necessary is a DVI to D-Sub adapter.

During a Private Cloud event in Durham, NC (Thanks Yung Chou and John Baker) I was amazed to discover the information available on Cloud computing. For many years we have been using the client\server model and this is just the next step; sort of. This is not some brand new technology but it is a step in the  right direction that leverages newer hardware features (No VT-d yet) of desktop processors.

As some of you know I am a very practical person (when it comes to computers) who is focused on the home user and I have a big vision. I foresee a day when everyone can have what I have – if they want it . Some have called me crazy to put so much into technology, but I have a dream. I envision a day when every room has a terminal; that is a functional and useful terminal. A terminal that can give you what you want, in the way you want it: entertainment, work, communications, social networking, games, monitoring your home from any room, logging onto your desktop from places other than home (your personal desktop without some of the current security concerns of remote desktop) and more. I just had to look deeper into this.  I had to see what MS was offering and get the answers to some questions.

What could be done at home? Is there ever a use for the limited functionality of a server based client at home? Would it be worth the time and money to put the Cloud in the home? How long until savings are actually realized?

There is a fairly hefty initial cost and the only real need for this is if you have multiple systems running in the home for several hours a day. If you have no time sharing issues and/or no desire to drop your satellite (cable) subscription and  no desire to gain the value of having all your entertainment centrally located and streamed – this may not be for you. If the ultimate in home entertainment and communications is your desire, this may be the solution for you.

So what is Cloud computing?

Simply put, the Cloud is not off site storage or on site NAS storage. It is not web based applications. It is not your SQL server client, your media or even a file server.

The Cloud is…. all of your processing, storage and applications being handled by a virtual machine based in a server. It is a virtual machine that you assign properties to and designate the usage of: the CPU core count, memory (dynamic or static), Hard drive space (virtual or dynamic) and software that is to be used (Excel, Word, accounting software, database software or your own software).

There has been much name calling; however, the fact is that if you are not using a virtual machine hosted on a server (even a home server) you are not computing in the Cloud. Sounds strange right? I don’t like using Wiki as a reference and I will not, but even they have a similar view.

Hardware requirements for MS solution:

Well you can actually host from a decent laptop with 8 GB of ram. Would it be practical or cost effective? No.

A simple, practical and cost effective server would include: a decent, reasonably fast, 64bit processor (preferably a 4 core) that is capable of visualization (VT-x in bios and VT-d for future use) , 8GB of  ram if you plan on hosting from 3 to 6 active virtual machines (VMs), a decent video card if you choose to take advantage of RemoteFX, and ample storage in the form of  SSD (raid 1) or RAID storage (raid 5, 10 because these are common on consumer level boards and the speed helps) that allows for speed and redundancy.

Clients are pretty simple and can range from a bare metal PXE enabled solution with a keyboard, mouse and monitor to a functional PC.

Software:

The list of  software possibilities is long, can get costly and is not limited to the following fully functional, time limited evaluation packages:

• Windows Azure Applications Management Pack

• Windows Server 2008 R2 w/ SP1

• Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1

• System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 SP1

• System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Beta

• System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2

• System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3

• System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2

All software components, of course, will not be necessary. What will be needed for a minimal setup at minimal cost? I will be investigating that as I attempt to turn my current home network into a private cloud (assuming my wife does not shoot me for breaking the budget first!).

A project as proof of concept:

Below is a diagram of the devices currently being used in the Archer household as well as the projected needs over the next two years:

The plan is to keep all current systems in place and simply make them PXE devices. These machines will run on VMs hosted on the server. This will save power but the true savings come into play with the expansions. By using bare metal terminals the hardware costs and power savings will be immense if the entire system is used to its fullest potential.

This transition will be followed :Here: Lets hope I don’t break the bank trying to save a buck.

What this means to you:

By embarking on projects such as this many of us out on the edges can bring you closer to the future. This allows you to see the true potential of the technology that has been in existence  for many years. Hopefully this will give you ideas that can help better utilize technology and save money at the same time. Am I crazy?

I have six people in my home with different needs and schedules. My sons may want to watch different movies, my daughter may need to do a school project, my wife may need to finish up some things she has brought home from work, my mother may want to play solitaire and I may have some work to do as well. That is six computers. That is a huge total footprint and it is a lot of wasted power. One computer can do all of this; just one. A private cloud in the home would meet these requirements, cost less to operate and have the elasticity to shrink and grow with your needs.

Is a private cloud the only way to reach these goals? Absolutely not; there are smaller, less expensive and more practical solutions. Some of these solutions cost nothing but require a level of familiarity with the software used that is generally beyond that of the average or expert level.

One less expensive and more practical solution is very similar to the Windows Server 2008 R2 (Hyper-V) solution. Microsoft Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is simple to set up and has much of the functionality of the private cloud environment without the cost or overhead.

Multipoint:

The concept of Windows Multipoint Server is easy. It takes the excess power of a computer and shares it across multiple end users. Called “Shared Computing” or sometimes “Virtual Desktops”, this is possible due to advances in technology. In the past, Personal Computers (PCs) were designed to be simple and used by individuals. Servers were powerful enough to handle the computing needs of many individuals in an organization, but needed skilled IT professionals to run them. But that’s changing.

Today’s PCs have become so powerful that they can deliver quality graphics and video and still have excess power to spare. Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 leverages the excess power of a PC and turns it into a server capable of powering multiple computing sessions at once. It’s the software operating system that runs each end user’s personalized Windows 7 “session” on the host computer. It then delivers a “virtual desktop” experience via the access devices to each end user working on their own monitor, keyboard and mouse. It’s easy to install and manage.

Check out the product demo and virtual tour to see how it works, and refer to the chart below to learn more about the hardware solutions.

Host

The host computer runs the Windows MultiPoint Server software and powers the experience for the teacher and students. WMS requires a 64-bit processor, with sufficient processing power (CPU) and memory capacity to meet the performance demands of the number of simultaneous users and applications used. The system requirements will depend upon the programs and features you decide to install, the number of users and how the system is used. For example a set up with 5 or 6 students using productivity applications like Office 2010 would require less processing power and RAM than a set up with 15-20 stations and heavy multi-media use. To see the recommended hardware click here or refer to the Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Planning Guide.

Access Devices

Access Devices connect the host computer to the individual stations, allowing multiple people to share the same computer while still having their own independent computing experience. Sometimes called “thin clients” or “zero clients”, these access devices enable the physical connection, as well as the efficient flow of data and video to multiple monitors. There are three main ways to connect: Direct Connection (with a PCI or Video card into the back of the host computer), USB Connection (an access device connected to the host computer via a USB cable) or LAN Connection (end user stations connecting via a thin client into the network, rather than connecting physicaly to the host computer). You can mix these methods and arrange the user stations in the best way to suit the space and layout of your classroom. Click here to see a range of solutions offered by our partners.

User Stations

The teacher and students have their own stations, with their own monitor, keyboard and mouse. Teachers orchestrate and monitor the learning experience from their station. Using the teacher view within the MultiPoint Management console, they can see thumbnails of student’s desktops, allow certain websites and send messages to individual students or the whole class. Teachers can even use remote control to assist when a student needs help.

Students learn efficiently and productively at their own user stations. Students view content and share files whenever they need to, work on and save files in their own private folders or on USB drives, and gain an enhanced learning experience. A single monitor can be used by two students with “split screen” to allow them to collaborate side by side. Some advanced monitors also come with the access devices built right in, to save space and reduce the amount of devices for each workstation.

You can also re-use existing monitors, keyboards and mice that you already have.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/multipoint/howitworks.aspx

Though I am in no way saying that Windows Multipoint Server is better than the MS Private Cloud (Windows Server 2008 R2) solution it appears to be  more practical and cost effective for most users.

Conclusion:

So you can use the cloud at home. Will it help you? It can if you let it. Any solution that allows you to save money on hardware, increase data security, allows more flexibility and reduces your carbon footprint is a winning solution.

Do you have a small business that can use something based on your current server and user hardware? Are you currently feeding 10+ systems eating 100-200 watts each plus a file server eating 100-300 watts can add up to over 3500 dollars a year. By having a solution set up that uses virtualization and a cloud computing model (server based processing, software and storage) that 3500 dollars drops by 2/3 or more. And your hardware upkeep is dramatically reduced as well.

Total system costs can drop as low as $150-250 each + KB/Mouse/Monitor after the initial implementation. There are no hard drives to worry about backing up, no software upkeep to bother with, less than five minutes to add a new desktop (so you can put people to work immediately), have more control of what is done on the individual systems, and lower the heat output of each system which reduces cooling costs.

The Cloud or at least virtualized computing is the future. The future can be now. It is not worth it in all cases but perhaps now you will have a better idea about where you are and where you want to be.

Sapphire Technology is well known for their line of AMD/ATi video cards but they are also making motherboards. What can a video card company bring to the table? Name recognition that has been earned over the years by producing quality products.

Packaging

Sapphire has an all business approach with the packaging by pointing out the features. Other than the “Pure Platinum” badge it is a no frills look.

Product Shots

The Mosfets need no cooling and the Bluetooth does not take up a USB port. The design is pretty good; especially having the MINI-PCIe (bottom right) slot on the bottom of the board. Things are a bit less cramped than boards that have the slot located on the top.

Next: Specifications and Software

Though the packaged is a rather plain, no frills, box; the Sapphire Radeon HD6770 is anything but plain looking. Stepping away from the flashy packaging of most other Sapphire branded products this package is pure function and utility. By focusing on the product contained inside rather than marketing a pretty box Sapphire presents this card (and a few others) with a bold and different approach.

Packaging:

Looking at the card itself makes one forget about the rather plain box:

For a size comparison a GTX 465 was used to represent the more massive cards in this price range. The smaller size of the Sapphire HD6770 makes it more versatile increasing its usefulness in applications where space is at a premium.

Next: Features

Inexpensive cases are many times seen as sub standard and garbage; this is not always the case; though, it does apply (in part) to this case. Generally you get what you pay for and this case is no exception; though, the design, fabrication, fit and finish are of very high quality some things are substandard and to a point make this case a looser to the builder who has no patience. For the builder who does not mind fighting with a component here and there and removing parts this case can be a winner. Twenty minutes can turn this case from a “wish I hadn’t” to a “glad I did”

Shots above from manufacturers website and manual.

Specification:

Next: The Good – Design, Fabrication, Fit and Finish

MSI has seen the potential in the new AMD Fusion CPU. The MSI E350IA-E45 is a feature rich micro ITX board with the potential to be the heart of your next HTPC with it’s excellent integrated graphics; an effective home server with its 4x SATAIII ports, or even an adequate daily driver with DDR3 support and low heat output.

The packaging is pretty standard, including two SATA cables. The rear panel has a nice set of external connections. With 8 USB ports (two of which are USB 3.0), PS2 port, Gigabit LAN, Optical audio out, COAX audio out, standard audio jacks, D-Sub and HDMI out, this board is not lacking.

Internal headers and connections include: com port header, 2x USB 2.0 connectors, 1x front panel audio connector and a TMP connector. This little board seems pretty well outfitted.

The HSF is well designed with a decent amount of surface area and is also pleasing to the eye. In addition, the PCIe slot is good for those wanting a little more horse power out of an add-in GPU. Keep in mind that it is only 4x V2 and big cards may not work due to the proximity of the 24 pin connector and the memory slots.

The standard slots and sockets are great compared to some boards that require a non-standard power supply and use laptop memory.

The only potential issues with the design of the board were the single fan header and the battery location. The other limitation is the 4x PCIe slot, but that is more related to the CPU/Chipset than the actual board design itself.

Next: Background

Introduction:

The HTPC market is different things to many people. Some require bleeding edge gaming on their 50″ LED TV, while others demand a quiet and efficient streaming box that is capable of decoding all formats of video smoothly with rudimentary gaming ability being a plus, not a necessity. The latter of these two groups will be for whom this article is tailored to.

While overclocking will be touched on, the highlights will actually be the efficiency of this board when paired with an Intel i5 6XX; using the CPU’s integrated graphics and the ability of this board to hold stable voltages below what it’s components are rated for, all the while being stressed to the maximum. Other testing will focus on encoding video, through a function of the CPU and some graphics cards, to show the great design of the power management system that ASUS has brought forth. For comparative testing, focusing on power usage, an AMD Phenom II 905e on an MSI 785G motherboard will be used. By using this combination of CPU and chipset, along with the integrated video, the worth of the H55 chipset will be shown and the design advantages of the ASUS board will become apparent. Though the comparative testing will be limited to what the HTPC is primarily used for, this will definitely be enough to illustrate these advantages.

Next: Overview and Features

A motherboard is probably the single most important component to the enthusiast. For a person in the know, this is pretty obvious, but for a newer user this may come as new information. Many forums as well as review sites fail to reveal the big picture, and there are a plethora of components used in the assembly of today’s motherboards that frankly most people don’t even understand. This hodgepodge of devices can range from cheap, make-shift components to high quality, full-fledged solutions; yet the focus is usually just on the numbers and never the underlying design.

Background:

First one must take a short trip back in time to when there was no integrated sound to speak of, video card memories were measured by the kilobyte, DIPs were on the way out and the hard disk controller was an add-in card. Everything but the most basic of components were purchased separately and at a premium.

The windows accelerator was a star with 256k, 512k or 1024k of memory, and this determined the amount of colors and resolution. The sound card (if you got one) had to be a Sound Blaster or Ad Lib compatible and could cost as much as a high-end sound solution of today for only 8bit sound at that. A network interface controller (NIC) was unheard of by most and heat sinks were a rarity, even for CPU’s.

Just adding up the cost of all of that could have given someone a heart attack. Then add the rest, and you had a month or two’s pay down the drain. Fast forward 20 years and almost everything can be had on a single board, saving a bundle of cash. A hundred bucks can get everything but the CPU, memory, hard disk and a case. Where does this leave the consumer? Better off financially, that is true, but what is sacrificed? Quality and raw power!

What gets lost in the all-in-one approach? Pure performance. Integrated everything is great for the general user, but it is really a hit when you want the fastest thing that money can buy.

For most enthusiasts and gamers, the most important things to be considered are the CPU and video card, without considering any of the components mentioned in the background section above. Do users consider what they are actually buying to go along with that $300 CPU and $500 video card? Most of the time no. I guess it is like building a new rig with the cheapest add in components you can find; bargain basement memory, no-name sound card, USB 3.0 card, SATA card and wireless card.

Purchasing a well outfitted motherboard should be the number one priority in any build and it can and should take longer to select than any other single component in the system. But why is the motherboard the most important?

Details and Features; A board is the sum of its components.

Knowing what a motherboard is made of is a little more than just looking at some benchmarks. Any motherboard of this class will preform similarly in normal benchmarks and this leads to the question; Why buy this ASUS motherboard over a similar one from Brand X? The sum of the parts.

CPU: Intel® Socket 1156 Core™ i7 Processor/Core™ i5 Processor/Core™ i3 Processor

Memory: 4 x DIMM, Max. 16 GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)*/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory

Expansion Slots: 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16 or dual at x8 / x8 mode), 2 x PCIe 2.0 x 1(5GT/s, blue slots), 1 x PCIe 2.0 x 1(2.5GT/s,gray slot), 2 x PCI

Multi-GPU Support: Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ Technology,Supports ATI® Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology

Storage: Intel® P55 Express Chipset built-in: 6 xSATA 3.0 Gb/s ports, Intel Matrix Storage Technology Support RAID 0,1,5,10

JMicron® JMB363 PATA and SATA controller: 1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices, 1 xExternal SATA 3Gb/s port, 1 xSATA 3Gb/s port (black)

JMB363 is a single chip, one-lane PCI Express to two-port Serial ATA II and one-port PATA Host Controller. The JMB363 is designed to provide two-port SATA II and one-port PATA connectivity. The JMB363 supports both AHCI and Legacy IDE controller to increase system feasibility, including Native Command Queuing (NCQ), Hot Plugging, ATAPI Device Supporting, Port Multiplier with Command-based Switching Supporting, Programmable Output Swing Control to fit SATA II Gen1m and Gen2m (External SATA Connection, eSATA). It features PCI Express bus and Serial ATA II interface to express high performance storage devices.

• Supports 2-port 3.0Gbps SATA II interface

• Supports two independent SATA II channels (separate logic and FIFO)

• Supports Native Command Queue (NCQ) on SATA II port

• Supports Hot Plugging like USB on SATA II port

• Supports SATA II Gen1m and Gen2m (External SATA Connection, eSATA)

• Supports Port Multiplier with Command-based Switching on SATA II port

• Supports up to UDMA6 transfer mode of PATA

• Supports up to 4 storage device connection

• Supports up to 0,1,0+1,JBOD RAID function

:Product brief JBM363:

Marvell® PCIe SATA6Gb/s controller: 2 x SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports (Gray)

6Gb/s SATA Host Controller

The 6Gb/s SATA host controllers are ideal cost-effective solutions for NAS, set top box, motherboards. Embedded with hardware RAID controller, this product enables inbox driver support without additional driver installation.

Key features

• 1 or 2 SATA 1.5, 3 or 6 Gb/s ports
• PCIe 2.0 x1 host interface
• Hardware RAID 0/1 Support
• On-the-fly AES 256bit Data Encryption
• Windows and Linux OS support
• Small package 9X9mm
• Power consumption: 1W

:Marvell controller link:

LAN: Realtek® 8112L Gigabit LAN controller featuring AI NET2

Audio: VIA® VT1828S 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC: Absolute Pitch BD192/24, DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC, Supports Jack-Detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-Retasking, Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O

VIA Vinyl HD Audio codecs represent the next generation of sound quality, supporting the high definition HD Audio standard for a whole new immersive surround sound experience. The VIA Vinyl VT1828S is a low-power optimized, high fidelity, 10-channel High Definition audio codec which is compatible with Intel High Definition Audio specification and supports stereo 24-bit resolution and up to 192 kHz sample rate for DACs/ADCs.

The VIA Vinyl VT1828S features five DACs, two stereo ADCs, analog input to analog output mixing, and two independent S/PDIF outputs. It can achieve 110 dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for DACs and 100 dB SNR for ADCs. A high quality analog mixer is used to support A-A path.

Supporting Blu-ray and HD DVD Audio Content Protection as well as advanced VoIP and music enhancement functions, the VIA Vinyl VT1828S also features Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC), Beam Forming (BF), and Noise Suppression (NS) technologies for an unmatched PC audio experience.

The VIA Vinyl VT1828S uses two jack detection pins for presence detection on up to eight audio jacks allowing software to determine if there is a device plugged into the circuit. It also boasts a front-panel jack re-tasking feature that allows flexible configurations.

The VIA Vinyl VT1828S is embedded with software utilities such as environment emulation, EQ, extender, and optional sound effects, including support for QSound, DTS Connect, Dolby1 Digital Live, Dolby PCEE program, SRS Lab and Creative.

:1828s link:

IEEE 1394: VIA® 6308P controller supports: 2 x 1394a port(s) (one at mid-board; one at back panel)

VIA Fire IIM VT6308P/S 1394 Host Controller

A complete small package single chip PCI solution for high-speed, low power seamless plug and play connections to the latest IEEE 1394 enabled devices.

The IEEE 1394 high-speed serial bus (known as ‘Firewire™’) is a leading PCI peer-to-peer interconnect system and is widely acclaimed as the primary interface for digital audio and video applications. The IEEE 1394a specification enables hot-swappable high volume connections to PC peripherals such as printers and external hard disk drives, multimedia appliances, and consumer electronics devices such as game consoles and video cameras.

:6308 link:

USB: NEC USB 3.0 controller: 2 x USB 3.0 ports (Blue, at back panel) Intel® P55 Express Chipset: 12 x USB 2.0 ports (6 ports at mid-board, 6 ports at back panel)

The Industry’s Most Flexible, Feature-Rich PCI Express Bridge and Switch Product Family

ExpressLane™ PCI Express (PCIe) Product Family offers fully configurable switches with Non-Transparent bridge function and forward/reverse bridges. Our PCIe switches and bridges are fully-compliant with the PCI Express Base 1.0a, 1.1 and 2.0 specifications.

By adding the PLX chip ASUS has seemingly improved the PCIe bandwidth and efficiency as will be seen in the PCIe tests.

:PLX link:

Overclocking Features: Precision Tweaker 2: vCore: Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.00625V increment, vIMC: Adjustable IMC voltage at 0.00625V increment, vDRAM Bus: 104-step DRAM voltage control, vPCH: 36-step chipset voltage control, vCPU_PLL: 56-step reference voltage control, SFS (Stepless Frequency Selection) PCI Express frequency tuning from 100MHz up to 200MHz at 1MHz increment, Internal Base Clock tuning from 80MHz up to 500MHz at 1MHz increment, Overclocking Protection: ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)

Back Panel I/O Ports: 1 x PS/2 Keyboard (Purple), 1 x PS/2 mouse port (Green), 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output, 1 x Optical S/PDIF Output, 1 x IEEE1394a, 1 x eSATA port, 1 x RJ45 port, 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (blue), 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports, 8-channel Audio I/O

Internal I/O Connectors: 3 x USB connectors support additional 6 USB ports, 1 x IDE connector, 1 x IEEE 1394a connector, 1 x CPU Fan connector, 1 x Power Fan connector, 7 x SATA 3.0Gb/s connectors (blue/black), 2 x SATA 6.0Gb/s connectors (gray), 2 x Chassis Fan connector (1×4-pin, 1×3-pin), Front panel audio connector, 1 x S/PDIF Out Header, 24-pin ATX Power connector, 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector, System Panel(Q-Connector), 1 x MemOK! button

BIOS: 16 Mb Flash ROM , AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3

Accessories: 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable, 2 in 1 Q-connector, 2 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s cables, 2 x Serial ATA 6.0Gb/s cables, 1 x 2-port USB and eSATA module, 1 x SLI Bridge

A true beauty, in more ways than one.

This board has a good layout, allowing the use of PCI and PCIe 1x slots even when running multiple graphics cards.

The low profile heat sink on the P55 chip allows for the use of full length video cards.

Speaking of heat sinks, the mosfet cooling seems to be a little weak at first but could some of it be form fitting function?

They look a little underwhelming in this day of heat-pipe addiction, but do they actually serve a dual purpose? Being pleasant to the eye, with a modern art style, as well as providing surface area. Is it possible that the design is causing turbulent air flow where other sinks just get missed by air entirely because of their design? Short answer, quite possibly.

What is the fascination with the heat pipe and is it better? It looks neat and makes people feel like they getting the best cooling, and it works if done correctly. However, when heat pipes and heat sinks are designed simply with the “cool-factor” in mind, it is not much better and perhaps even worse in some cases than small and simple heat spreaders.

Some manufactures design their products to be aesthetically appealing even at the expense of performance. Consider the example below:

Below is a common heat sink with a heat pipe.

This is an AMD board, and while they may look great and get the job done, these heat sinks may be doing more to hinder cooling performance as opposed to aiding in it. They are bulky and in situations where air flow is hampered (as above) by the HSF, they will serve to trap heat which will interfere with the cooling process. Conversely, in a high air flow-low pressure scenario, the design would not permit the flow of cooler air around the cooling fins. In the worst case they would act as a wall and considerably impede the flow of air, rendering them effectively useless.

These heat sinks would really only shine with a smaller HSF and maximized pressure or minimal air movement; thus, preventing the air from taking a path over or around them. A moderate to high flow of air with low pressure, if not directly forced onto the cooling fins, is fairly useless with this design.

This ASUS board does not take this approach to Mosfet cooling and goes with the conventional, no heat pipe design, though the looks are anything but conventional.

To this point many probably think this is just a rant to make people take less notice of the tiny sinks on the mosfets of the ASUS board; nope, there is a reason the sinks can be so small:

ASUS Hybrid 12+2 Phase Power Design

Unprecedented Innovation with the Best Quality Component for Best Performance

The groundbreaking 12+2 phase VRM design is brought to the ASUS motherboards. 12+2 phase power design, 12-phase for vCore and extra 2-phase for the memory controller inside CPU, can provide the highest power efficiency, and hence generates less heat to effectively enhance the overclocking capability. With the high quality power components such as low RDS (on) MOSFETs, Ferrite core chokes with lower hysteresis loss and 100% Japan-made high quality conductive polymer capacitors, ASUS 12+2 phase VRM design also ensure longer component life and minimum power loss.

*16 Hybrid Phase = 12+2 Phase x T.Probe

How it works:

Phase shifting is a way to keep any one mosfet from reaching a terminal temperature. By splitting the load, the maximum overall temperature is lowered, thus allowing for better power management and less heat to be generated.

This information from an article at Hardware Secrets appears to be in order; a few errors here and there, but as I said, in order.

By using a little electronic know how, this ASUS motherboard does not generate the heat of many budget models and in turn allows for a smoother and possibly higher overclock. Your main limiting factors being the power supply and the CPU itself.

I must insert a little disclaimer: This is not really the ASUS setup for extreme cold and super clocks (it will work though). A 16+ phase ASUS design, or a high-end digital PWM solution, will give a better chance of sustaining higher clocks for longer periods of time.

The rear port arrangement is nothing out of the ordinary save for a couple of features. Many of the boards of today lack a separate PS2 Mouse and KB port, and as a big bonus this board includes coax and optical audio outputs. The two blue USB ports are 3.0 while the other 6 are USB 2.0.

Software:

I was satisfied with the ease of use that was afforded with the bundled overclocking, tweaking and monitoring software. The AI Suite is a utility that allows access to the three components of the suite as well as a monitoring station for some temperatures, voltages and fan speeds.

EPU and Energy Usage: To load the systems, WCG BOINC was running while also running OCCT PSU test.

Using EPU (It is not recommended to be used while overclocking) power usage can be lowered even more.

The EPU tool is effective for the power miser. With customizable settings as well as presets the efficiency of your PC can be increased quite a bit. In testing this feature

Allowing the program to use the presets and testing the extremes (Turbo and Max Savings) only the idle SLI stock draw was reduced by 4.88 watts, from 92.72 to 87.84 watts and the load was reduced a whopping 27 watts, from 170 to143 watts in max savings. In turbo the only change was an increase at load of 2 watts, from 170 to 172 watts.

For the person sitting in a small room or on a budget this can make a significant difference. This could save up to 50 dollars a year depending on usage as well as keep the room cooler and quieter.

These tests were run several times and the results were the same. Perhaps the video card has a higher idle draw than anticipated?


Fan Xpert: will allow the user to have more control of their fan speeds, allowing for cooler or quieter conditions and perhaps both if setup to kick into high gear at a specific temperature.

TurboV EVO is the sweetheart of the bunch as it can allow the user to squeeze out that last drop of performance without worrying about a potential BIOS reset. The software is pretty straight forward and fairly simple to use. As with most things, if you don’t know what it is, try to find out before making adjustments. Just playing with settings can kill a CPU, so always do your research before doing overclocking of any kind. None of these tools should be used long term on the stock CPU cooler as temperatures may become an issue, causing instability or premature component failure.

The auto tuning is probably the best option for the novice as it allows for a decent overclock without getting too extreme.

The CPU level up option is the most basic and easiest on the CPU.

A quick and dirty kick in the butt is what you get with the turbo key.

The T.Probe microchip detects and balances power phase loads and temperatures in real-time. With optimal power phase functions, components run cooler and extend the system’s lifespan.

T.Probe software allows for the graphical representation of the power phase leveling controlled by the T.Probe chip which is enabled or disabled in BIOS. There is one option (Xtreme Phase Performance Mode or Power Saving Mode). By selecting power saving mode the power is switched to four phase mode.

The PC probe, though not remarkable, has one particularly nice feature. Each monitoring window can be detached and only what you choose is shown.

Getting into the mix:

Testing a motherboard can be very dependent on the CPU. Because you can’t test every board with the same chipset, it is sometimes necessary to go to the competition to see the true strengths and weaknesses of a motherboard and the total effectiveness of the build. I will be using a mainstream Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H for comparison. Both setups will be running Windows 7 32bit.

Featuring only two USB 3.0 and two SATA 3 (the norm on the P55) ports allowing for limited use now and in the future. AMD boards have put much more into the 3.0 specs of both interfaces with most boards having between two and six USB 3.0 ports and six SATA 3 ports.

USB and SATA:

Though the advantages are slight, they are there for running USB and SATA 2 on level 3 interfaces and this is what the majority of the AMD boards have:

The AMD SATA2 on SATA2 burst speed data was erroneous and after several tries I decided to omit the results.

PCI-E Testing:

The ASUS board seemed to shine in the PCI-E part of the testing. Using a somewhat dated GPU to allow any possible limitations in the bus, the ASUS part shows a slight advantage. I did consider extensions and the like but I believe the scaling would have changed with CPU speed. PCIe latency and lane efficiency are the only things I can think of that will account for these results and these are presumably attributed to the PLX dhip.

Scaling is pretty level except for a few feature tests where the ASUS board shows a ~5% advantage.

CineBench 11.5:

In the Cinebench tests we see a 10+% GPU advantage though the CPU tests are neck and neck.

WPrime:

Well I had to do one more test to try and check the playing field and again the AMD CPU is ahead. I think it is safe to say with a fair amount of certainty that the ASUS board has a superior PCI-E bus.

Looking at the CPU test results, it is evident that these two processors are equals in graphics arena when it comes to CPU power.
What does this mean for the light to moderate gamer? The total system cost can be offset by purchasing a lower end Intel dual core CPU and upping the cash available for a slightly better graphics card.

Onboard Audio:

I really enjoyed working with the sound software. I guess it could have been better, but compared to many other offerings it is superior.

Sound Tests:

Aquamark3 special testing using FRAPS

Though many have given up on a stand alone sound card, the graph above clearly shows that there is still a need for something more than the least common denominator. Though not nearly as big of an issue as it was 10 years ago, and often ignored, the audio chip can still have an impact on frame rate and overall performance.

Gigabyte sound disabled/enabled

ASUS sound disabled/enabled

In actual gaming tests, all results were negligible and to make an accurate observation, hundreds of runs would have to be made.

This is not an Intel advantage as much as an ASUS advantage in this case. The VIA Vinyl™ VT1828S used on the ASUS motherboard is just plain superior to the Realtek solution used on many motherboards today.

The sound is definitely superior to the Realtek solution as well, although it amazes me that I could tell as I have never paid attention before and definitely don’t consider myself an audiophile. I guess I could make this comparison: Realtek sound is like a glass breaking in a house with all of the background noises that create the ambiance of daily life, and the VIA solution equates to that same glass breaking in an empty concert hall; clear and crisp, no noise.

Overclocking:

Overclocking done with Cooler Master V6GT.

3.8 Ghz was a walk in the park and it ran fairly cool to boot.

4.45Ghz was the best that the board could muster in Auto OC mode.

BIOS Overclocking:

As seen above, the options for voltage, CPU and memory control are easy to find within the “Ai Tweaker” tab from the main BIOS screen.

Memory speed adjustments are in a sub-menu as seen here.

A fast and nasty overclock can be achieved by simply choosing some predefined settings. Though this is not what should be considered an efficient overclock by any means, it is good for the beginner, or as a starting point to tweak from manually even further.

Memory timings and sub timings can be set manually for increased performance.

Devices that are not used can easily be disabled to allow for the possibility of a more stable overclock.

The base CPU configuration options are easy to find and adjust.

Saving your OC and setup parameters is done easily and is also recommended in case a BIOS reset is needed or forced due to a failed POST. Taking time to tune and tweak your BIOS just to have to do it all over again can be avoided by using this feature.

5Ghz+ with this board, a good CPU and good cooling should be a breeze. This was not the best CPU in the world and it made 5Ghz, but would not boot into windows very easily.

And a little energy efficient SLI for fun:

Everyone knows about the screaming, super high-end video cards and the wild benchmark scores that they can churn out. Can it be taken to another level? Perhaps gaming on your big screen in your living room without heating up the house and having to max out the sound system to cover up the turbines used to cool your rig. Focusing on some of the capabilities of this board, such as the superior audio, two digital audio outputs and SLI capabilities made me wonder if it was feasible to make an SLI HTPC, low noise and low to moderate power consumption. Yes we can do that and do it well.

At 232 watts max for vantage (SLI), I am thinking full ATX HTPC with SLI to boot. Perhaps I should say HEPC?

Conclusion:

The real winner here is not the Intel chipset, though the Intel-based board did come out ahead in a lot of ways. The real winner here is ASUS.

Most people take for granted integrated audio. Many believe, with the advent of multi-core processors, that there is no need for dedicated sound cards or at least a better solution. The truth is that the CPU does more with the sound today than it did with the sound of ten years ago, and hence has to do more work in games and other sound intensive applications due to the complexity of the calculations necessary for positional sound, and all of the features used in the production of said sound (echoes for example). Many also do not consider the nuances of the bus or the other components that are put onto a motherboard. ASUS has done an excellent job of combining some of the better components out there to create a superbly high quality package for a solid price ($179 @ Newegg)

What ASUS lacks are more 3.0 spec interfaces for both USB and SATA. This board would be great for the cost conscious gamer, but for the graphic designer looking to set up a fast SATA raid when the 6.0GBps drives hit the mainstream, this low number of ports may be a turn off.

The ASUS P7P55D-E PRO has earned the TechREACTION.net Gold Silicon Award!

Factors contributing to unreliable test results that can be controlled by the tester:

• Air temperature and humidity: When doing a comparison, temperature and humidity should be kept the same, or at least as close as possible.
• Location: Testing should be done in an area that has little air movement or an area with a reasonably controllable environment.
• Sunlight: Testing in direct sunlight will skew results.
• Electronic devices: Most electronic devices expel heat. Avoid testing near such devices, if this is unavoidable, make sure that the device is in the same state for all testing; preferably off.
• Other environmental considerations: Consider air movement; as limiting air movement will eliminate many variables.

1. If central air is being used, the testing should be done near the thermostatic control unit as this will limit many of the temperature variances that occur in a structure between on/off cycles.
2. Fans: Box, osculating, ceiling or any other type of fan should be turned off.
3. The testing should not be near an air duct.

Eliminating the biggest contributor to inaccurate results (the computer):

The computer needs to be eliminated from the equation if a heat sink is to be tested accurately.

• Background operations that are controlled through the services settings panel in the administrative control panel need to be completely eliminated, as these may cause random CPU cycles.
• Legacy buses (dumb buses) need to be disabled as they are polled by the CPU.
• Motherboard monitoring hardware and software are not always dependable and accurate.
• CPUs and Chipsets have been known to have temperature monitoring issues.

Building an external test unit is the only way to eliminate the factors that are beyond the tester’s control.

Components and tools used for testing. Only the fan headers are used on the motherboard. Molex to fan header adapters are available.

A water tight pan and standard PSU are used for testing as well.

Transfer blocks need to be lapped and mounted with thermal transfer adhesive.

A hole needs to be drilled for thermocouple insertion. The hole above is 7/8" deep with a 5/8" counter bore to allow the thermocouple ball to fit tightly.

Using non-conductive thermal paste allows the gaps to be filled and better results to be obtained.

A thermocouple can be used if you wish to test specific points on the HSF for variance, which can indicate a poor performing or bad/damaged HSF.

Variance testing

Variance testing

Probing areas

The probes need to be cleaned and thermal paste used for every test.

Insertion of thermocouples should be done before adding water.

Using water as a heat transfer medium allows for more control of environmental factors that are otherwise left unchecked.

1. Humidity is controlled and maximized
2. Temperatures are controlled (as long as air movement is eliminated)
3. Air density is affected but will not be a factor that can be readily measured.

A control thermocouple (black) is used to monitor the base temperature.

1-2mm of water needs to be above the plate.

Using water will allow for repeatability in testing. This allows the temperatures to be easily stabilized and the maximum temperature will usually be in a predictable range; thus allowing for data sets to be formulated. After a point, head to head tests will no longer be necessary.

Keeping the meters on during the heating process can help identify trends in HSF units and also identify potential problems.

If only one unit is to be the focus, then a probe can be affixed to the HSF itself.

Testing temperature scaling and humidity is a necessity as they will work together to give a more controlled testing environment.

Testing room and zone temperatures is helpful if a database is to be made for comparison.

Bring up the temperature and humidity

The air temperatures in the test zone should stabilize and be maintainable and repeatable.

Using a humidity of 90-100% in the testing zone will help better control temperature for dependable and repeatable results.

Though the temperatures should remain uniform, there is no guarantee. ALWAYS CHECK TEMPERATURES AT MORE THAN ONE POINT!

Water temperature variance test point #1.

Water temperature variance test point 2

Video of fan on a cool down run.

Testing:

• Although a passive test, the process of heating up the HSF shows the ability to absorb and dissipate heat with no fan assistance.
• Variance testing will show the HSF’s ability to evenly spread it’s heat (this is best done with the fan off), which is critical for the HSF to respond to rapid changes in heat output. If there is a large variance between the closest point to the CPU and the furthest point away from it, then the HSF generally will not deal well with rapid heat output changes or the high heat output from overclocking.
• Testing of heat pipe efficiency is similar to standard variance testing. Testing the heat pipe at the points closest to and the furthest from the CPU will show the efficiency of the heat pipes.
• Building on the heat pipe test, a heat pipe to fin variance test shows the efficiency of the bond between the two materials/components of the HSF. This test shows design weaknesses and may show manufacturing flaws that show up from time to time in production runs. The causes for this are dependent on many factors, and if a HSF is found to be poorly made, the manufacturer should be contacted so that it can be corrected. It is never the intent of a major manufacturer to sell a bad product. If it is found to be a poor design then the tester or reviewer has little choice, a spade is a spade and a bad product should be shown for what it is.
• The fan on test shows which HSF is more capable of dispersing heat into the surrounding environment.

There are many other types of tests that can be done with an out of the box setup. The testing above is just a start.

Data collection: Keeping track of information allows the tester to build a database of results. By studying the variances, from run to run, choose a control heat sink to work with as a standard for comparison; a benchmark of sorts. The best way to record and store the information is with a meter that will log the information and allow output in a standard form that can be used in something like Excel or Open Office.

Obtaining a testing pan and plate: Most of these items are easy to acquire, save the box or pan. Local fabrication shops usually have plenty of scrap around and will usually sell it at a discount rate. If you are a product tester, the shop may cut you a break for a little free advertising in your review/blog, or you can part with the ~ $70 – $200 and just have it made.

That is all for now. Feel free to comment or ask questions and I will be happy to help in any way that I can.

• Compatible with K-, J-, T- and E- thermocouples (others should work but these are the recommended types)
• User programmable offsets
• Internal memory stores 100 sets of temperature readings that can be transferred to PC software
• Data logging software for real time testing (good for working with fan and component placement and viewing their effects in real time)
• Ability to export data sets from software in .xls format to do comparative studies and graphing

The graph capabilities of the 72-7712 software are not phenomenal, it does however serve the purpose. Though dual software readout (T1 & T2) would be preferred; the logging capacity and decent feature set, as well as an Excel export feature make up for the software weaknesses.

Thermocouple 1 reading

Thermocouple 2 reading

Thermocouple 1 - thermocouple 2 reading. Temperature difference. This screen is most effective when trying to move case temperatures closer to ambient room temperature.

Example of exported data to .xls format

Thermal conductivity of the heat sink material is an important factor in air cooling. Copper and aluminum are the most widely used materials in PC HSF (heat sink & fan) construction. The properties of these two materials are critical to proper cooling of the processor.

The Chart below shows the thermal conductivity of materials for comparison. The only three that matter for this testing are aluminum, copper and air (water and the other items may be of interest to those who like to get a little wet).

:More information about thermal conductivity and conductive heat transfer:

Some simple ideas for improving the PC enthusiast experience:

Checking the case for hot spots.

Keeping your entire case as close to ambient is probably the most important thing that can be done to keep the HSF operating at its maximum efficiency. A heat sink can not lower temperatures below case ambient and will usually level out 4-12 degrees centigrade above case ambient no matter how much money is spent on it.

By identifying hot spots, proper fan placement can be made. Though these areas may not seem relevant to CPU cooling; they are. Air circulating throughout the case creates eddies, (a current of air running contrary to the main current; especially: a circular current : whirlpool) which in turn, remain hot and by cross circulation make  air circulating around them heat up.

Working in a similar fashion to the eddy, dead zones (hot area where there is no mechanical air circulation) may seem harmless, it is critical to circulate or eliminate this air to alleviate convection (heat transfer in a gas by the circulation of currents from one region to another). For dead zones a fan may not be an option and directed air may be needed. If directed air is not possible then closing in/sectioning off this area may be the only option.

Knowing where the hot areas of the case are allows for fixes that otherwise would not be possible.

Testing for efficiency.

Methodology: Air can only dissipate a fixed amount of heat due to its low thermal conductivity. Having a material of higher thermal conductivity does not always mean better temperatures, but it does allow a potential for lower temperatures, depending on other contributing factors. Testing the two most common heat sink materials to see these differences helps gain an understanding of what the conductivity numbers really mean.

Copper and Aluminum heat sinks tested for conductivity.

Copper; 56.8 seconds to reach maximum efficiency with a variance of 3.9 degrees centigrade

Aluminum 59.8 seconds to reach maximum efficiency with a variance of 7.9 degrees centigrade

This is the point where temperatures stabilize and heat is dispersed through natural convection. This is not a scientific test as the blocks were not exactly the same and some variables were omitted. What it does show is that copper will transfer heat faster and more evenly.

A double boiler is used to allow for better temperature control

Test equipment and stop watch used (phone) for testing. A Tenma 72-8540 is used as a control.

The copper and aluminum heat sinks used for the test

A two minute test of both materials (copper and aluminum) showed a 3.7 degree centigrade variance, copper being hotter (this is good, it means it will draw that much more heat to be dissipated). It must be taken into consideration that these heat sinks did not have a fan and the variance would have been lower during operation.

The results of this test correlate directly to the previous test results.

Testing your Heat Sink and Fan assembly

Using an Arctic Cooling AF64 PRO

If the HSF is not equalizing temperatures within a reasonable variance or running 10+ degrees above ambient case temperature (check the temperature at the intake area of the HSF to eliminate the possibility of a hot spot causing the problem) then a re-seat of the HSF may be needed and possibly a replacement HSF of higher quality may be in order.

Using information gathered with a good temperature meter will help guide the process of lowering case temperatures and in turn allow for a cooler processor, memory and hard disk drive.

Shots of the 72-7712

All display elements

Temperature readout screen

Variance screen

Setup: Offset adjustment screen

Front view of meter showing controls

Conclusion

Using a dual probe temperature meter with capabilities comparable to the 72-7712 is a definite step up from the volt meter type single probe units that were used in the past. With the data logging capabilities and other features available with this unit it is much easier to maximize case cooling and potentially gain a few hundred MHz from a heat limited overclock.

With acceptable quality, useful software and features the 72-7712 makes an excellent addition to the tool box of the overclocker or small PC mod shop.

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