Getting the Best out of an Ivy Bridge HTPC: Windows 8, madVR and More..
by Ganesh T S on January 20, 2013 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Intel
- HTPC
- Ivy Bridge
- Windows 8
- Passive Cooling
Power Consumption and Thermal Profile
The power consumption details and case temperatures at full load were recorded in our earlier piece covering the build of the HTPC. However, we have made some updates to the system with the addition of an extra RAM stick as well as an additional SSD This time around, we decided to run a stress test with Prime 95 and Furmark for 24 hours. As can be seen below, CoreTemp reports that the core temperatures went as high as 86 C before settling down to around 80 C. The TDP rating of the Core i3-3225 is 55W, and CoreTemp reported between 53.8 W and 54.6 W throughout.
We removed the GPU loading and let Prime 95 alone run for some time. With almost no load on the GPU, the power consumed by the processor jumped down to around 40 W. This thermal budget allocation is pretty interesting, with less than 30% allocated to the GPU and the rest to the CPU. The i3-3225 doesn't have a Turbo mode, and hence, it is unable to take advantage of the headroom offered by the idle GPU.
Average power consumption numbers for various scenarios are presented in the table below. Unless explicity specified, the specified scenario was tested using Windows 8 Pro x64.
| Passive Ivy Bridge HTPC (Core i3-3225 / Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe) Power Consumption | |
| Windows 7 - Idle (Display off) | 27.71 W |
| Windows 8 - Idle (Display off) | 24.86 W |
| Windows 7 - Idle (Display on) | 28.02 W |
| Windows 8 - Idle (Display on) | 26.66 W |
| Sleep | 2.00 W |
| Prime95 v25.9 + Furmark (Full loading of both CPU and GPU) | 88.75 W |
| [Updated: New!] Prime95 v27.7 + Furmark 1.10.3 (Full loading of both CPU and GPU) | 89.77 W |
| Prime95 v25.9 (Full loading of CPU only) | 58.25 W |
| [Updated: New!] Prime95 v27.7 (Full loading of CPU only) | 62.56 W |
| 1080p24 H.264 Blu-ray Playback from ODD - CyberLink PowerDVD 12 | 38.15 W |
| 1080p24 VC-1 Blu-ray Playback from ODD - CyberLink PowerDVD 12 | 37.64 W |
| 1080i60 VC-1 Blu-ray Playback from ODD - CyberLink PowerDVD 12 | 39.73 W |
| 1080p24 VC-1 Blu-ray ISO Streaming from NAS - CyberLink PowerDVD 12 | 34.78 W |
| 1080p24 H.264 MVC Blu-ray ISO Streaming from NAS - CyberLink PowerDVD 12 | 37.86 W |
In our initial piece, we had noted the case and heat sink temperatures in the Fahrenheit scale. Since the configuration has changed (and the system consumes more power now), we have refreshed the case / heat sink temperature figures below. We have also shifted to the Celsius scale, as requested in some of the reader comments.
Chassis Temperature in C (Top and Faceplate) after 24 Hours of Full CPU / GPU Loading
Chassis Temperature in C (Side Bolted to the Heat Sink) after 24 Hours of Full CPU / GPU Loading
Heat Sink Assembly Temperature in C after 24 Hours of Full CPU / GPU Loading
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Death666Angel - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
I have no issues with Win8. The desktop experience is virtually no different than the Win7 experience for me, I have no had any program or driver issues and the few things that are changed are for the better (the copy dialogue being the one I love the most).I'm not saying you have to like Win8, but I don't see the downsides personally. :)
damianrobertjones - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
So... you're KNOWINGLY refusing business. I would instantly walk out and never use you or your services again.When you're out of a job please return here.
johnsmith9875 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
As a network admin I was horrified to find out that Server 2012 shares the Window 8 interface.As an IT professional I have better things to do than be forced to re-learn how to use Windows Server because they decided to slap the goofy Win8 UI on their server products.
nikon133 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
Having to learn new things is part of MS experience. Refreshing exams and all that.All our senior engineers are excited with Server 2012. We do a lot of Hyper-V, and improvements in management, switching between core and GUI (among other things) are considered worth the change.
It would be great if once learned stuff in IT can serve for whole professional life, but with dynamics IT have, that expectation is a bit optimistic. Being an IT professional means learning one's whole life.
lotharamious - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
And there it is. People get in to IT because they love using computers, most likely playing games on Windows. I know that's how I got into computers. But decided on a diffferent career path.But then you IT guys say to yourself "I already know how Windows works". So when it changes, man are you guys pissed because heaven forbid you actually learn something new.
I don't buy this "I used it for a few days, hated it, and reinstalled 7" crap. If you seriously can't figure out the Start Screen after a few hours, you can't adapt at all, or (more likely) never tried it and decided to h8 because that's what your buddies do.
Sure the current metro apps are bad, but the paradigm is solid. Even with mishmashed desktop, it's no different that Windows 7.
LoneWolf15 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
It has nothing to do with "figuring it out". I figured it out, and found that on the desktop, it's a big step backwards in usability.In my daily job, I run a dozen apps at once, and switch back and forth rapidly between them. Four web browser windows with ten tabs each. Word. Excel. Outlook. Notepad++. Call handling software. A password safe. Remote support software. A terminal app. And so on.
Windows 8 doesn't multitask well (as a UI, not the core OS) for what I do, and its multi-monitor setup is lousy. If the interface was an IMPROVEMENT, then I'd be more than willing to see it. While I skipped Vista as an OS, I migrated my whole house to Windows 7 within a month of its release. There is a difference between Win7 and Win8, and after running all of the release previews, I haven't upgraded, even though I have the licensing to do so.
JlHADJOE - Sunday, January 27, 2013 - link
So long as Win+R is still there I'll manage somehow.It's all about the CLI or launching .msc files anyway.
LoneWolf15 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
After using Server 2012 Essentials, I can honestly say it's not the huge deal like Win8 is.How often are you using Server as a multitasking OS, that is, running multiple apps on dual monitors, etc.? Server 2012 Essentials starts at the desktop, and stays there unless you click for the start screen; since you probably only have a dozen apps you use tops, you can have them pinned to the Taskbar or on the desktop and never worry about it again.
I dislike Win8 on the desktop, but Server 2012 works fine, and I haven't found the UI to be a pain as usage is different.
dobdo99 - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
Ah, sane old Microsoft arguments, the exact same issues I commented on for windows 3 and 3.1 and 3.11. Corps don't change, or very rarely, best to suck it up and stick to an OS that works "Linux", its supported way better than windoze anyhow. stop beating yourselves up.lexluthermiester - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
Quote "You just want an excuse to hate."Nope you got it wrong. Windows 7 is like XP, almost universally loved. I don't know anyone who doesn't like or respect 7. However, I only know ONE person who like 8. 8 Offers few REAL advantages to 7. But it does offer a lot of headaches, annoyances and inconveniences. Not to mention it's ugly as hell to look at. Windows 8 is a fail for oh so many reasons.
I think this sentiment sums it up for many; Why should we PAY to downgrade our OS to something as loathsome as Windows 8? Why should we PAY to make our computing experience more difficult and less enjoyable? Eh? Why?