The Intel Compute Stick (Core m3-6Y30) Review
by Ganesh T S on June 27, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- Core M
- Skylake
- HDMI Stick
- Compute Stick
Power Consumption and Thermal Performance
The power consumption at the wall was measured with a 1080p display being driven through the HDMI port. In the graphs below, we compare the idle and load power of the Intel Core m3-6Y30 Compute Stick with other low power PCs evaluated before. For load power consumption, we ran Furmark 1.15.0 and Prime95 v28.7 together.
Compared to the Bay Trail and Cherry Trail Compute Sticks, the Core M one has higher idle and load power consumption numbers. Given the upgraded Wi-Fi and the presence of a Core-series CPU, the idle number can probably be justified. The load numbers point to the Core m3-6Y30 being operated in the cTDP-up mode.
Our thermal stress routine starts with the system at idle, followed by 30 minutes of pure CPU loading. This is followed by another 30 minutes of both CPU and GPU being loaded simultaneously. After this, the CPU load gets removed, allowing the GPU to be loaded alone for another 30 minutes. The various clocks in the system as well as the temperatures within the unit are presented below.
According to the official specifications, the junction temperature of the Core m3-6Y30 is 100C. The fan is able to keep it well below that temperature. The system essentially seems limited by the package power. We find that it is only able to sustain 6W for extended time durations, though we do see it spike up higher in the beginning.
Another important aspect to keep note of while evaluating PCs with such a small form factor is the chassis temperature. Using the Android version of the FLIR One thermal imager, we observed the chassis temperature after the CPU package temperature reached the steady state value in the above graph.
We have additional thermal images in the gallery below.
On the whole, the thermals don't give us much cause for concern, though the idling temperature of around 60C for the CPU package seems a little bit too high. It is possible that altering the the default BIOS options may help in improving this aspect.
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Devo2007 - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
Hey, us phone guys are still waiting on the full Galaxy S7 review and the HTC 10.TheinsanegamerN - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
We should start a timer.Jimster480 - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
I'd love a review on the HTC 10. Especially since I have had one for months now.Cygni - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
You should ask for your money back. Oh wait.abrowne1993 - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
Such a stupid argument every time I see it. If people stop coming to the site because of the lack of desired content, then the advertisers will stop paying.Impulses - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
So only the content you care about matters? Or you're the high arbiter over what content attracts more readers? Everyone and their mom has a GTX 1080 review, honestly I don't see what we're missing without AT's besides maybe some architecture insights...At least those whining about the S7/HTC 10 have more of point, AT's smartphone content has always been pretty unique and much more in depth than anyone else's... And the smartphone upgrade cycle/churn is faster than GPU's (which are constantly sold out right now anyway).
abrowne1993 - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
I didn't make any mention of the content I wanted. I'm speaking for every unanswered complaint.Cygni - Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - link
And that would be AnandTech's problem, not yours. Nobody cares what articles you think they should or shouldn't produce to get advertisers.ddriver - Monday, June 27, 2016 - link
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