Intel D945GCLF2 Review - Harnessing the Dual Core Atom
Submitted By steven on Sep 22 2008 at 7:49 AM
Applications - Cinebench and HD Video
Cinebench R10 shows some rather interesting results in a way that no previous testing has really brought to light. With the application set to utilize only one processing thread, both of our Atom equipped systems fail to surpass the D201GLY, scoring an average of about 550 points (about half that scored by the Celeron 215). Once the application is set to utilize more than one thread, the Atom processors start to scale rapidly. The Atom 230 with HT enabled (1 core, 2 threads) manages a score of 839 CB Marks -- still shy of the D201GLY. The HT-disabled dual core Atom 330 (2 cores, 2 threads) scores 1049 CB Marks, surpassing the D201GLY by a margin of 43 points. Enabling HyperThreading on the Atom 330 (2 cores, 4 threads), the lead increases further. Landing in at an impressive 1562 CB Marks, the HT-Enabled Atom 330 outscores the Celeron 215 by more than 550 points. The scaling of this benchmark really shows the impact HyperThreading can have when paired with a multithreaded application that properly utilizes such a configuration.
For the 1080p HD video test, we loaded up a copy of "Elephants Dream", an open source video project released in 2006. With video encoded at 1276 kbp/s, this 11 minute short is worth the mention in its own right. Due to the immense detail offered by this full HD video, it was a good match to test the abilities of the D945GCLF2 and its dual core Atom 330 processor. The test involved playback of the recording and taking note of the average CPU usage during a one minute portion of the movie. As the chart indicates, the HT-enabled system saw an average of 40% CPU usage during the playback of this video clip, while the system configured with HT-disabled, rocketed up using 70% of the CPU. The HD video appeared smoother with the HT-enabled system, but the fact remains that even with HT disabled we had a wonderful viewing experience -- free of any choppy frames.
Using a custom 720p HD recording at 2017 kbp/s, we once again see some decent results. The HT-enabled Atom 330 averages 35% CPU usage while whatching the one minute clip. The HT-disabled Atom 330 saw an average of about 67%. Both configurations were able to handle the HD video with ease, regardless of our configuration. Unfortunately these tests are fairly new to us and, as such, we do not have a backlog of results for a comparison (this includes the Intel Atom 230, Celeron 215 equipped systems, or the VIA C7 unit). But given the demands of modern video standards, anyone looking to make a small home theatre PC would be wise to look into a dual core system, regardless if it is based on the Atom or not.
To show show the stress the little Atom 330 was under during our HD video playback testing, we have included the CPU Usage history as shown in the Windows Task Manager. As seen above, the load was well distributed during testing, even if the two physical cores took the grunt of the workload. (This, because the additional processing threads available through HyperThreading technology were not fully utilized.)
Posted by Anonymous on Dec 11 2009 at 11:04 am
Another very helpful review. Keep it up!