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DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 5:05 am
by pressingonalways
Hi all,

Anyone got a DH77EB or DH77DF that they can measure with killawatt? I'm curious which one is better in terms of power efficiency/low energy usage.

Thanks,
Pressingonalways

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:11 pm
by srbl
I recently built a system with a DH77EB and i5-3570K. Here are my kill-a-watt measurements:
- 3.4GHz Core i5 3570K (22nm, 77W TDP)
- Intel DH77EB microatx motherboard
- EVGA GTX 670 "FTW" GPU (higher clocked Nvidia GTX 670)
- Crucial M4 SSD
- 8GB ram (2x 4GB AMD 1600mhz 1.5v sticks)
- 3 fans (only ever seen two 120mm fans active, 140mm spins down after boot and never up again)
- Kingwin 'Stryker' 80 plus platinum 500W fanless PSU
- Power consumption:
Off: 1W
Sleep: 2W
Boot: 101W max
Idle Win7 (1m idle): 31W
Idle Win7 (10m idle): 29W
Prime 95: 94W
Crysis (gpu_benchmark.bat): 212W (highest in-game settings, 2560x1440)
Crysis (cpu_benchmark.bat): 212W (highest in-game settings, 2560x1440)
For a pretty beefy machine, the idle stats are quite amazing.

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:08 pm
by kappa7
I've build the mini pc with these components:
Motherboard: DH77DF
Processor: I5-3470S
Ram: 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance Low Profile White, 1.35V @1600Mhz 9-9-9-24
SSD: Plextor M3 128GB
Power supply: MeanWell GS90A12-P1M + pico psu 90-XLP
Fan: Intel stock fan + Arctic Cooling F8-PWM on the case.
OS: windows 7 ultimate x64

I've disabled the Turbo mode of the core I5 to limit the maximum power consumption under load and I've activated all the C-states. I've also set the power policy in the bios on low power and I've checked in windows device manager the box that says "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" on the firewire controller.
I've measured a power consumption under load (with prime95 + furmark) of 72W (about 80W with the turbo activated).
The idle power consumption, when the fans are connected, is measured with the minimum allowed rotation speed (it's more than enough keep cool the system @idle). The minimum rotation speed of the stock intel fan is 1000rpm and the artic cooling fan is 350rpm. No keyboard nor mouse are connected during the tests.
Here the results:

With gigabit connected, video output enabled, fan processor connected, fan case connected:
11W
With gigabit connected, no video output, fan processor connected, fan case connected:
9.8W
With gigabit connected, no video output, fan processor connected, fan case disconnected:
9.6W
With gigabit connected, no video output, fan processor disconnected, fan case disconnected:
8.8W

Without the gigabit lan connected the power consumption falls by about 0.6W.

I'm very impressed by the results and I'm very happy of this system. Now I've a lot of power with idle power consumption way lower than the old AMD E350 system based on the asus E35M1-deluxe (the idle power consumption with the same pico-psu and adapter was about 16W).

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:36 am
by HFat
Thanks for the report! Very encouraging...

But could you state how you measured those values? It's an important detail for those who are interested in how your results compare with hardware of the same class. It's not a surprise it consumes less than an Asus board but the actual values are surprising (to me anyway).
Since you didn't state your location, your mains voltage and ambient temperature could be useful as well.

Also, do you know what the BIOS "power policy" actually does?

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:08 am
by ces
The chip set on the new Haswell CPU will use half the wattage of the Ivy Bridge chipset:
viewtopic.php?p=562561#p562561

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:32 am
by kappa7
HFat wrote:Thanks for the report! Very encouraging...

But could you state how you measured those values? It's an important detail for those who are interested in how your results compare with hardware of the same class. It's not a surprise it consumes less than an Asus board but the actual values are surprising (to me anyway).
Since you didn't state your location, your mains voltage and ambient temperature could be useful as well.
The main voltage here in Switzerland is 230V, the ambient temperature was about 26°C. To measure the power consumption I've used this power meter:
http://www.gt-support.de/files/IM_GT-PM-04_D.pdf
HFat wrote: Also, do you know what the BIOS "power policy" actually does?
Unfortunately I don't know what the power policy in the bios does, I've also not noted any difference in the idle power consumption between "low power" and "high performance".

I've also enabled the DIPM for the disk (by default only the HIPM was enabled), but I've not checked if this make any measurable difference in the power consumption.
In the configuration of the system during the measurement there was also a sony slim DVD writer (AD-7713H-01). It adds about 0.1-0.2W in the total power consumption.

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:39 am
by charonme
I'm deciding between these two too.
I'll probably use the pentium G630T cpu (a dual core 35W sandy bridge)

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:30 am
by pressingonalways
charonme wrote:I'm deciding between these two too.
I'll probably use the pentium G630T cpu (a dual core 35W sandy bridge)
when you do get it, please be sure to post your wattage readings here. Always interested to see how low it can get.

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:06 am
by charonme
dh77df, i3-3225, PicoPSU-120-WI-25, 2x4GB ddr3 corsair CMX8GX3M2A1333C9, 24GB mSATA A-DATA Premier Pro SP300 SSD, WD RED 3TB, 19V FSP 120AAC ac/dc brick, two 700RPM fans
30-40W during boot, 19W idle (with WD RED spinning) not including the losses on the ac/dc brick (I'm measuring the DC current on the pico psu)
16.5W idle in video standby, 54.4W burn (mprime, red eclipse)

without the WD RED: 13.7W idle (12.9W in video standby), 50W burn (mprime, red eclipse)

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:18 am
by onlinespending
I can confirm that the DH77DF is a phenomenal low-power board. I have it paired with an i3-3220T+stock HSF, a Crucial 512GB m4 SSD, a 2GB 1.5V DDR3 DIMM, a picoPSU-150-XT, and a Meanwell GS60A12-P1J. I updated to the latest BIOS, and in the BIOS power settings set it to custom and pretty much enabled all low power settings. I also disabled the Sound and IEEE 1394 since I'm using it as a NAS. I'm using the latest drivers for chipset, video, LAN, etc.

With HDMI video output, keyboard+mouse connected, GbE LAN connected = 11W (idle)
No video output, no keyboard+mouse, and GbE LAN connected = 8W - 9W (idle)

I'd like to get a lower-voltage DIMM, and I'm sure I could shave another 1W if I went with an SSD (or USB flash) that had a very low idle power.

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:28 am
by Matthew9226
I rebuilt my HTPC lately using the DH77EB. It's a wonderful board and I recommend it to anyone! :)
Here's the setup
Intel Pentium G2120 CPU + Noctua NH-U12P passive
Intel DH77EB mATX MB
Kingston 2x4GB 1600Mhz CL9 1.35v
Gigabyte HD5670 + Accelero S1 rev2 passive
Samsung 830 64gb OS drive
WD1001FALS 1TB storage drive
Seasonic S12II-330w
Lian Li PC-A05NB + 120mm Slip Stream PWM @300rpm + 1450rpm Gentle Typhoon @600rpm
A couple of pics
Image
Image

Here's my power consumption readings I posted at my build log @[H]
Temperature wise excellent. CPU doesn't even warm up, in worst case scenario á la IBT I see it maxing 46*C Now that the CPU ain't running warm and neither do I have a REALLY hot NB (80-100+*C) just below the GPU the GPU is running cooler as well.
The heatsink with the Athlon was quite warm to the touch and I did have a bad contact on the old build but still now the heatsink isn't warm at all.
Power wise excellent. Loaned a Christ Electronic CLM200 and sitting on desktop 43-45w, watching TV Win7 WMC 50w, MPC-HC (madVR+LAV) 50-60w depending on material, IBT ~60-61w, Furmark ~74w
IBT+Furmark was difficult to measure but around 90-95w, but under 100w anyway.
Previous setup was with Athlon II X2 240 + Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H + 4GB DDR2 + the rest of the parts I currently have.

I'll be getting the Seasonic X-400 V2 fanless psu on friday. Will update my post with new power readings then. After I've sold my HD5750 (don't need it anymore) and the current S12II-330w PSU and my XFX-550w (getting 660XP2) I'll probably look into buying a HD7750 or a GTX650, one of those models that don't require external PCI-e power.
Deep idle with the HTPC it pulls 41.2-41.5w and since the HD5670 is pulling something like 14-16w... This is of course with LAN NIC enabled and the WD1001FALS spinning but display turned off..

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 7:30 pm
by Ksanderash
Gigabyte GA-B75N with Pentium G2020 idles to ~17W AC. Not using PicoPSU. More details in my signature.

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 6:14 am
by necbot
I thought I'd post here because this thread keeps coming up in my google searches when I look for power consumption numbers for the DH77DF. I recently purchased the DH77DF in order to make a media center PC what will run OpenELEC. Here is my setup...

Hardware:
Antec ISK 110 VESA case
- Power supply and brick come with case, 90W.
- Power brick info: Delta Electronics, 19V 4.74A output, part# ADP-90CD AB
- Power supply info: looks like something antec put together specifically for this case.
Crucial 2GB DDR3-1333 RAM 1.5V (single stick), part# CT25664BA1339
Intel Celeron G1620, stock cooling fan
DH77DF Motherboard, running BIOS version 110
Western Digital 1TB 5400 RPM SATA hard drive, part# WD10JPVT
TP-Link 802.11g USB Wifi adapter, part# TL-WN721N

Software:
OpenELEC v3.2.0, Generic Build, (NOT the Generic OSS build and NOT the Intel build)
Using the default Confluence skin (yes, skin is important because the animations in the skin CAN effect power consumption)

Watt Meter:
Kill A Watt, model# P4400.01

Other Relevant Info:
Audio and Video are going out to my TV through the HDMI output.
Tests are done with the TV turned on and OpenELEC on the home screen.
Power consumption is displayed as a range because my killawatt meter keeps fluctuating.
Wifi adapter is connected (unless othewise specified)
Watt reading were taken within a 1 minute time period


The BIOS allows memory undervolting to as low as 1.2v. I was pleasantly suprised to see that the Crucial RAM was capable of being undervolted this far. I ran memtest86+ for 7 hours with no issues. I was going to purchase some 1.35v ram but now I won't because even if I did, I'd only be able to undervolt it to 1.2v. Since I already have RAM that can be undervolted to 1.2v I'll just use it instead.

I wasn't using the LAN, 1394a, or the eSATA connectors so I tried disabling them in the BIOS. Disabling the 1394a has the most significant impact. Disabling the others didn't seem to do much.

Stock settings:
about 18.4 watts, observed max/min: 18.8/18.1 watts

Wifi disconnected:
about 17.1 watts, observed max/min: 17.6/16.7 watts

RAM undervolted to 1.2v
about 17.0 watts, observed max/min: 17.5/16.7 watts

1394a disabled
about 17.4 watts, observed max/min: 18.3/17.0 watts

1394a disabled and RAM undervolted to 1.2v
about 16.6 watts, observed max/min: 17.1/16.0 watts

Unfortunatly, the BIOS doesn't allow me to undervolt the CPU, I probably could lower the consumption further if it did. I may try switching to a picopsu and using a more efficient power brick. In a prior post kappa7 mentioned that he used a MeanWell GS90A12-P1M and a pico psu 90-XLP. Is that the most efficient combination there is? I'm not even sure mini-box still makes the pico psu 90-XLP. Is there a better one? Thanks!

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Tue Oct 01, 2013 10:24 pm
by pressingonalways
I know this is a bit old now, but this is what I used to figure out which ac-dc adapter I should get...

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?na ... 9&reid=207

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 10:35 am
by flyingsherpa
Resurrecting an old thread here... I'd like to put together a low power consumption machine like the ones mentioned above (15W-ish) as my next main PC + HTPC (one machine has to do double duty). I'm tempted to just recreate what was done above, but it's now 2 years later... surely there are better choices with current-generation parts? Anyone know the successors to these boards?

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2014 2:37 pm
by Abula
flyingsherpa wrote:Resurrecting an old thread here... I'd like to put together a low power consumption machine like the ones mentioned above (15W-ish) as my next main PC + HTPC (one machine has to do double duty). I'm tempted to just recreate what was done above, but it's now 2 years later... surely there are better choices with current-generation parts? Anyone know the successors to these boards?
There are no Intel mini itx haswell motherboards, as they are getting out of the consumer motherboard business. There a a few in ATX and micro atx, if you still want to build on those factors look into,
Intel Boxed Desktop Board DB85FL Micro ATX DDR3 1600 LGA 1150 Motherboard
Intel Boxed Desktop Board DH87RL Micro ATX DDR3 1600 LGA 1150 Motherboard

That said there are some that have move on to AsRock as good alternative option, cant first hand as i don't own one, but you should check the links on the thread, and since you going into HTPC, maybe you like Vicotnik HDPLEX H1-S and ASRock mini-ITX, has two setups below 15W idle on Asrock Haswell motherboards.

Personally i didn't have such good results with MSI, my haswell setup was like 3W higher than Sandy Bridge intel mobo, but apparently MSI is going to be releasing a new ECO line, oriented into low power consumption, weather its just marketing... idk, but in case you want to dig more check MSI introduces new ECO Series Motherboards Doing more with less. I don't see any mini itx though, but might happen later on.

But if you don't need a super powerful CPU, then also consider the NUC route, it comes with intel motherboard, so if all the builds that have achieved those low idle voltages has been more commonly intels, i think this would be the best bet. There are some options like Intel BOXD54250WYK1 just add the missing components like memory, msata ssd, and power, if you need more storage, you can even go with Intel NUC BOXD54250WYKH1 add an msata ssd for os/programs and 2.5 laptop hdd for storage. There are even fanless aftermarket cases like Akasa Tesla H Fanless Solid Aluminum NUC Case - VESA Mountable (A-NUC05-A1B), etc.

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:43 am
by flyingsherpa
Wow, thanks Abula, what a great response! I was originally thinking matx so I could re-use my current case, but am considering mini-itx as well if I find a case I like. Since this is my main + HTPC, I keep a lot of movie files so I have a 3TB drive on board, so I never really considered a NUC due to their limited expansion space (though I always thought they were cool, maybe I can convince my parents to get one). I'll check out the links... it'd be nice to get around 15W, my current rig is more like 40W.

Re: DH77DF vs DH77EB - power consumption

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 9:28 am
by Abula
flyingsherpa wrote:Wow, thanks Abula, what a great response! I was originally thinking matx so I could re-use my current case, but am considering mini-itx as well if I find a case I like. Since this is my main + HTPC, I keep a lot of movie files so I have a 3TB drive on board, so I never really considered a NUC due to their limited expansion space (though I always thought they were cool, maybe I can convince my parents to get one). I'll check out the links... it'd be nice to get around 15W, my current rig is more like 40W.
Almost all the low idle builds are not running 3.5hdds, as they consume too much compared to the rest of components, my WD red 3tb consumes around 5W in idle, a third of your intended 15W... really going to be tough to keep it below 20W with a 3.5hdd, on the other hand 2.5hdd are much more power friendly, the downside is the size, there are no 3tb hdds on 2.5 factor, but there are getting closer and closer, if you were to be fine with 2tb check Samsung Seagate Momentus SpinPoint ST2000LM003 2TB 2.5" SATA Notebook Hard Drive 9.5MM, you could even pair with the nuk and the akasa for fanless setup, just add an msata ssd and memory.