Testing methodology
Comparison Systems |
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|---|---|---|---|
| System name | Intel NUC (Core i3) | Intel Core i3-2100 ATX | AMD A8-3870 Mini-ITX |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-3217U @ 1.80GHz | Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.10GHz | AMD A8-3870K @ 3.0GHz |
| Cores/threads | 2/4 | 2/4 | 4/4 |
| Cooler | Intel NUC reference | Intel reference | AVC reference |
| Motherboard | NUC reference | Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H | ASRock A75M-ITX |
| Memory | Nanya 4GB DDR3 (2x2GB) | Patriot 8GB IEM DDR3 (2 x 4GB) | Patriot 8GB IEM DDR3 (2 x 4GB) |
| Memory speed | 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,333MHz | 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,600MHz | 9-9-9-24-1T @ 1,600MHz |
| Graphics card(s) | Intel HD 4000 Graphics | Intel HD 3000 Graphics | AMD Radeon HD 6550D |
| Graphics driver | Intel 8.15.10.2696 | Intel 8.15.10.2696 | Catalyst 12.8 |
| Sound card | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio | Onboard high-definition audio |
| Primary storage | 80GB Intel mSATA SSD | 256GB Samsung 830 SSD | 256GB Samsung 830 SSD |
| PSU | Intel NUC 60W | Corsair AX750 | Corsair AX750 |
| Chassis | NA | Corsair Graphite 600T | Corsair Graphite 600T |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit | Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit | Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit |
Benchmarks |
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| AIDA v2.60 | Tests system bandwidth, cache bandwidth, and latency | |||||||||||
| HEXUS PiFast | A single-threaded number-crunching test we've been using for over 10 years now | |||||||||||
| Cinebench R11 | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible. | |||||||||||
| TrueCrypt 7.1a | This benchmark evaluates the AES-encryption ability of the systems | |||||||||||
| X264 HD 5.0.1 | Much-used, standardised test that encodes a 1080p clip into H.264 format | |||||||||||
| LuxMark | Uses LuxRender and OpenCL for GPGPU performance evaluation | |||||||||||
| PCMark 7 | PCMark 7 combines various single- and multi-threaded CPU, Graphics and HDD tests to score overall system performance | |||||||||||
| 7-zip 9.2.0 | Popular program for zipping files. Includes compressing and decompressing tests | |||||||||||
| 3DMark 11 | Run at Entry preset | |||||||||||
| 3DMark Vantage | Run at Performance preset | |||||||||||
| DiRT: Showdown | 1,280x720, 4x MSAA, Medium settings, DX9 | |||||||||||
| Batman: Arkham City | 1,280x720, 2x MSAA, High-quality settings (DX9) and Medium-quality settings (DX11) | |||||||||||
| Power consumption | Noted for system idling, under X264 HD all-core load, and for GPU playing Batman: Arkham City | |||||||||||
Notes
This NUC is not sanctioned or provided by Intel in any way, and it represents an engineering-sample model whose specifications are not optimised for performance, particularly the memory. We could have used faster memory - DDR3-1,600 - or a better mSATA SSD but chose to go as-is. Please understand this when comparing the upcoming benchmarks.
How best to test the qualities of the NUC? The only reasonable course of action is to take a look at what else is out there from competitor AMD's side. Ignoring products that are yet to find their way to the channel - desktop Trinity, ahem - we've put AMD's finest APU, the A8-3870K, on top of a Mini-ITX board from ASRock. The pair come in at a combined £140 and, while not presented in the same form factor as Intel's NUC, do provide insight into how much power can be shoehorned into a small PC box.
Looking a little further back, Intel's second-generation Core i3 chips have been a popular choice for low-end build. We've thrown a Core i3-2100 into the regular Z77 chipset-based test system and run a bevy of benchmarks. This chip should be quicker than NUC in 2D tasks - it clocks in at 3.10GHz, for starters - but slower in the 3D tests, as it takes in the older HD 3000 Graphics.
We've run a full gamut of tests here, so feel free to pick and choose the ones that are most relevant to you.
