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As this is the first time we have analysed the AMD P840 Tri Core processor on this platform we thought it would be worthwhile to run a few tests to get an overall view of performance against other hardware. Synthetic testing is not a major selling point for a system like this, so if this holds no interest, skip ahead to the media pages.
SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.
Sandra is a (girl) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.
It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.
Native ports for all major operating systems are available:
- Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x86)
- Windows XP, 2003/R2, Vista, 7, 2008/R2 (x64)
- Windows 2003/R2, 2008/R2* (IA64)
- Windows Mobile 5.x (ARM CE 5.01)
- Windows Mobile 6.x (ARM CE 5.02)
All major technologies are supported and taken advantage of:
- SMP – Multi-Processor
- MC – Multi-Core
- SMT/HT – Hyper-Threading
- MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE 4.1, SSE 4.2, AVX, FMA – Multi-Media instructions
- GPGPU, DirectX, OpenGL – Graphics
- NUMA – Non-Uniform Memory Access
- AMD64/EM64T/x64 – 64-bit extensions to x86
- IA64 – Intel* Itanium 64-bit
The AMD Phenom P840 is clearly a much more powerful processor than the Intel Atom D525 inside the ASRock ION3D system, outperforming it considerably in all of the Sandra tests. We also included the hard drive test, showing the internal 750GB drive is capable of sustaining around 100mb/s.
I was actually looking at these last week. great idea for people who dont want an ATOM.
Very nice units, a little like the mac mini, but more colourful and more powerful.
Surprised how nippy those little AMD processors are. very capable indeed, much better than ATOM
The lower end models are good value, but the higher quad core with bluray is expensive. over 800 quid would get me a mega gaming rig.
Fl0 – you pay for the size reduction, remember that. this isn’t a gaming system, its a media system with a focus clearly on size and looks for people who want something sexy for display.
Interesting looking little thing, seems to be everyone is making these kind of pcs lately. I can understand why, with familes having a computer in a main room,. some of the full size cases take up far too much room.
Looks ideal for media, but I think I prefer the ASROCK ION 3d system as it is much cheaper and comes with bluray. if it handles 1080p thats all most people will need.
This AMD processor is much better than the ATOM, but as the reviewer says, the cost is more power consumption. For media, I think the ASROCK is the better deal as its cheaper, £399 with bluray, smaller and takes up less power under load. can still handle bluray discs and 1080p streaming no problems.
For a general purpose PC this Dell unit is better. I can see a lot of students liking it.
Zardon can I confirm – the top panel removes with a b utton press, but under it, you need a screw driver to get access to things like the drives?
Funnily enough I was thinking the same. the button concept is great, but why have everything else under a screwed panel? whats the point of the button? just to change colors?
I really dig this system, not sure id buy one though. surprised how good the AMD chip is compared to the ATOM. I know AMD dont have a low power processor like Intel right now, but it seems well worth the extra power drain for those performance gains. maybe on a laptop atom makes a bigger selling point ?
I want a review of an intel core i3/5/7 system 🙂 in this size.
No HDMI 1.4.
No 3D capability
Sony plans to have 40% of TVs next year to be 3D enabled