Energy efficient computers are a good thing, so it helps to know how power efficient, or power hungry different parts of a computer are when stressed with different tasks. Since it is very difficult to isolate a videocard or CPU and measure power draw separately, PCSTATS measures total system power draw with the aid of an Extech 380803 AC Power Analyzer and A-PFC compliant PC Power and Cooling 750W power supply. The meter is placed between the 120V AC outlet and the PC power supply. By stressing the test platform's graphics solution or processor, it's then possible to measure power draw relative to the PC at an idle state.

The test system is measured at Idle (Windows desktop), Graphics Loaded (3Dmark06) and CPU Loaded (Prime 95) states.

Total System Power Draw Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H Graphics Solution Idle Graphics Loaded CPU Loaded AMD HD 4200 (Integrated Graphics) 110w 145w 198w nVidia Geforce GTS250 (Discrete Graphics) 167w 284w 254w (At desktop) (via 3Dmark 06) (via Prime95)

Since it's packing a Phenom II 955 Black Edition, the Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H still has a fair amount of power draw at idle, and that number will grow a bit when a graphics card is added in. When the system is put under 3D load, the IGP draws 35W over the normal load, which is quite convservative. Pairing a system like this up with a 3D graphics card is also possible, as long as your power supply is rated for at least 400W.

Prelude to Testing

The details of how the Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H motherboard test system was configured for benchmarking; the specific hardware, software drivers, operating system and benchmark versions is indicated below. In the second column are the general specs for the reference platforms this AMD 785G based motherboard is to be compared against. Please take a moment to look over PCSTATS test system configurations before moving on to the individual benchmark results on the next page.

PCSTATS Test System Configurations

test system reference system #1 reference system #2 processor: amd Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition (AM3) AMD Phenom X3 720 BE (AM3) AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ (AM2) Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (775) Clock Speed: 16 x 200 MHz = 3.2 GHz 14 x 200 MHz = 2.8 GHz 13 x 200 MHz = 2.6 GHz 8 x 333 = 2.66GHz Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (AMD 785G) MSI 785GM-E65* (AMD 785G) ASUS M4A785TD-V Evo* (AMD 785G) Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P (AMD 790FX) ASUS M4A78T-E (AMD 790GX / AM3) ASUS M3A78-T (AMD 790GX / AM2+) ECS A780GM-A (AMD 780G) Biostar TF8200 A2+ (Geforce 8200) Foxconn A690GM2MA (AMD 690G) Foxconn A7DA-S (AMD 790GX) Biostar Tpower N750 (NF 750a) Intel DG45ID (Intel G45) ASUS P5Q-EM (Intel G45) Videocard: ASUS ENGTS250 DK MSI NX8800GTS-T2D320E-HD-OC Memory: 2x 2GB Corsair XMS3-1600C9 (DDR3) 2x 1024MB Corsair Twin2X2048-6400C4 2x 1024MB Patriot PDC32G1600LLK 2x 1024MB Corsair Twin2X2048-8888C4DF Hard Drive: 74GB Western Digital Raptor WD740 CDROM: ASUS BC-1205PT-BD Blu-Ray Drive Monitor (1080p): ASUS MK241 24" HD LCD PowerSupply: PC Power & Cooling TurboCool 750W Heatsink: AMD socket AM2 Reference Heatsink Intel Reference Software Setup: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate ATi Catalyst 9.4 ATI Catalyst 8.634 BETA* nVIDIA Forceware 185.85 Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate ATi Catalyst 9.1 nVIDIA Forceware 169.25 Benchmarks: SYSMark 2007 Preview SiSoft Sandra 2009 PCMark Vantage 3DMark06 3DMark Vantage FEAR Call of Juarez Crysis