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-P55-UD6 Processor & Graphics Solution Idle CPU Loaded Intel Core i5 750 nVidia Geforce GTS250 (Discrete Graphics) 124W 175W (At desktop) (via Prime95)

Power draw for the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 test system is very similar to what PCSTATS has seen from other Intel P55 Express motherboards. With a Geforce GTS250 graphics card added in and the Core i5 750 processor under full load, the entire system draws about 175W. At idle that figure falls to 124W.

Prelude to Benchmarks

The details of how the Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 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 Intel P55 Express 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 - intel core i5 reference system - amd phenom ii x4 reference system - intel core i7 processor: intel core i5 750 (45nm) amd Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition (45nm) Intel Core i7 920 (45nm) Clock Speed: 20 x 133 MHz = 2.66 GHz 16 x 200 MHz = 3.2 GHz 20 x 133 MHz = 2.67 GHz Socket: Socket LGA1156 Socket AM3 / AM2+ Socket LGA1366 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD6* (P55 Express) Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 (P55 Express) Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5 (P55 Express) Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P* (P55 Express) Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R (P55 Express) ASUS P7P55D Premium* (P55 Express) ASUS P7P55D Deluxe (P55 Express) Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P (AMD 790FX) Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H (AMD 785G) Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (AMD 785G) MSI 785GM-E65 (AMD 785G) ASUS M4A785TD-V Evo (AMD 785G) MSI Eclipse Plus (X58 Express) MSI X58 Platinum (X58 Express) Videocard: ASUS ENGTS250 DK (Geforce GTS250) Memory: 2x 2GB Corsair XMS3-1600C9 2x 2GB Corsair XMS3-1600C8 3x 2GB Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D DDR3 Memory Speed: DDR3-1333 DDR3-1066 DDR3-1066 74GB Western Digital Raptor WD740 (3GB/s SATA II) *2TB Segate Barracuda XT (6GB/s SATA III) for Marvell 9128 Compliant boards Optical Drive: ASUS BC-1205PT-BD Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling TurboCool 750W Heatsink: Intel Reference 1156 Heatsink Athlon64 K8 Reference Heatsink Intel Reference 1366 Heatsink Monitor (1080p): ASUS MK241 24" HD LCD Software Setup: Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit Intel 9.1.1.1019 nVIDIA Forceware 190.62 Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate AMD Catalyst 9.12 nVIDIA Forceware 195.62 Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Intel INF 9.1.0.1012 nVIDIA Forceware 182.08 Benchmarks: System Benchmarks: SYSmark 2007 PCMark Vantage SiSoft Sandra 2009 Gaming B/M: 3DMark06 3DMark Vantage FEAR