X-bit labs

S3 Chrome S27 Graphics Processor Review: Worthy Performance for Its Class? (page 5)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Anton Shilov

[ 12/29/2005 | 12:11 PM ]

Power Consumption

We couldn’t omit checking the power consumption of the new product. The test platform was configured like follows:

• Intel Pentium 4 560 CPU (3.60GHz, 1MB L2 cache)
• Intel Desktop Board D925XCV
• 2 x 512MB PC4300 DDR2 SDRAM
• Samsung SpinPoint SP1213C hard disk drive (Serial ATA-150, 8MB buffer)
• Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2, DirectX 9.0c

We measured the consumption with a digital multimeter Velleman DVM850BL (0.5% accuracy). First we launched the third test from 3DMark05 in 1600x1200 resolution and with enabled 4x FSAA and 16 AF. Then we created a very high 2D load on the GPU by running the 2D Transparent Windows test from PCMark05. Here are the results:

The S3 Chrome S27 is a very, very economical device. It consumes a mere 23.7W under the maximum load. This is an excellent result considering the eight pixel pipelines and the super-high GPU and memory clock rates, and without a doubt it is largely due to Fujitsu’s tech process. For example, the RADEON X1300 PRO, manufactured on TSMC’s 0.09-micron tech process, consumes almost 7W more even though it works at lower frequencies and has 4 pixel and 2 vertex processors. So the S3 Chrome is the most economical entry-level graphics card and Fujitsu’s tech process is the most perfect one in terms of power consumption.

The new graphics card from S3 Graphics seems to be the perfect choice for a home multimedia system as besides its extended video-processing functionality it consumes very little power and does not require a big and noisy cooler, the latter factor being very important for an entertainment-oriented home PC. The lower-performance, Chrome S25-based models will probably consume even less power and will get along with just a simple passive heatsink.

Testbed Configuration

We tested the performance of the S3 Chrome S27 on our standard AMD64 platform configured as follows:

• AMD Athlon 64 4000+ CPU (2.40GHz, 1MB L2 cache)
• ASUS A8N-SLI Premium mainboard (on NVIDIA nForce4 SLI chipset)
• OCZ PC-3200 Platinum EL DDR SDRAM (2 x 1GB, CL2-3-2-5)
• Samsung SpinPoint SP1213C hard disk drive (Serial ATA-150, 8MB buffer)
• Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 audio card
• Cooler Master Real Power 450 power supply (RS-450-ACLY, 450W)
• Dell P1130/Dell P1110 monitors (21”, 1800x1440@75Hz max display mode)
• Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2, DirectX 9.0c
• S3 Graphics Chrome 6.14.10.2133-15.17.14h driver
• ATI Catalyst 5.12
• NVIDIA ForceWare 81.95