RAM | Reseller Advocate Magazine: Issue 72



		By Chris Angelini
		WHEN INTEL DESIGNED THE NetBurst microarchitecture, scalability was the goal. The idea was to leverage an execution pipeline broken down into 20 stages. This wasn’t optimal for getting a lot of work done per clock cycle but made those multi-gigahertz frequencies much easier to hit. The arrangement worked well with both 180nm and 130nm manufacturing. But everything changed when Intel hit 90nm. The pipeline had stretched out to 31 stages, the processing core was more complex than ever, and frequencies simply didn’t scale as the company had hoped. Talk of 10 GHz Pentiums subsided, and it became clear that the chip would never even be made commercially available at 4 GHz. Right off the bat, 90nm Pentium 4s were criticized for pulling more power and dissipating more heat. The 130nm Northwood core was rated for 82W at 3.2 GHz. A 90nm Prescott running at the same speed topped 103W. In response, Intel tweaked the chip’s power management, facilitating tighter fan control. The company also sought verification for ATX enclosures to make sure they offered sufficient airflow. But there was no way around the fact that Intel needed a solution to a worsening problem. Needless to say, the 90nm Prescott core was not very well received. Despite its enhancements, it still trailed comparably clocked 130nm Pentium 4 processors in a number of benchmark tests. Solid performance numbers and lower power consumption from AMD’s Athlon 64 complicated the situation. Fortunately for Intel, its Core microarchitecture was already in the works, nearly ready to bail out the troubled NetBurst design. INTEL ADVOCATES SILENCE In the time between Intel’s shift to 90nm and its Core launch, heat, noise, and power became very prevalent subjects. After all, resellers were juggling the impending arrival of a new chassis form factor, loud coolers on processors and graphics cards, and the introduction of beefier power supplies able to deliver more juice on the +12V rail. BTX was one of Intel’s first (indirect) acknowledgements that noise and heat were getting out of hand. The form factor sought to enable smaller chassis, create a more logical flow of air, cool components using fewer fans, and help reinforce the structural design of whitebox systems. Intel actually sent us a proof of concept box with a dual-core Pentium D, RAID 5 storage array, and plenty of memory. True to its promise, the BTX box was, in fact, significantly quieter than any of my ATX test beds. A single cooling module sat on top of the processor, blowing air through the heatsink, over a passively cooled chipset, and out the back of the enclosure. Although BTX made good sense, shifting the entire industry away from ATX proved to be a major challenge, especially because AMD didn’t see a good reason to start selling its chips with BTX-compatible cooling solutions. Intel canceled development of BTX after it became apparent that the Core microarchitecture wouldn’t push the heat envelope like NetBurst. Core allowed Intel to address the power problem more directly. A shorter, more efficient pipeline, lower clock speeds, and 65nm manufacturing helped the company reign in its heat issues. Suddenly, the channel had a low-heat, high-performance story to tell. Intelligent clock gating kept unused parts of the latest processors powered down. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology scaled back frequencies when all-out speed wasn’t necessary. And a new four-wire fan used onboard circuitry to precisely measure die temperature and modulate fan speed. So ended Intel’s efforts to push quiet computing as a major selling point. AMD TUNES IN Of course, Intel had the right idea when it changed gears from emphasizing raw megahertz to work per clock cycle. The simultaneous drop in power consumption and heat output gives its platform initiatives such as vPro and Centrino much stronger legs. But Intel is using efficiency as a means rather than an end. AMD, on the other hand, is taking the quiet PC concept by the horns and turning it into something you can market and sell to business customers. The initiative is enabled by AMD’s newest Athlon X2 processors, the BE-2400, BE-2350 and BE-2300. All three chips are manufactured using a 65nm SOI process, keeping thermal design power below 45W. And yet, the trio is still incredibly powerful. Running at speeds of up to 2.3 GHz with 1MB of L2 cache per dual-core processor, the latest X2s are not pared down in any way. They drop into the same popular socket AM2 interface, feature a DDR2 memory controller able to support 800 MHz modules, and communicate over a 16-bit HyperTransport link running at 2 GHz. You might expect there to be a relationship between price, performance, and noise. Usually, great performance and minimal noise mean premium price. Low noise and low cost suggest performance takes a huge hit. But the Athlon X2s uniquely leverage a proven architecture on a new manufacturing node to deliver familiar speed, minimal heat output, and a $104 price tag on the fastest model. Low-power Athlon X2 CPUs are one piece of AMD’s Cool‘n’Quiet PC initiative. But because acoustic output is additive, AMD is presenting resellers with its vision for entire systems built around the low-noise concept. The company’s definition of a Cool‘n’Quiet PC includes a desktop machine that, operating at its highest performance, doesn’t generate more than 30 dB. At idle, AMD suggests that sound levels should be closer to 25 dB, equivalent to a whisper. Keeping the PCs you build that quiet is a platform-wide undertaking. According to AMD, the task requires a power management-enabled processor, a motherboard with corresponding BIOS support, a quality power supply that generates no more than 32 dB when running full tilt, a performance-oriented chassis with low-speed fans, hard drives with quiet motors, and a software-controlled, variable-speed optical drive. BUILDING THE COOL'N'QUIET PC So now you know what it takes to offer business PCs that whisper rather than yell. The concept isn’t as focused as Centrino or as sweeping as vPro, but for a company new to platforms, AMD is really onto something here. You start with the 45W Athlon X2. Already a power sipper, the chip is further enhanced by AMD’s Cool‘n’Quiet technology and the C1E-enhanced halt state. Cool‘n’Quiet is a speed-throttling technology that cuts back on frequency and voltage whenever a CPU is idle. Don’t underestimate the technology’s potential for power savings: Your customer’s systems are likely idle more often than you think. The C1E state was added to Intel’s Pentium 4 processors late in 2004, when the 500J series was first launched, and it is now a component of AMD’s chips as well. In the Athlon X2, C1E support ramps down the processor and northbridge clocks and disconnects the HyperTransport bus whenever the operating system invokes an HLT command. If you already know your customers’ eyes are going to glaze over when you start dishing on dynamic frequency changes and adjustable voltages, demonstrate the benefits of Cool‘n’Quiet. AMD’s Dashboard Demo Software, available on AMD’s Web site at http://www.amd.com, graphically represents the difference in power savings, fan speed, CPU temperature, frequency, utilization, and voltage with dash gauges like you’d see in a sports car. Of course, you’ll need a compatible motherboard before putting Cool‘n’Quiet to use. In the past, AMD would have had to rely on one of its chipset partners and then a third-party motherboard vendor to enable the feature. Now that AMD has its own chipset in the 690 series, Cool‘n’Quiet is a platform play. And what about the motherboards? AMD isn’t manufacturing its own yet. However, the AMD Validated Solutions (AVS) program conveys the company’s confidence in boards manufactured by partners. There are currently eight socket AM2 boards in the AVS lineup, all guaranteed to support AMD64 in its entirety and serviced through a centralized channel. Remember when Intel touted advanced warranty replacement as one of its unique value propositions? Now AMD is slinging its own version of the program, offering advanced exchange to channel partners based on their membership level. Swaps can take anywhere from one to two business days. The list of AVS-approved motherboards is long enough to give resellers plenty of choice but short enough to emphasize each board’s premium nature. Beyond simply enabling access to all of Cool‘n’Quiet’s energy-saving benefits, each platform includes Vista Premium readiness, an available TPM 1.2 module, dual-display capability, DVI/HDMI support, built-in 3D acceleration, an HD audio controller, and disk image management. AMD’s final contribution to the Cool‘n’Quiet concept is a comprehensive lineup of graphics options. Each AVS board features some form of integrated graphics core, be it from AMD’s own 960G and Radeon Xpress 1150 chipset or NVIDIA’s Quadro NVS 210S. Customers most sensitive to cost can use onboard video and enjoy Vista in all of its glory through dual displays. But if you’re looking to offer even more value, go with a Radeon HD 2400 or 2600 series discrete card, which adds DirectX 10, a lot more performance, and big-screen output through an HDMI connector. Many of the Radeon HD 2400 cards are passively cooled, allowing resellers to add the very newest graphics features available without making a peep. You don’t have to ask customers to make a big financial commitment, either. Take the free, integrated circuitry or spend $100 on a card that will deliver a much richer experience as it adheres to AMD’s Cool‘n’Quiet guidelines. There are a handful of other components laid out in AMD’s platform vision not related to the company’s core competencies. Here’s where the reseller has to step up with his own puzzle pieces. For example, it’s important to drive a Cool‘n’Quiet box using a well-built power supply. Seek out 80 PLUS certification, which guarantees better than 80% efficiency. PC Power and Cooling’s Silencer 750 Quad is rated at 84%, so more of the power running through the supply is being used and not lost as heat. In addition, the supply’s cooler is offset by an inch to minimize the noise caused by turbulent air passing over internal circuitry. According to PC Power and Cooling, reducing turbulence makes the Silencer up to 90% quieter than competing high-wattage supplies. You’ll also want to choose a chassis with 120mm fans, hard drive dampening mounts, and fixed drive cages. Antec’s Sonata III 500 meets those recommendations and more. The 500W power supply bundled with the chassis is 80 PLUS-certified. An included 120mm three-speed rear fan helps dial in the right amount of cooling. Silicone grommets absorb hard drive vibrations. And unobstructed intakes keep air moving through the case without excess noise. With the right power supply and a solid chassis, you’re well on your way to selling machines that make noticeably less noise. Honing in on the details will lock in the advantage of a quiet PC. Did you know that hard drives with fewer platters make less noise? A 500GB disk using fluid bearing motors will run quieter than a 1TB drive from the same family. Advise your customers accordingly. Choose an optical drive that can be controlled by software as well. Plextor’s PlexTools (available from the company’s PlexTools Web page at http://www.plextools.com) can put Plextor drives into a silent mode so customers don’t hear a lot of seek/read chatter. PUTTING A PRICE ON NOISE Once upon a time, spending extra effort on quiet PCs was a thankless endeavor. At least in my experience, customers expected quiet office machines (after all, the tier-ones were already using custom ducting to keep acoustics down), but they’d sure let you know if your boxes were too loud. As long as you were using super-hot CPUs, such as Intel’s old Prescott or noisy graphics cards like the notorious NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800, you were at the mercy of whichever reference cooler the vendor bundled. Now, thanks to advances in lithography and power management technology built right into desktop hardware, multi-core processors are running at 45W, DirectX 10 graphics cards are cooled passively, and power supplies are offering more than 80% efficiency. Brand new to the platform business, AMD‘s first initiative is a winner. There’s real value in pursuing silence nowadays, and the Cool‘n’Quiet PC reads like a recipe book for building boxes that whisper.

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