The first comment on APU platform with USB 3.0 MSI U270.

IT 168 Evaluation MSI U series, as a small and light model in MSI notebook product line, has been equipped with AMD Yukon, Congo and intel's Atom and CULV platforms. Although the product is updated layer by layer, the GPU performance of small notebooks has always been a shortcoming. After the launch of the APU platform, MSI also updated the U200 series of Wind netbooks for the first time, and launched the latest U270, 12 inch. This machine is not only equipped with APU platform, but also added the high-speed interface of USB 3.0, which improves the performance of the notebook more comprehensively.

Different from the previous notebook products, which are either outstanding in performance or fashionable and portable, the current ultra-thin notebook products are playing two cards, which can be seen from more and more products combining fashion design with practical functions in the market. Users can get more functions, stronger performance and larger screen than netbooks, and they can also get fashionable appearance and relatively long battery life. As far as the mainstream notebook platform is concerned, the more advanced process technology has achieved lower power consumption and heat generation, so it has also achieved the emergence of the revolutionary converged architecture processor APU. So what is the specific performance of this microsatellite U270 equipped with APU platform? Next, we will bring you detailed evaluation information of this machine.

MSI U270 notebook specifications

processor

AMD E350 1.6GHz

Configuration memory

type

2GB SO-DIMM DDR3- 1333

display card

AMD radium dragon HD 63 10 384MB memory

hard disc

320 GB，5400 RPM

Wired network/WLAN/Bluetooth

Realtek pcie gbe (1000m)/1x11b/g/n WLAN (802. 1 1n)/ No Bluetooth.

class monitor

12. 1( 16:9) 1366 x 768 LED

battery

standard

1 1. 1V/25Wh

Engagement/interface

1usb3.0/2usb2.0/1VGA/1HDMI/1RJ45/1card reader.

Notebook size/weight

281x188x24-34mm/1.282kg.

Fashion appearance gradient color film is small and easy to carry.

Compared with the previous generation U250, the new U270 has added new elements in the grain design of appearance. Through the color film overprinting process exclusively developed by MSI, the color of the color film of the top cover and wrist rest is processed step by step, which embodies the characteristics of small fashion personality. This technology is also adopted in the CR650 product of Big Ben MSI on APU platform released in the same period.

▲ The fuselage keeps the shape of the previous U250.

▲ The top cover of MSI U270 adopts color film overflow printing process, with gradual effect.

▲ 12. 1 inch screen resolution reaches 1366X768.

▲ Microphone on the screen

And a camera.

Although the screen of MSI U270 is only 12. 1 inch, the resolution is not low, reaching 1366X768, which can perfectly support 720p HD movies. A 130W pixel camera and microphone are configured at the top of the screen. The MSI logo, which is usually located at the bottom of the screen, is moved to the upper left corner of the screen, which can reduce the horizontal height of the bottom edge of the screen to some extent.

▲ The C-end uses a chocolate keyboard.

▲U270 provides users with good expansion ability.

U270 provides users with good scalability. Users can see a detachable baffle at the bottom of the fuselage. After removing the bezel, users can expand and upgrade the hard disk, memory and wireless network card. The U270 has two memory slots. Because this series of products use 2GB of memory as standard, users basically have no problems to consider when upgrading memory. They only need to buy 1GB or 2GB of memory to expand according to the operating system.

What is an auxiliary power unit? Does it help?

Let's take a look at the basic situation of APU first. The Chinese name of APU is Acceleration Processor, which is the product of AMD fusion concept. For the first time, the processor and independent display core are put on a new chip, which has both high-performance processors and the latest independent graphics cards.

Processing performance, support DX 1 1 games and latest applications? Speed up the operation? , greatly improve the efficiency of computer operation, realize.

cpu

Real integration with GPU.

Judging from AMD's current product planning, APU will be composed of two types of products, which are divided into E series and C series according to their uses. Both series are dual-core and single-core products, and the E series with higher power consumption reaches 18W, focusing on mainstream entry notebooks.

Product sizes range from 10. 1 inch to 15.6 inch.

C series products with power consumption of only 9W are mainly aimed at ultra-portable notebooks.

Products, the coverage size is mainly products below 12 inch. As can be seen from the above figure, E350 and C50 both adopt dual-core design, and the main difference between them lies in the main frequency and built-in.

display card

Performance and power consumption level, and single-core E240 and C30 also adopt such differentiated design, which ensures that APU can cover most entry-level and ultra-portable notebook products.

Compared with the notebook products before AMD, the biggest change of APU is the integration of graphics processing unit with performance equivalent to that of discrete graphics card, compared with Intel.

First adoption

cpu

The dual-core design of integrated GPU is different. AMD adopted a dual-core design as soon as it came up, realizing real integration. And with

Intel Corporation of the United States (one of the Fortune 500 companies is famous for producing CPU chips)

Compared with two generations of platforms, APU has the advantage of supporting DX 1 1.

Although it is difficult to run those super-large 3D programs with the performance of HD63 10 graphics card, it is not a problem to run ordinary 3D applications. According to the official news released by AMD, the performance of HD 63 10M and HD6250M graphics cards are equivalent to HD5470/HD5450 respectively, and they also have 80 stream processors, which also support the latest UVD3.0 HD decoding technology. This specification is unmatched by Intel's similar processors.

Hardware configuration APU is the highlight of USB 3.0.

U270 adopts AMD's latest APU product E350, and the CPU core of AMD APU E350 adopts Bobcat architecture, which is manufactured based on 45nm process and has dual cores. The main frequency of this product has reached 1.6GHz, with 128KB first-level cache and 1MB second-level cache, and its TDP thermal design power consumption is only 18W, which is higher than before.

▲ Processor information

As mentioned earlier, the biggest feature of APU is that it integrates the discrete graphics core of HD6000 series, so U270 also chooses HD 63 10M discrete graphics card built into the processor.

▲ Graphics card information

ATI Laser Dragon HD63 10M graphics card is one of the latest ATI HD6000 series graphics cards supporting DX 1 1, and its performance is equivalent to the current ATI Mobility Laser Dragon HD 5470. According to the information obtained so far, HD63 10M has 80 stream processors, 8 texture units and 4 rasterization units, supporting 600. It supports DX 1 1 and OpenGL 3.2, integrates UVD3 hardware decoding engine, and supports a series of energy-saving technologies such as PowerPlay, PowerXpress and Swithable Graphics.

▲U270 comes standard with ASint's single 2GB DDR3 1333 memory.

As for the storage system, the U270 we received comes standard with 2 GB of DDR 31333 MHz memory. For business users running a 32-bit operating system, this memory capacity is enough to cope with most mainstream applications and run some large-scale business software applications. For users of 64-bit system, you can upgrade to 4GB memory to improve system performance.

▲ The prototype we received used WD 3200BEVT hard disk with a capacity of 320GB.

The prototype we received used WD 3200BEVT hard disk with a capacity of 320GB. This 320GB hard drive has a high speed of 5400 rpm and also supports the SATAII interface. With SB800 south bridge, the transmission speed can reach 3.0 GB/s.

In terms of network communication ability, U270 adopts the combination of Realtek PCIe GBE wired network card and 1x 1 1B/G/N wireless LAN wireless network card, which provides a good solution for users. The wireless network card supports 802. 1 1n communication protocol. The speed can reach 150Mbps, and the wired network card supports10100/1000m connection.

▲ The USB 3.0 interface on the left side of the fuselage is the biggest highlight.

In terms of interface, a high-speed USB 3.0 interface appears on 12. 1 inch notebook, which greatly improves the data exchange efficiency when users use USB 3.0 storage devices. Other interfaces include two USB 2.0 interfaces, 1 HDMI, 1 VGA, 1 audio input/output interface, 1 SD card reader and an RJ45 network interface, equipped with a high-performance notebook.

Hardware upgrade suggestions:

The U270 has two memory slots. Because this series of products use 2GB of memory as standard, users basically have no problems to consider when upgrading memory. They only need to buy 1GB or 2GB of memory to expand according to the operating system. If you upgrade to 2GB of memory, the cost will probably be 140 yuan.

Battery life, power consumption and calorific value test

battery life

MSI U270 comes standard with 1 1. 1V, 25Wh three-cell lithium battery. We mainly use Mobile Mark2007 software to simulate major applications such as daily office and multimedia production, and make a comprehensive evaluation of endurance. We only conducted a high-intensity office test on this product.

▲ MSI U270 comes standard with 1 1. 1V, 25Wh three-cell lithium batteries.

▲ This battery of ▲U270 provides users with a battery life of 148 minutes when the remaining power is 5%.

▲ 148 minutes of battery life is only enough to meet the needs of basic applications.

In the test, we turned off the screen saver and hibernation, and set the battery and system to the highest performance mode. In the office environment test, the battery of U270 provides users with a battery life of 148 minutes when the remaining power is 5%, which is shorter than other light notebooks with low power consumption platforms and only meets the basic application for a short time, which is similar to the case that this model is only equipped with 3-cell batteries.

Actual power consumption test

We also tested the actual power consumption of this product, and we tested the power consumption of this product in three states. We use UNI-T UT7 1E intelligent digital multimeter as test equipment to measure the power consumption when the power supply is turned on but not turned on (non-charging state), the system is started but has no action for 5 minutes, but it is not dormant (non-charging state) and the system is started, the processor is fully loaded, and the disk works at the maximum throughput (non-charging state).

▲ The peak power consumption of ▲U270 is only 23.1w..

In these three cases, the power consumption of U270 is 0.4W, 14. 1W and 23. 1W respectively. This test data is at a relatively low level compared with some notebook products with similar configurations on the market. This test data shows that this product adopts low-power hardware and integrated design, so its relative power consumption is also lower than the average level of similar products in the market.

Caloric value test

In this testing session, we used the Irma AR852B infrared thermometer AR-852B to test the calorific value of this product. The test mainly measured the temperature of the C surface, bottom surface and radiator of the notebook. EVEREST software was used in the test, the system stability test was selected, and all items were checked. 15 minutes later. At the same time, the indoor temperature is measured, so that readers can have a more intuitive understanding of the test data.

▲ Distribution map of ▲U270 cooling holes

▲ The highest temperature of ▲U270 is 4 1.6 degrees.

We tested the temperature of five points around the test platform, which were 33.5, 26.6, 38.4, 27.9 and 465,438 0.6 degrees Celsius, respectively.

heat value

The ambient temperature of Yima AR852B thermometer =2 1℃.

C-plane maximum temperature

33.5 degrees celsius

C-plane minimum temperature difference

26.6 degrees celsius

Maximum bottom temperature

38.4 degrees celsius

Minimum bottom temperature difference

27.9 degrees celsius

Air outlet temperature

4 1.6 degrees Celsius

Except at the radiator, the highest temperature in the measurement is 4 1.6 degrees Celsius, and the calorific value at other positions is about 30 degrees Celsius, especially at the C surface, which keeps a good user comfort. At the same time, the low calorific value also proves the success of APU low power design.

Performance testing can meet the mainstream home entertainment applications.

We used a series of test software to measure the actual performance of this U270. In the test, we installed the English version of Microsoft Windows 7 flagship 6. 1.7600 operating system for testing. The test contents include Windows Experience Index, SYSmark2007 Preview, 3DMark Vantange, PCMark Vantange and other test software.

▲CIHEBENCH R 10 test results

▲HDtune Pro test results

▲ System evaluation results

▲PCMark Vantage score

▲3DMark Vantage score

▲ Symark 2007 preview rating

3D Game Test: resident evil 5, Street Fighter 4

street fighter 4

The PC version of Street Fighter IV is a completely transplanted version of the home computer version, which will correspond to the game functions of Windows Live and support online battles, in-game SMS communication and instant voice chat. In addition to supporting high-resolution screen output, the PC version also provides players with the function of selecting screen rendering style, except for the PC version? Ordinary? Beyond the mode, what else? Watercolor? 、? Poster? And then what? Grey ink? These three additional rendering styles. Players can adjust the display effect according to their own preferences in the game setting options. In the test, we used Capcom official PC performance test software to test, and we chose 1280X720 pixel resolution, and the rest settings used the default settings of the game.

▲U270 Street Fighter 4 test results

▲ The speed of ▲26FPS can guarantee the basic fluency of the game.

According to the final test results, HD 63 10M can cope with this kind of game under the condition of not serious load, and the average test speed is about 26FPS. This performance tells us that using this notebook,

Some users can get a smoother picture when running this low-load 3D game. Of course, if users want to get higher speed, they can reduce the quality of the game in the options.

Resident Evil: Karma

Resident evil 5 is the fifth game of this game. This time, the stage of "resident evil 5" is set in a small African country (the story is pure fiction), which is located in an active volcanic zone, spanning Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya. At the beginning of the game, the local residents were not infected, but with the volcanic activity,

The outbreak of the virus gradually spread, turning local residents into zombie-like killing creatures. In the test, we used Capcom official PC performance test software to test, and we used 1024X768 pixel resolution mode to test.

▲ resident evil 5 test results

▲ 17.7FPS test results show that users can get better performance only by reducing the resolution and image quality.

Judging from this part of the test, under the default setting, the test score of U270 is kept below 20FPS, which can't provide users with good fluency, so we don't recommend users of this product to run such a medium-sized 3D game, or to gain the ability of barely running by reducing the resolution and image quality.

Test summary:

Judging from the test results of three different types of games, the built-in HD 63 10M graphics card in APU

Basically, it can compete with mainstream entry-level discrete graphics cards, but because of the main frequency of processors and the performance problems of graphics cards, it will be more difficult to run some medium-sized 3D games. For those small 3D games, both the performance of the graphics card and the performance of the processor can provide users with smoother pictures and game speed.

IE9 Acceleration, HD Video Playback, Video Compression Test

IE9 accelerated test

First, we tested software applications that need GPU acceleration. In this test, we chose the latest IE9 browser to test the graphics ability of APU through the fish tank test project of Microsoft official website. We chose the test mode of 100 fish coexisting with 500 fish.

▲IE9 settings support GPU acceleration.

▲ 100 fish test results

▲500 fish test results

In the test of 100 fish, the average score is maintained at 60FPS, while in the test of 500 fish, the speed can still reach 26FPS, while the test scores of a comparative product with integrated graphics card are only 28FPS and 1 1FPS respectively.

High definition video playback

▲ We used the common storm video as the test software.

▲ Turn on hardware acceleration, and the processor occupancy rate for playing 1080P movies is 28%.

High definition video compression

▲ It takes 23 minutes and 58 seconds to compress two HD videos.

Picture processing

▲ It takes 2 minutes and 04 seconds to process 25 pictures.

Virus scanning

▲ It takes 9 minutes 3 1 second to scan 49,265 files.

Evaluation summary: GPU upgrade brings better application experience

As a revolutionary product combining CPU and GPU, E350 left a deep impression on us in the test. Its successful integration with GPU not only brings users high-performance graphics processing capabilities, but also has low power consumption, low heat generation and longer battery life than mainstream processors. These characteristics make E350 the preferred hardware platform for thin and light notebook computers, which is completely consistent with its research and development goals.

▲ MSI U270

As for MSI U270, the latest APU processor makes it have the performance to cope with some mainstream applications, and the power consumption is lower. Although the absolute performance of APU is still far behind the mainstream processors, the powerful graphics processing capability of integrated HD 63 10M graphics card with the main frequency of 1.6GHz still brings outstanding performance to U270. Low power consumption enables the machine to run for a long time and maintain a comfortable temperature, which makes this product quite suitable for users who like small-sized notebooks and have high requirements for performance and comfort.