MSI Megabook S271- a firstling on AMD Turion 64 X2
Our today's material is some sort of a unique investigation
for two reasons at a time. First, this is a report on reviewing a new
generation of MSI notebooks of the Ultra Portable series which includes
the 12.1 inch Megabook S271 currently
being prepared for release.
Secondly, this is the first device in our test lab which is
equipped with a mobile dual-core new-generation processor built on the
AMD Turion 64 platform - AMD Turion 64 X2 ML-50
which in turn offers an integrated DDR-2 memory controller and support
for a number of new technologies.
In fact, the Turion 64 X2 platform can be surely positioned as
a logical counterbalance to the line of notebooks built on the Intel
Centrino Duo technology, in particular, 2-core Core Duo processors.
It's just this perspective we are going to review all the pros and cons
of Turion 64 X2 from in today's article. In this material, we are also
running a comparison of the mobile computer based on AMD X2 64 ML-50
versus competitor models from the same price category.
Since the notebook that arrived at our test lab is a pre-sales
(engineering) specimen, in this material you won't find the traditional
description of the device usability and the retail package bundle. You
can get a rough idea of the usability aspects of Megabook S271 through
reading our article on its predecessor Megabook
S270. Here we are dwelling on the architecture of the new AMD
platform.
But first there goes the traditional table of characteristic
declared by the manufacturer.
|
MSI
Megabook S271
|
|
Platform
|
AMD Turion 64 X2 |
|
Chipset
|
ATI
Radeon Xpress 200M (RS485M + SB460) |
|
Processor
|
AMD X2
Mobile Technology 64 ML-50 (1.6 GHz), 2 õ 256 K L2 cache |
|
System memory
|
1 GB
DDR2-533 |
|
Display
|
12.1"
TFT WXGA (1280x800) |
|
Video system
|
The
graphic system integrated into the ATI Radeon Xpress 200M chipset uses
the system memory for graphics (adjustable within 64 to 256 MB in the
BIOS Setup) |
|
Audio system
|
Realtek
High Definition Audio (AC'97 2.2). Stereo speakers. Integrated
microphone missing |
|
HDD
|
Fujitsu
MHV2040H, real capacity – 37.2 GB |
|
Optical drive
|
DVD-RW,
with support for double-sized recording |
|
Card reader
|
3 in
1: SD/MMC/MS |
| PC Card
|
PCMCIA 2.1, Type II |
|
Communication facilities
|
56K
V.92 modem;
Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E);
802.11g miniPCI Wireless Network Adapter;
Bluetooth |
| Ports
|
VGA
Output (D-Sub 15)
3 USB 2.0 ports
FireWire IEEE1394
Microphone input
Output to earphones / external speakers
Modem port RJ-11
LAN port RJ-45 |
| Dimensions |
303 x
225 x 26~28 mm |
|
Weight |
1.9 kg
|
|
Power supply system
|
Power
supply adapter: 100-240V~, 50/60 Hz; 1.5À.
Li-Ion battery, 4 cells, 2200 mA*hr, 65 W.
About 3 hrs standalone operation (Mobile Mark 2002) |
Architecture overview of AMD Turion 64 X2
The idea of 2- (and more) core processors is not new - desktop
analogs by both giants of "processor-building" arrived at the retail
long time ago and are of some success on the market. The success is
justified at least due to the possibility of simultaneous execution of
a number of threads, which attracts many users of both workstations and
home-based computers. But is is really worth resorting to such method
of boosting performance in mobile computers?
Let's review a number of possible options.
- Hi-End systems as a "replacement to desktop
PC" which are sizeable and offer short time of
standalone operation but are in fact full-featured and fully functional
workstations.
- Mid-end notebooks (which
are in majority) – moderately mobile, powerful and
functional. The purchase of a notebook with 2-core processor is highly
questionable1. For instance, use of multiple cores in modern gaming
applications gives a poor performance boost (there is support for
dual-core processing implemented in ID Software's DooM III and games
based on its engine) and in regular work with office applications
– even if the two cores give a boost, it is minor.
- Portable notebooks among
which is our today's test specimen. In my view, their use as
full-featured workstations is highly disputable - it is up to the
amateurs. Such computers are an ideal match for a "permanent companion"
rather than a replacement for the desktop PC. Therefore, the chances of
high demand for multitasking in these systems tend to zero. There are
exceptions to this rule... albeit rare.
This is the situation for today, and in the nearest future it
will change. Improved tools for developers are emerging, and hopefully
Windows Vista will make use of improved algorithms for partitioning
applications into threads etc., so the multicore processing simply
won't remain just unclaimed exotics.
We start getting familiarized with the notebook through a
review of the capabilities of the Turion 64 platform because the design
and functional capabilities of the model were explored by my colleague
in the material on MSI S270,
and model S271 is made in an identical housing.
To explore the processor's capabilities, we used the CPU-Z.
The processor being tested was detected as a not yet
officially announced AMD Turion 64 X2 ML-50 with Socket AM2. In fact,
the socket for the new-generation mobile AMD platform will be dubbed
Socket S1, which in the context of tests is not really important.
The dual-core architecture having the working name Taylor
(Rev. F) on which the AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-50 processor is built is
manufactured following the 90-nm process technology, runs at the
nominal clock speed 1.6 GHz, offers two L2 caches - 256 K per each
core, supports memory up to DDR2-667.
Let me remind it that the AMD Turion 64 X2 family with the
Taylor core will be made up of 4 chips for the first time. Besides the
above mentioned Turion 64 X2 ML-50, the family includes TL-52 of clock
speed 1.6 GHz, TL-56 of clock speed 1.8 GHz and TL-60. All the three
chips offer 2 õ 512 K of L2 cache, that is, twice as more than in
today's Turion 64 X2 ML-50 being tested, but all the four chips are
normed for power consumption in the same way – with TDP about
35 W.
In future, these chips may be replaced by the 2-core mobile
core Tyler (Rev. G) with 65-nm process technology, as well as for
Socket S1 with 2 õ 512 K L2 cache, with support for DDR2-800, and TDP
35 W.
As regards the chip Turion 64 X2 ML-50 that offers 1.125 V
operating voltage, we can say that transition to 2-core computing along
with the 90-nm process technology and new revision of the core with an
integrated DDR-II memory controller has not in fact affected the power
consumption and heat emission. The new core fully supports AMD64, SSE3,
and PowerNow!
The memory is made by Transcend Information. Inc.
The DDR-II memory operating frequency is 533 MHz, and the
memory runs in the dual-channel mode.
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