Miscelleneous by stefan @ 2011-09-06
The AMD Lynx Platform comes at a decent price and offers DX11 compatible integrated graphics, which is more than enough for performing some of the daily tasks or watching HD multimedia content. For increasing the 3D performance even further, we can either overclock the APU or buy a separate graphics card from the supported models (RADEON HD 6400, 6500 or 6600 Series).
At first I would like to thank AMD and ECS for supplying the necessary components for testing the Lynx platform.
AMD (NYSE: AMD) is a semiconductor design innovator leading the next era of vivid digital experiences with its ground-breaking AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). AMD’s graphics and computing technologies power a variety of solutions including PCs, game consoles and the servers that drive the Internet and businesses.
Our Mission
Lead through innovative, customer-centric solutions that empower businesses, enhance the digital lifestyle and accelerate global digital inclusion.:
"ECS, the Elitegroup Computer Systems, was established in 1987, and is approaching its 23rd year of business. More than two decades, ECS has overcome a great deal of obstacles facing new businesses and has experienced the joy of significant growth and development. Her main focus has expanded to not only motherboards, but also desktop and notebook computers, graphics cards and other mobile products. ECS is strongly committed to develop cutting-edge technology in order to generate innovative products under environmental friendly designs. ECS comprehensive system of quality control provides our clients with reassurance and fosters long term cooperation.
Green Touch, Good Life
ECS commits to protect the Earth by reducing the global environmental loading as the priority of her corporate sustainable strategy. Confronting more and more global environmental impacts; climate change, natural resources depletion and the crisis of ecological imbalance, ECS devotes the Green Solutions for the Earth sustainable development without compromising customer satisfaction. ECS expects bringing people with more Green Touch for a Good Life.
Starting from 2006, ECS has been implementing the “ECS Green Competitive Advantage and Quality Plan” and introduced Green Products through 4-stages of non-toxic management; including non-toxic suppliers, non-toxic material, non-toxic manufacturing & processing, and, non-toxic quality controls. Besides, ECS is recognized under the IECQQC080000 Certification in her two major manufacturing sites in China; Golden Elite Technology at Shenzhen and ESZ at Suzhou. That empowers ECS desire of providing end users with HSF (Hazardous Substance Free) products to ensure a quality green life.
As a top-down decision, ECS dedicates to offering clean and environmentally friendly computer products for consumers through product design, purchase, production, sale and services to the 3R environmental objectives – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The ECS engineering teams are engaged to create products under a Green concept by size reduction, product longevity, easy disassembly, recycle potential, substance restriction and energy saving. For example, ECS green motherboards apply to the three environmental directives – the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) promoted by the European Union; RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substance Directive) and EuP (Eco design of Energy-using Products Directive).
Nowadays, ECS integrates Green concept in her daily operation. From the headquarters on Taiwan to worldwide branches, ECS practices energy saving, water recycling, Green data center, planting and so on to reduce greenhouse gas emission for mitigating the climate change. With continuous efforts to conduct business in a sustainable way, ECS recognizes that we are dependent on the Earth and strive to improve the quality of life for people everywhere!
Global Network
The headquarters of ECS is located in Taipei Neihu Technology Park. We have offices in major cities around the world. We are committed to product development and expanding the scale of our business. With our branches all over the Americas, Europe, and Asia, ECS localizes sales and retail in order to provide immediate and convenient service for our customers.
-Taipei, Taiwan
-Tokyo, Japan
-Seoul, Korea
-Wijchen, Netherlands
-Fremont, USA
-Moscow, Russia
-Sao Paulo, Brazil
Manufacturing Sites
ECS adopts a vertical integration structure of design, component manufacturing, and system assembly. At present, ECS has established two manufacturing locations; well-developed supply chain capabilities, and well-monitored production links; and the capacity to adapt to the needs of the ever-changing market.
-Golden Elite Technology (Shenzhen), China
-ESZ (Suzhou), China"
After looking upon the low end AMD Fusion platform, Brazos, it is now time to step up and test out the newer Lynx desktop platform, which makes use of the 32nm Llano APUs.
The AMD A-Series APUs are supported by the A75 and A55 AMD Fusion Controller Hubs. The A75 FCH provides SATA 6Gb/s and up to 4 USB 3.0 ports.
In addition to the already powerful discrete-class graphics, the A-Series platform also supports Dual Graphics with selected combinations of A-Series APUs and AMD RADEON HD 6400, 6500 and HD 6600 Series graphics, for boosting the performance even more.
The quad x86 32nm “Stars” cores along with two levels of DirectX 11 capable discrete-class graphics, can deliver amazing video and computing performance. The models present now on the market are A8-3850 and A6-3650; in the near future, AMD will launch A-Series APUs with Turbo Core technology, allowing the x86 and RADEON cores to dynamically enter Turbo mode for providing increased performance based on usage, while staying within the specified thermal limits. Officially, memory is supported at up to DDR3-1866 speeds in dual channel mode.
Each APU can support single or dual-independent high resolution displays and provides exceptional multimedia capabilities with the 3rd generation of the Unified Video Decoder (UVD3) hardware decode support for H.264, VC-1, MPEG2, WMV, DivX, MVC and Adobe Flash.
Dual Channel DDR3 2600 OC
Dual DDR3 2600 O.C. is able to raise processor and RAM clock up to 2600mHz through capable RAM in overclock mode. It assists system to obtain optimal performance to meet the O.C. enthusiast needs.
AMD APU Platform
The new generation of AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APUs) combiningthe central processing unit (CPU) with the graphics processing unit(GPU) in a single-chip design, features stutter-free HD video playback,DirectX® 11-capable graphics.
AMD Dual Graphics
AMD Dual graphics technology enables an impressive visual uplift and added compute capacity. The integrated graphics core can be combined with the external graphics card to deliver higher overall performance.
Support DirectX 11
DirectX 11 features the latest technologies of Compute Shaders, Direct 2D, Multithreaded Rendering and Tessellation for create rich worlds, realistic characters and more fluid gameplay.
Super Burn Test
A burning test with increased temperature up to 50 degree is applied to eliminate computer functional impairments caused by severe external environment
M.I.B. III
M.I.B. III brings the same convenience interface of overclocking as M.I.B. II, it also comes with advance range of frequency tuning for system performance and superior gaming capability.
All Solid Capacitors
ECS’s All-Solid-Capacitors design brings the great benefit of better durability to users. Better conductivity and heat resistance can be expected as well thus the system stability can be assured under critical conditions.
Rapid 333
Support latest generation USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 (6Gbps) and eSATA 3.0 (6Gbps) high-speed interface technologies that meet the high-capacity and high-speed needs of multi-media publishing and PC gaming.
Clear CMOS Button
One of ECS 4"E" Design which is especially a great plus that brings users remarkable convenience while overclocking or tweaking system performance.
( 4"E" Design : Easy button; DebugLED; Clear CMOS; Right-Angled SATA Slots)
Multi-language BIOS
Multi-language BIOS allows you to see and set up the BIOS with your native language. It helps Non-English users to solve the problem of setting up the BIOS and achieve extra system performance easily.
ECS GUI UEFI BIOS
ECS GUI UEFI BIOS is a convenient tool for tweaking BIOS in Graphical interface. Users can select functions in BIOS with mouse and keyboard. The user-friendly interface with ECS designed wallpaper radically brings users convenience and easy-to-use experience.
ATI CrossFire X
The technology not only combines multi-GPU and motherboard power that soars into a new dimension of graphics capability, but also delivers the highest image quality and screen resolutions, even with the most demanding 3D titles.
PCI EXPRESS 2.0
The exceptionally increased interconnect bit rate from 2.5GT/s up to 5.0GT/s would effectively eliminates the bottle neck of the system performance and brings the most terrific computing experience from the present to the future.
eSATA 6Gb/s
eSATA III with 6Gb/s data transfer rate can promise substantial performance gain to a new hard drive enclosure. The data transfer rate is double than previous SATA II(3Gb/s) and also supports external HDD hot plug and keyed connector end for fool-proof.
USB 3.0
The latest generation Super Speed USB 3.0 Card is able to transfer data 10 times faster than USB 2.0. An innovative power management system provide better energy saving and carry more power to recharge more USB rechargeable devices. USB 3.0 Card is compatible with USB 2.0 to add more convenience and excellent performance.
HDMI Output
The interface supports existing high-definition video formats(720p, 1080i, and even 1080p), plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. Combination with HDCP, provides a secure audio/video interface that meets the security requirements of content providers and systems operators.
DVI Output
A video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors. DVI transmits a digital signal from a digital location in the graphics card to a digital location on the display screen. So you get the full clarity and stability of liquid crystal technology — with sharp, clear pixels.
EZ Charger
EZ Charger technology provides 3 times current than general USB port in off mode for USB devices. It’s useful and excellent, especially for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices that need a large amount of current for faster recharging within less time.
Certified For Windows® 7
Windows® 7 platform introduces a number of manageability improvements that can reduce total cost of ownership by helping to increase automation, improve user productivity, and provide flexible administrative control to meet compliance requirements. It is more user-friendly and has been optimized to consume less system resources with Windows® 7 as well. Furthermore, the VT technology is enhanced to support real-time multimedia application including video playback and 3D games.
EUP 2013
ECS Motherboards have been certified by EuP 2013 of European Union. Stand by mode and off mode not to exceed 0.50W consumption to save energy and maintain sustainable environment.
The ECS A75F-A (Black Deluxe) motherboard is shipped inside a medium sized box with a plastic handle; on the frontal side we can find many logos with the product highlights, along with a sticker which tells us the DDR 2133 memory speed is supported:
On the back side we can see the main product features, along with a small motherboard photo:
The box contents are split in two compartments; the top compartment holds the documentation, and the bottom one contains the main product, along with its bundle:
The product bundle in this case consists of:
-I/O Shield
-5 SATA cables
-General Assembly Guide
-User's Guide
-DVD with drivers and applications
The motherboard is fully wrapped inside an anti-static bag:
The motherboard retains the same color scheme as the previously reviewed boards from ECS; the cooling system does not have fancy designs or logos and the solid capacitors are present only in the VRM areas:
The CPU VRM is covered by a small heatsink, that is kept fixed with push-pins:
On the left side we can find the Realtek RTL8111E Single-Chip Ethernet Controller:
The VRM is controlled by the Richtek RT8871A chip:
In the top left corner, we can find the ASMedia ASM1445 1:2/2:1 Switch, 3.3V HDMI/DVI:
The Realtek ALC892 7.1+2 Channel HD Audio Codec with Content Protection is also located on the left side of the PCB:
Under the first PCI-Express slot, we can find the ICS 9LPRS471CKL clock generator:
On the bottom, we can find the Serial Port header, SPDIF out, Speaker header, Parallel Port header, Front Panel Switch header, Front Panel USB 3.0 header, two USB 2.0 Front Panel headers and another one with EZ Charge function:
On the right there are 5 SATA ports, which unfortunately are placed upwards, not to the right (this may get in the way of a clean cable management), two system fan headers and a SPI_DEBUG header:
Near the 4 memory slots there is the 24-pin ATX power connector:
On top we can locate a CPU fan header and the 8-pin +12V power connector:
The A75 FCH is covered with a small aluminum heatsink, which gets pretty hot during operation:
The backplane of the motherboard has the following I/O ports:
-PS/2 mouse and keyboard combo connector
-HDMI port
-DVI port
-VGA port
-Clear CMOS button
-2x USB 2.0 ports
-2x USB 3.0 ports
-LAN port
-eSATA port
-Optical SPDIF output
-Audio ports
The A6-3650 CPU was shipped inside a small plastic green enclosure:
After opening it, we can discover the CPU inside and can find on the HSF information like serial number, batch number:
The CPU can be installed really easy inside the socket, by operating the lever:
The UEFI the A75F-A board comes with has two interfaces: EZ Mode and the regular. On the EZ mode, we can select the interface language, load the default settings, select the boot device or enter inside the regular UEFI interface. On the bottom, we can find information about the system, like the date, time, installed CPU and total memory capacity:
The main interface is split into multiple tabs, each holding different menus or information; in the Main tab, we can set the interface language, date and time:
The Advanced tab has multiple menus regarding LAN Configuration, PC Health Status and so on:
In the LAN configuration menu, we can enable or disable the LAN controller:
The PC Health Status menu allows us to set the Smart Fan Function options, or to monitor the current temperatures, fan speeds or voltages:
The Power Management Setup menu lets us to enable or disable usual PM options:
The ACPI menu comes only with one setting, where we can specify the ACPI Sleep State:
In the CPU Configuration menu, we can disable or enable certain CPU features, but we can also see details regarding the installed APU:
The SATA Configuration menu lets us choose between the controller modes:
In the USB Configuration menu, we can enable or disable the interfaces:
The Super IO Configuration menu allows us to configure the Serial and Parallel Port interfaces:
In the Chipset tab, we've got two menus, one for the North Bridge and one for South Bridge:
The North Bridge menu allows us to set how much memory should be allocated for the integrated graphics, which GPU should be initialized first and here we can enable/disable the Crossfire option with the IGD:
The Chipset Configuration menu lets us enable or disable the audio interface from the Realtek controller or from the Azalia internal HDMI codec:
The M.I.B. III tab holds all the overclocking options; here we can modify the CPU Ratio (this feature is no use for the moment since the ratio is locked for the current APUs, but new models should appear with it unlocked), specify the memory clock, latencies, we can enable the Bus clock or modify the voltages for the CPU, VDIMM or NB:
In the Boot tab, we can specify the boot priorities:
The Security tab contains only one option, from which we can modify the administrator password for the UEFI:
Finally, in the Save&Exit tab, we can choose to save or discard the modifications, exit from the interface or load the system defaults:
CPU: AMD A6-3650 APU
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Aegir
Motherboard: ECS A75F-A
RAM: Excelleram EP3001A PC3-10666 2x2GB
Video: IGP + AMD RADEON HD 6670
Power Supply: Nexus RX-1.1K Gold
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10
With the help of AIDA64 utility, we could extract some more information regarding the Fusion platform components:
Here are the reports gathered with the latest version of CPU-Z, with the APU at stock speed:
With the stock voltage of 1.4V, the APU could be overclocked up to 3458MHz:
When modifying the system bus, the IGP frequency also modifies:
On the installation disk, we can find two useful applications. eBLU helps us find the latest UEFI version for the platform and eDLU is in charge of finding the latest software versions:
For each chart:
Run 1: APU Stock + Mem@1333MHz 9-9-9-24
Run 2: APU Stock + Mem@1600MHz 9-9-9-24
Run 3: APU OC@3458MHz + Mem@1774MHz 9-9-9-24
Run 4: APU Stock + Mem@1600Mhz 9-9-9-24 + CF Radeon HD 6670
The A6-3650 APU is a quad core CPU with decent performance integrated graphics supporting DX11 which exceeds by far the current IGP performance from Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs. The Lynx platform as a whole can be recommended for people that will not perform hardware stressful activities like playing the latest games at high resolutions, video editing or 3D rendering on a daily basis.
The A75F-A FM1 motherboard from ECS comes with a nice UEFI interface, featuring a both EZ Mode and an Advanced Mode.
Through the M.I.B. III UEFI interface, we can modify the memory divider to the setting of our choice; however, if we want to run the RAM at 1866MHz, even if we set the CPU Overclocking Function to “Disabled”, the Bus will still overclock itself to 116Mhz. This behavior is not OK, because we may have a weak CPU sample which does not permit clocking the Bus this far.
The platform also comes with the latest generation USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 (6Gpbs) and eSATA 3.0 (6Gbps); 3 types of video output are offered: VGA, DVI and HDMI.
When overclocking the A6-3650 APU, we will get a noticeable performance increase; while increasing the Bus clock, not only the CPU frequency will raise, but also the one of the IGP.
For getting a decent guaranteed performance boost in 3D applications, that cannot be matched only by overclocking the APU, we can pair it with a RADEON HD 6400, 6500 or 6600 Series graphics card (AMD Dual Graphics). After the installation of the graphics card is complete, we have to enable the Crossfire setting through the UEFI interface, set the primary graphics adapter to IGP and then check to see if the Crossfire option has been enabled in CCC, after Windows has been loaded.
What also needs to be kept in mind is that a 3D performance boost can be also obtained by running the memory at higher frequencies (see test results in the charts, 1333MHz vs 1600Mhz memory, with the same timings).
If we feel that the performances obtained with a paired RADEON HD 6670 are not enough for us, we can always disable the IGP and buy a more powerful video card from either AMD or Nvidia.
The A6-3650 APUs can be found in stores for an affordable price of about 85 Euros and the ECS A75F-A can be bought for about 70 Euros.
I would like to thank again to both AMD and ECS for supplying the necessary components and making this review possible!