Specifications

ManualsBrandsDell ManualsComputer equipmentPrecision Workstation T7600

WORKSTATION HEAT, SOUND, AND POWER USAGE:

LENOVO THINKSTATION D30 VS. DELL PRECISION T7600

MARCH 2013

A PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES TEST REPORT

Commissioned by Lenovo

When selecting a workstation, it’s important to consider how it will

contribute to a reliable and comfortable work environment for the user and

how much electricity it will require. Workstations vary considerably in the

amount of heat and noise they generate and in the amount of power they

consume. A system with a cooler operating temperature helps you two ways: its

components are less likely to fail and it requires less air conditioning to keep the

office at a comfortable temperature. A quieter system provides a more pleasant

user experience and a more power-efficient system lowers your electric bill by

using less electricity and running cooler, which reduces the amount of cooling

required.

In our labs, Principled Technologies (PT) tested the Lenovo ThinkStation

D30 and the Dell™ Precision™ T7600 workstation. We found that the Lenovo

workstation was less power-hungry than the Dell workstation while idle and ran

more quietly and cooler while idle and while under load. These findings show

that the Lenovo ThinkStation D30 could contribute to a reliable user experience

and a comfortable office environment and save on electricity costs.

Summary of content (13 pages)

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WORKSTATION HEAT, SOUND, AND POWER USAGE: LENOVO THINKSTATION D30 VS. DELL PRECISION T7600 When selecting a workstation, it’s important to consider how it will contribute to a reliable and comfortable work environment for the user and how much electricity it will require. Workstations vary considerably in the amount of heat and noise they generate and in the amount of power they consume.
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WHICH WORKSTATION DELIVERS RELIABILITY, POWEREFFICIENCY, AND A PLEASANT WORK ENVIRONMENT? A workstation that generates more heat and noise and uses more power than necessary can be more prone to system failure, can be distracting and uncomfortable for workers , and can boost electricity bills—both because of the power the system itself draws and the power that additional air conditioning uses.
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COOL UNDER PRESSURE The operating temperatures of computers vary considerably. While one advantage of a cooler workstation is obvious—no one wants a hot office— workstations running at cooler temperatures also bring other benefits. It is well known within the IT industry that operating temperatures degrade hardware reliability. Excess heat can cause hard drives, CPUs, memory, and other components to fail. For example, overheating can expand hard drive platters, causing hard drive failure.
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QUIETER IS BETTER Any user, given a choice, would prefer a quiet system to a noisy one. As Figure 2 shows, the Lenovo ThinkStation D30 was quieter than the Dell workstation. We calculated the difference in perceived volume with the two workstations using the following formula2 for sound level change: The change in sound level (L) is related to the ratio for loudness (or volume) by using the calculated L as follows: For example, if the level change (L) is 0.2dB, the ratio for loudness is 1.014x, or 1.
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LESS POWER USED IS BETTER A workstation that uses less power saves you money when the electric bill comes. As Figure 3 shows, when the two systems were idle, the Lenovo ThinkStation D30 used 10.8 percent less power than the Dell workstation. When the systems were under load, the Lenovo ThinkStation D30 used a comparable amount of power as the Dell workstation (0.9 percent more). We used an Extech® Power Analyzer to measure power consumption. Power usage (lower is better) 160 146.7 145.
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APPENDIX A: DETAILED SYSTEM CONFIGURATION Figure 4 presents detailed configuration information for the two systems we tested.
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System Chip organization (singlesided/double-sided) Channel (single/dual) Hard disk Vendor and model number Number of disks in system Size (GB) Buffer size (MB) RPM Type Controller Driver Operating system Name Build number Service Pack File system Kernel Language Microsoft DirectX version Graphics Vendor and model number Type Chipset BIOS version Total available graphics memory (MB) Dedicated video memory (MB) System video memory (MB) Shared system memory (MB) Resolution Driver Sound card/subsystem Vendor a
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System Ethernet #2 Vendor and model number Intel 82574L Gigabit Driver Intel 11.17.27.0 (06/18/2012) Optical drive(s) Vendor and model number Type USB ports Number Type Other IEEE 1394 ports Number Monitor Type Screen size (inches) Refresh rate (Hz) Lenovo ThinkStation D30 Dell Precision T7600 Intel 82574L Gigabit Microsoft 11.0.5.22 (04/06/2009) TSSTcorp® SH-216AB DVD-RW DVD-ROM TSSTcorp SN-208BB DVD+-RW DVD+-RW 12 2 x USB 3.0, 10 x USB 2.0 25-in-1 media card reader, DisplayPort 11 2 x USB 3.
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APPENDIX B: DETAILED TEST METHODOLOGY Measuring surface temperature Test requirements    Fluke® 2680A Data Acquisition System PassMark® BurnInTest Professional Linpack benchmark Measuring system temperature and power while idle Setting up the test 1. Set the power plan to the manufacturer’s default setting. Set the display brightness to 100 percent: a. Click Start. b. In the Start menu’s quick search field, type Power Options c. Move the Screen brightness slider all the way to the right. 2.
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14. Once installed, launch the Extech Power Analyzer software, and configure the correct COM port. Running the test 1. Boot the system and bring up an elevated command prompt: a. Select Windows Start orb. b. Type cmd and press Control-Shift-Enter. 2. Type Cmd.exe /c start /wait Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks Do not interact with the system until the command completes. 3. After the command completes, wait 15 minutes before running the test. 4.
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 CPU: use defaults 15. Unpack the Linpack benchmark and adjust the number of instances, problem size, and leading dimension size so that the CPU is at 100% utilization, and the memory is as close to 100% utilization as possible. We used a batch file to run the number of instances we determined for each workstation. Running the test 1. Boot the system and launch PassMark BurnInTest by double-clicking the desktop icon. 2. Bring up an elevated command prompt: a. Select Windows Start orb. b.
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Do not interact with the system until the command completes. 3. After the command completes, wait 5 minutes before running the test. 4. Start the Extech SDL600 Sound Level Meter/Datalogger and allow the workstation to sit idle for 1 hour. 5. After 1 hour, stop the Extech SDL600. 6. Power the workstation off for 10 minutes. 7. Copy the log file from the Extech SDL600 SD card. 8. Repeat steps 1 through 7 two more times.
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ABOUT PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES Principled Technologies, Inc. 1007 Slater Road, Suite 300 Durham, NC, 27703 www.principledtechnologies.com We provide industry-leading technology assessment and fact-based marketing services. We bring to every assignment extensive experience with and expertise in all aspects of technology testing and analysis, from researching new technologies, to developing new methodologies, to testing with existing and new tools.