Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation
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The Principled Technologies report compares the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 and HP Z440 workstations in terms of heat generation and power consumption. The findings show that the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 operates cooler and uses less power both at idle and under load, resulting in increased reliability and lower electricity costs. This makes the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 a preferable choice for providing a comfortable and efficient working environment.
Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation
- 1. WORKSTATION HEAT AND POWER USAGE: LENOVO THINKSTATION P500 VS. HP Z440 WORKSTATION SEPTEMBER 2015 A PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES REPORT Commissioned by Lenovo Workstations vary considerably in the amount of heat they generate and in the amount of power they consume. A system with a cooler operating temperature helps you in two ways: its components are less likely to fail, and it necessitates less air conditioning to keep the office at a comfortable temperature. A more power-efficient system can lower your electric bill by using less electricity and running cooler. At Principled Technologies, we tested the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 and the HP Z440 Workstation. We found that the Lenovo workstation was less power-hungry than the HP workstation and was cooler while idle and under load. These findings show that the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 could contribute to a reliable user experience and a more comfortable office environment while saving on electricity costs.
- 2. A Principled Technologies report 2Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation WHICH WORKSTATION DELIVERS RELIABILITY, POWER-EFFICIENCY, AND A PLEASANT WORK ENVIRONMENT? A workstation that generates more heat 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. To determine how two workstations compared on these fronts, we measured the heat and power consumption of the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 and the HP Z440 Workstation. We performed the tests while the two systems were idle and again while they were running a heavy workload that consisted of two benchmarks stressing each system’s hard disk, processor, and memory. Figure 1 presents highlights of our test results. Lenovo ThinkStation P500 HP Z440 Lenovo ThinkStation P500 was… Heat (degrees Celsius above room temperature) Idle Average rear system exhaust fan 2.7 4.6 41.4% cooler Average of six surface locations 1.5 2.4 37.5% cooler Under load Average rear system exhaust fan 9.8 12.2 19.6% cooler Average of six surface locations 3.1 6.1 49.2% cooler Power usage (watts) Average while idle 45.8 49.6 Used 7.7% less power Average under load 146.8 161.8 Used 9.3% less power Figure 1: Test results summary. Lower numbers are better. For detailed specifications of our test systems, see Appendix A. For details of our testing, see Appendix B. 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. 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. At the very least, excess heat can reduce the drive’s effective operating life. According to a
- 3. A Principled Technologies report 3Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation recent Fujitsu white paper, hard disk manufacturers now suggest cooler operating temperatures for drive enclosures.1 Because many users fail to back up their data on a regular basis, adequate ventilation and cooling in a workstation can help significantly to avoid problems such as catastrophic data loss due to hard drive failure. Many workers are not fortunate enough to have control over the climate in their offices. Not only do workstations with higher operating temperatures place extra wear on hardware, but they can make an already warm office even more uncomfortable. With system reliability and user comfort in mind, we measured the temperature of several external spots on the two workstations while they were idle and while they were running a heavy workload. Given that most workstations run 24 hours a day, we believe the most appropriate measure of thermal performance is the temperature of the air exiting the rear exhaust when the workstation is idle. For each of the locations, we measured the temperature three times and noted the number of degrees Celsius each measurement deviated from the ambient room temperature. Because the ambient temperature varied throughout our testing, the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the surface temperature we recorded for each system makes the fairest comparison. As Figure 2 shows, the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 ran cooler idle and while under load. Figure 2: When idle and under load, the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 ran cooler than the HP workstation. 1 www.fujitsu.com/downloads/COMP/fcpa/hdd/sata-mobile-ext-duty_wp.pdf
- 4. A Principled Technologies report 4Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation LESS POWER USED IS BETTER A workstation that uses less power can save you money when the electric bill comes. As Figure 3 shows, when the two systems were under load, the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 used 9.3 percent less power than the HP workstation. We used an Extech® Power Analyzer to measure power consumption. Figure 3: When under load, the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 used up to 9.3 percent less power than the HP workstation. IN CONCLUSION A workstation that runs coolly and uses less power is a great asset to workers and the companies they work for. In our tests, both when idle and when under load, the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 generally ran at lower surface temperatures and used less power than the HP Z440 Workstation. These findings show that the Lenovo ThinkStation P500 could meet the needs of those who want to provide a reliable, comfortable work environment while using less power.
- 5. A Principled Technologies report 5Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation APPENDIX A: DETAILED SYSTEM CONFIGURATION Figure 4 presents detailed configuration information for the two systems we tested. System Lenovo ThinkStation P500 HP Z440 Workstation General Number of processor packages 1 1 Number of cores per processor 4 4 Number of hardware threads per core 2 2 Total number of processor threads in system 8 8 System power management policy ThinkCentre Default Balanced Processor power-saving option Enhanced Intel® SpeedStep® Technology Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology CPU Vendor Intel Intel Name Xeon® Xeon Model number E5-1620 v3 E5-1620 v3 Stepping M0 M0 Socket type Socket 2011 LGA Socket 2011 LGA Core frequency (GHz) 3.5 GHz – 3.6 GHz (Turbo) 3.5 GHz – 3.6 GHz (Turbo) L1 cache 4 x 32 KB + 4 x 32 KB 4 x 32 KB + 4 x 32 KB L2 cache 4 x 256 KB 4 x 256 KB L3 cache 10 MB 10 MB Platform Vendor Lenovo Hewlett-Packard Motherboard model number N/A 212B Motherboard chipset Intel C600 Intel C600 BIOS name and version Lenovo A4KT73AUS (06/04/2015) Hewlett-Packard M60 v01.58 (06/09/2015) Memory module(s) Vendor and model number Hyundai Electronics HMA41GR7MFR4N-TF Samsung M393A1G40DB0-CPB Type DDR4-2133 DDR4-2133 Speed (MHz) 2,133 2,133 Speed running in the system (MHz) 2,133 2,133 Timing/Latency (CL-tRCD-tRP- tRAS-tRFC) 15-15-15-36-278 15-15-15-36-278 Size (MB) 8,192 8,192 Number of memory module(s) 4 4
- 6. A Principled Technologies report 6Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation System Lenovo ThinkStation P500 HP Z440 Workstation Total amount of system RAM (GB) 32 32 Channel (Single/Dual/Quad) Quad Quad Hard disk Vendor and model number Western Digital WD5000AAKX-0 Western Digital WD5000AAKX-0 Number of disks in system 2 2 Size (GB) 500 500 Buffer size (MB) 16 16 RPM 7,200 7,200 Type SATA 6.0 Gb/s SATA 6.0 Gb/s Controller Intel C600+/C220+ series chipset SATA RAID Controller Intel C600+/C220+ series chipset SATA RAID Controller Driver Intel 4.2.0.1136 (02/12/2015) Intel 4.2.0.1136 (02/12/2015) Operating system Name Windows® 7 Professional Windows 7 Professional Build number 7601 7601 Service Pack 1 1 File system NTFS NTFS Kernel ACPI x64-based PC ACPI x64-based PC Language English English Microsoft DirectX version 11 11 Graphics Vendor and model number NVIDIA Quadro K420 NVIDIA Quadro K420 Type Discrete Discrete Chipset Quadro K420 Quadro K420 BIOS version 80.7.e3.0.1 80.7.e3.0.2 Total available graphics memory (MB) 4,815 17,105 Dedicated video memory (MB) 1,024 1,024 System video memory (MB) 0 0 Shared system memory (MB) 3,791 16,081 Resolution 1,280 x 1,024 1,280 x 1,024 Driver NVIDIA 9.18.13.4803 (04/13/2015) NVIDIA 9.18.13.4752 (02/05/2015) Sound card/subsystem Vendor and model number Realtek High Definition Audio Realtek High Definition Audio Driver Realtek 6.0.1.7240 (05/06/2014) Realtek 6.0.1.7427 (01/13/2015) Ethernet Vendor and model number Intel Ethernet Connection (2) I218- LM Intel Ethernet Connection (2) I218- LM Driver Intel 12.12.80.19 (09/29/2014) Intel 12.12.50.4 (06/12/2014)
- 7. A Principled Technologies report 7Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation System Lenovo ThinkStation P500 HP Z440 Workstation Optical drive(s) Vendor and model number LG GHC0N HP GUB0N Type DVD-RW DVD-RW USB ports Number 12 10 Type 8 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0 8 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0 Other Media Card Reader Media Card Reader Monitor Model ViewSonic VG730m ViewSonic VG730m LCD type SXGA LCD SXGA LCD Screen size 17” 17” Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz Maximum resolution 1,280 x 1,024 1,280 x 1,024 Figure 4: Detailed configuration information for the test systems.
- 8. A Principled Technologies report 8Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation 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. Set the remaining power plan settings as follows: Dim the display: Never Turn off the display: Never Put the computer to sleep: Never 3. Disable the screen saver. 4. Place the workstation, mouse, keyboard, and display in a windowless, climate-controlled room. 5. Attach a Type T thermocouple to the exterior of the workstation at the following locations: Front (Centered in front of Intake fan if there is one, otherwise centered of case) Rear Exhaust fan (Centered) PSU Exhaust fan (Centered) Top (Centered) Side closest to the motherboard (Centered) Side opposite to the motherboard (Centered) 6. Configure the Fluke 2680A Data Acquisition System to take measurements from the temperature probes and one ambient temperature probe using the Fluke DAQ software: a. Connect the Type T thermocouples to channels in the Fluke Fast Analog Input module (FAI). b. In the Fluke DAQ software, click each surface temperature channel, select Thermocouple from the list of Functions, and choose T from the list of ranges. c. Label each channel with the location associated with each thermocouple. d. In the Fluke DAQ software, click the ambient temperature channel, select Thermocouple from the list of Functions, and choose T from the list of ranges. e. Label this channel Ambient. 7. While running each test, use a Fluke 2680A Data Acquisition System to monitor ambient temperature and temperature at each interior and exterior point. 8. Connect the power cord from the workstation to the Extech Instruments 380803 Power Analyzer’s DC output load power outlet. 9. Plug the power cord from the Power Analyzer’s DC input voltage connection into a power outlet. 10. Connect a separate host computer to the Power Analyzer using an RS-232 cable. This computer will monitor and collect the power measurement data. 11. Turn on the Extech Power Analyzer by pressing the green On/Off button. 12. Turn on the host computer.
- 9. A Principled Technologies report 9Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation 13. Insert the Extech software installation CD into the host computer, and install the software. 14. Once installed, launch the Extech Power Analyzer software, and configure the correct COM port. Running the test 1. Open Task Manager. 2. Bring up an elevated command prompt: Select Windows Start orb. Type cmd and press Control-Shift-Enter. 3. Type Cmd.exe /c start /wait Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks 4. Do not interact with the system until the command completes. 5. Watch Task Manager and wait for disk activity to end before running the test. 6. Start the Fluke 2680A data logger using the Fluke DAQ software, and begin recording power with the Extech Power Analyzer. 7. Allow the workstation to sit idle for 1 hour. 8. After 1 hour, stop the Fluke 2680A data logger using the Fluke DAQ software, and stop the Power Analyzer data logger. 9. Export the thermal measurements to a CSV file. The Power Analyzer creates a CSV file as it collects that data. 10. Use the thermal measurement CSV file to find and report the average temperature measured at each location during the test. 11. Use the Power Analyzer CSV to calculate the average power draw in watts during the test. 12. Power the workstation off for 1 hour, and allow it to return to room temperature. 13. Repeat steps 1 through 9 two more times. Measuring system temperature and power while under load Setting up the test 1. Download PassMark BurnInTest Professional 7.0 from www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm. 2. Double-click bitpro_x64.exe to run setup. 3. At the Welcome screen, click Next. 4. Accept the license agreement, and click Next. 5. At the Choose Install Location screen, accept the default location of C:Program FilesBurnInTest, and click Next. 6. At the Select Start Menu Folder screen, click Next. 7. At the Ready to Install screen, click Install. 8. At the Completing the BurnInTest Setup Wizard screen, deselect View Readme.txt, and click Finish to launch BurnInTest. 9. At the Purchasing information screen, copy and paste the Username and key, and click Continue. 10. At the Key accepted screen, click OK. 11. Select Test selection and duty cycles from the Configuration menu item. 12. Set Auto Stop to 120 minutes. 13. Select CPU, 2D Graphics, 3D Graphics, RAM, and Disk(s), and deselect all other subsystems. 14. Set load to 100 for each of the above selected subsystems, and click OK. 15. Select Test Preferences from the Configuration menu item and set or verify the following by clicking on each tab: Disk: select C: drive Logging: select Turn automatic logging on 2D Graphics: select All available Video Memory
- 10. A Principled Technologies report 10Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation 3D Graphics: use defaults CPU: use defaults 16. 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. For example, for a system that has 8 threads: a. Open the Instance1 directory. b. Edit the runme_xeon64 batch file. c. Set the OMP_NUM_THREADS= 8 (this number depends on how many threads the system has) d. Delete the two echo lines, and save the batch file. e. Repeat steps a-e for each LINPACK Instance that needs to be run. (This is done by trial and error on each system until CPU and RAM utilization is as close to 100% as possible.) f. Once it is determined how many instances are needed, you are ready to start the test. Running the test 1. Boot the system and launch PassMark BurnInTest by double-clicking the desktop icon. 2. Open Task Manager. 3. Bring up an elevated command prompt: a. Select Windows Start orb. b. Type cmd and press Control-Shift-Enter. 4. Type Cmd.exe /c start /wait Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasks Do not interact with the system until the command completes. 5. Watch Task Manager and wait for disk activity to end before running the test. 6. Click Start Selected Tests in the BurnInTest V7.0 Pro screen, and double-click the LINPACK benchmark batch file. 7. Once RAM levels have reached the desired level, close to 100%, start the Fluke 2680A data logger using the Fluke DAQ software, and begin recording power with the Extech Power Analyzer. 8. After 1 hour, stop the Fluke 2680A data logger using the Fluke DAQ software, and the Power Analyzer data logger. 9. Export the thermal measurements to a CSV file. The Power Analyzer creates a CSV file as it collects that data. 10. Use the thermal measurement CSV file to find and report the highest temperature measured at each location during the test. 11. Use the Power Analyzer CSV to calculate the average power draw in watts during the test. 12. Power the workstation off for 1 hour, and allow it to return to room temperature. 13. Repeat the steps 1 through 12 two more times. Measuring power consumption To record each workstation’s power consumption during each test, we used an Extech Instruments (www.extech.com) 380803 Power Analyzer/Datalogger. We connected the power cord from the server under test to the Power Analyzer’s output load power outlet. We then plugged the power cord from the Power Analyzer’s input voltage connection into a power outlet. We used the Power Analyzer’s Data Acquisition Software (version 2.11) to capture all recordings. We installed the software on a separate Intel processor-based PC, which we connected to the Power Analyzer via an RS-232 cable. We captured power consumption at one-second intervals. We then recorded the power usage (in watts) for each system during the testing at one-second intervals. To compute the average power usage, we averaged the power usage during the time the system was producing its peak performance results.
- 11. A Principled Technologies report 11Workstation heat and power usage: Lenovo ThinkStation P500 vs. HP Z440 Workstation 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. When the assessment is complete, we know how to present the results to a broad range of target audiences. We provide our clients with the materials they need, from market-focused data to use in their own collateral to custom sales aids, such as test reports, performance assessments, and white papers. Every document reflects the results of our trusted independent analysis. We provide customized services that focus on our clients’ individual requirements. Whether the technology involves hardware, software, Web sites, or services, we offer the experience, expertise, and tools to help our clients assess how it will fare against its competition, its performance, its market readiness, and its quality and reliability. Our founders, Mark L. Van Name and Bill Catchings, have worked together in technology assessment for over 20 years. As journalists, they published over a thousand articles on a wide array of technology subjects. They created and led the Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation, which developed such industry-standard benchmarks as Ziff Davis Media’s Winstone and WebBench. They founded and led eTesting Labs, and after the acquisition of that company by Lionbridge Technologies were the head and CTO of VeriTest. Principled Technologies is a registered trademark of Principled Technologies, Inc. All other product names are the trademarks of their respective owners. Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability: PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. HAS MADE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY AND VALIDITY OF ITS TESTING, HOWEVER, PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO THE TEST RESULTS AND ANALYSIS, THEIR ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR QUALITY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES RELYING ON THE RESULTS OF ANY TESTING DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK, AND AGREE THAT PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ITS EMPLOYEES AND ITS SUBCONTRACTORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FROM ANY CLAIM OF LOSS OR DAMAGE ON ACCOUNT OF ANY ALLEGED ERROR OR DEFECT IN ANY TESTING PROCEDURE OR RESULT. IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH ITS TESTING, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.’S LIABILITY, INCLUDING FOR DIRECT DAMAGES, EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID IN CONNECTION WITH PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC.’S TESTING. CUSTOMER’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES ARE AS SET FORTH HEREIN.