The first AMD Dragon system roars, but quietly
The first system we have seen that uses the latest AMD ‘Dragon’ platform is from Mesh, in the form of its Matrix II 920.
Any system using the Dragon platform must have an AMD Phenom II processor, an HD48xx graphics card and an AMD 7 series chipset.
The Phenom II X4, AMD’s latest quad-core processor, is the company’s first to be built on a 45nm process, with two models available at launch: the 940 Black Edition (3GHz) and the 920 clocked at 2.8GHz, the heart of Mesh’s Matrix II.
For the Matrix II 920, Mesh has chosen an Asus M3A78 motherboard to house the CPU, which uses AMD’s 770 Northbridge along with its SB700 Southbridge. To keep the CPU cool Mesh has used an Akasa fan which does the job effectively and most importantly perhaps quietly. Indeed the Matrix II 920 is not silent but very, very quiet.
Backing up the CPU is 4GB of PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2 memory which should keep the installed Vista Home Premium 64-bit OS happy and as it’s a 64-bit OS it can access all four gigabytes of memory. The motherboard supports up to 8GB of 1,066MHz memory via four Dimm slots, so if you need more oomph, you can add either more of the same memory or install some faster running modules.
Performance-wise the Matrix II 920 hits all the right notes for a mainstream system, scoring a very creditable overall score in PCmark Vantage of 5,289, and 13,081 in 3Dmark06. Powering the graphics is a His 4850 IceQ card, which is based around ATI’s HD4850 GPU with 512MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at the standard speed of 993MHz (1,986MHz effective). Similarly the core engine runs at the stock 625MHz, but the cooler isn’t stock. The card uses one of His’ own-design IceQ 4 heatsink and coolers, which cool the card more efficiently and are quieter than the reference design.
The card supports full 1080p HD output which is handy for the installed Blu-ray drive and, although the 22in Iiyama Prolite E2208HDS-1 monitor supports full 1080p HD, you’ll have to use the DVI port, as the monitor doesn’t come with an HDMI port.
