Power Consumption

On AMD’s official specifications for the Ryzen 9 6900HS, it lists the TDP as 35 W: the same specifications as the 6900HX, but at an optimized TDP. The HS means that it can only be used in AMD-approved and codesigned systems that can get the best out of the unit: i.e. it is an ultraportable premium device. That being said, laptop vendors can customize the actual final power limit as high as 80W, with the idea that because they are using an optimized voltage/frequency binned processor, the laptop design that can dissipate that much can extract more sustained performance from the processor, this usually translates into a higher all-core frequency.

For our ASUS Zephryus G14, the standard default power profile, known as ‘Performance’, is meant to conform to AMD’s Power Management Framework, i.e. scale from Energy Saving to Performance as required. In this mode, the system has a sustained 45 W power draw.

Performance: 45W

Loading up a render like POV-Ray, the system spikes the CPU package power to 83 W and 80ºC, before very quickly coming down to 45 W and a slowly rising temperature to equilibrium at 87ºC.

With something a bit more memory heavy, such as yCruncher, the same power profile is shown, this time with the power around about 81ºC for most of the test because it spends more time on memory access than raw throughput.

For a real-world scenario, Agisoft also spikes up very high initially, before reaching a plateau at 45 W and 90ºC.

Turbo: 65W

The other option on offer for this system is the ‘Turbo’ Mode, which jacks everything up to 65 W sustained.

This means we hit the peak temperature limits quite quickly, and the system ramps down over time to the 65 W average power.

The yCruncher profile is a bit more varied due to the CPU performance going further while the memory performance staying the same, but we still see temperatures in the mid 90s and power hovering more around 75 W.

Agisoft’s Turbo profile is all about being temperature limited in this case, and we still end up in the sustained parts of the test around that 65 W value.

If we were to look at how the power was distributed in each mode:

In performance mode, we see 16.0 watts when one core is loaded, going down to 5.2 watts per core when all cores are loaded and a frequency of 3775 MHz.

Compare that to the Turbo Mode:

The single-core data is the same, nothing changes there, but we’re now up to 7.2 watts per core when fully loaded, and a much higher frequency at 4050 MHz. But this means we’re using 17 watts more power (or 38% more power) for only 275 MHz (a 7% gain).

Looking at the frequencies in this format, you can see a slight difference in performance, but seemingly not that much to justify the power difference. Then again, I suspect Turbo is only really for when you are fully charged and plugged into mains power anyway.

For the following benchmarks, we’re going to be using both Performance and Turbo modes, but also I put the CPU in a 35W power mode. As the 1 core and 2 core loading is below this, it shouldn’t affect the single-core performance that much, but it might give us an understanding of where it compares to previous generations.

Core-to-Core, Cache Latency, Ramp Performance Per Watt
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  • Kangal - Sunday, March 6, 2022 - link

    Zeno, Guards of Zeno, Grand Priest, Whis/Angels, Awakened Gass, Ultra Granolah, Ultra Instinct Goku, Beerus/GoDs, Fused Zamasu, Prime Moro, Raged Broly, Ultra Ego Vegeta, Full-power Jiren, LSS Kefla, Destruction Toppo, Max Hit, Anilaza, SSJ Rose Black, Golden Frieza, Dyspo, LSS Kale, Spirit Future Trunks, Super Ribrianne, Trained #17, Ultimate Gohan, Buu, Seven-Three.
  • GeoffreyA - Monday, March 7, 2022 - link

    Astonishing, and thanks for that! Remembering only Buu, Ultimate Gohan, and a bit of Beerus, I am really out of touch with DB canon!
  • Kangal - Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - link

    You can find the new series Dragon Ball Super online or even youtube. There is also the official manga which you can read for free* here:
    https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/chapters/dragon-bal...

    *only the latest three issues available, new issues always free.
  • GeoffreyA - Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - link

    Thanks, I only saw the first 10-15 episodes of Super in 2018, where Beerus came to the cruiseship, and still hope to watch the rest of it, eventually. It was nostalgic, I remember, seeing these dear characters after so long.
  • mode_13h - Wednesday, March 9, 2022 - link

    Eh, I only watched the original series. The few things after it that I had seen lacked the same charm. And among that series, the first season was one of the best. The censors had clearly cracked down on it, after that.

    What I thought worked so well about the original DB was Goku's innocence, ignorance, indomitable spirit, and purity of heart. That made it so much more entertaining and gratifying to see him overcome all the obstacles and enemies he encountered. And it's almost as if not knowing his own limitations made him unrestrained by them.
  • GeoffreyA - Thursday, March 10, 2022 - link

    That's an exact description of Goku's character and is likely the secret of his greatness and why he often prevailed over his enemies. I would add that forgiveness was another trait of his, and something they could never understand. It's almost paradoxical, at least in DBZ, how he was the comic clumsy figure, and yet when it came to saving the world, only he could do it. Without knowing it, people are emulating, I feel, more of Vegeta's cynical character today. What the world needs is more of Goku.
  • mode_13h - Friday, March 11, 2022 - link

    I haven't watched much since the mid 2000's, but I thought Luffy, in One Piece, had a similar personality. However, he seemed to have a mercurial wisdom and canniness, just beneath the surface. In that regard, he seemed to have echos of Irresponsible Captain Taylor.

    I don't remember too much of Naruto, though I had started watching it from the beginning. Like Goku, he also had an innocence and indomitably, but there was obviously a darkness about him and inside of him.

    I wouldn't have patience for any of that, now. Even at the time, it seemed rather excessively drawn out.

    BTW, did you see the live action DB movie? I think it was made around 2008? More of a Hollywood movie; not Japanese. I'm apparently among the small minority who actually liked it. It helps to remember that Dragon Ball itself is loosely based on the ancient tale of Saiyuki and just don't expect a direct translation from the TV series or manga. It's very much a reinterpretation, but I enjoyed it.
  • GeoffreyA - Monday, March 14, 2022 - link

    Luffy is very like Goku, regarding his innocence, simplicity, and goodness, but yes, he had another element which is hard to pin down. Perhaps a certain stoic quality that clicked on at times, and made him something fearful to all those who practised evil. (It's even evident when they left the Merry; Goku would never have operated like that, and for my part, I agree with Usopp.) I really loved One Piece. It could often be tedious and silly, but once the story knocked into gear, it was usually astonishing, and gave you the feeling of being on an adventure with noble companions. Namaka. My favourite arcs were Arlong/Nami, Arabasta, and Water 7. In 2018, I got stuck at Thriller Bark and never went on.

    What caused me to stop was seeing Evangelion for the first time that year. It left me a sadder, more sober person for ever; and I'll add a word of warning to others, Eva is terribly depressing and no joke. That and Steins;Gate are my favourite anime. I've heard great things about Naruto but to this day have not seen a single episode. Rurouni Kenshin was nice.

    My brother really enjoyed the live-action Dragon Ball, but though I've seen only bits and pieces, I always debate with him that it's not the real DB! He contends that it's pretty good. Well, perhaps I need to sit down and actually watch it and give it a proper appraisal.
  • mode_13h - Tuesday, March 15, 2022 - link

    Wow, all those One Piece names are definitely a flashback. I hung out with some Kenshin fans, so I saw the entire original series.

    Evangelion was pretty mind-blowing for me, when the original series first aired. A bit confusing, especially with the movies, the revisionist ending, and whatnot.

    More recently, I went to a marathon showing of the original series, back when they started releasing the new version. I watched the first 2-3 installments of the new version and just quit. It got too absurd for me. I never liked the direction Gainax took with FLCL, but I guess it was inevitable the new Eva would go there (and lose me). I did really like Kare Kano and Chobits (lol, they seemed to have HDDs inside!).

    I got a lot from Evangelion, but I'm pretty much over it. Not unlike how I parted ways with the Star Wars franchise, more than a decade ago. I just don't need it. I don't seem to have trouble finding enough to watch. For instance, a movie I recently enjoyed was Arrival.

    Even the news is like a high-tension drama, for at least the past half decade. I can really feel like I'm living through history. It gives me a new perspective on much of the past century and what it was probably like, at the time.

    Some other old anime that's fun to re-watch are the original Patlabor OAV series and movies, Akira, and the Ghost in the Shell series and movies. And every time I hear about space junk in the news, my mind goes back to Planetes.
  • GeoffreyA - Tuesday, March 15, 2022 - link

    Evangelion is indeed out of this world. It's really the sadness of the characters that touched me, though of course the relentless, minimal action was impressive when it came. Can anyone ever forget Eva-01 breaking out of the shadow space in episode 16, or the time, nearing the end, when it reactivates though its power is gone? The new movies' weakness is that they tried to spin everything out to excessive detail, whereas the series' strength was minimalism. The characterisation, too, was subtly altered. Anyhow, last year I watched the final film, Thrice upon a Time, and can honestly say they did a good job and ended Eva on a surprisingly cheerful note, with a good message. I secretly hope for a return someday.

    I haven't seen most of the anime you mentioned, except for Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Suffice to say, Akira leaves the viewer speechless.

    Same here. Lost my interest in Star Wars and don't care to see it again. Arrival was great, with a good performance by Amy Adams. And talking of Villeneuve movies, the new Dune was a big disappointment to me.

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