Intel 847 with NM70 review

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The NM70 platform

The Platform

So the Mini ITX based motherboard has two primary chips, the Celeron 847 dual-core processor and the NM70 chipset. Let's quickly discuss the features and specs these two chips have.

The Celeron 847

Intel has been shipping a couple of new Celeron chips recently, actually these are all targeted at low-priced laptops. There are dual-core Celeron 877 and 847 chips. Interesting to know is that the processors actually are based on Sandy Bridge architecture and as such come with integrated graphics (350 base / 800 MHz dynamic) and virtualization support. You will not find the more extensive features like Quick Sync video acceleration or Turbo Boost though. The TDP is very acceptable at 17W. The processor has dedicated 64 KB L1 and 256 KB L2 caches per each core and 2MB of L2 cache and combines the CPU cores with L3 cache, graphics processing unit (GPU), memory controller, Direct Media Interface and PCI Express interface.On-chip memory controller has two channels, you can hook up-to 16 GB of up-to DDR3 1333 MHz memory to the memory controllers.

Intel 847 has all basic Sandy Bridge technologies including Virtualization but lacks Hyper-Threading, Turbo Boost and other advanced features. The 32nm Celeron 877 has a clock speed of 1.4GHz. The Celeron 847 has a clock speed of 1.1GHz (11x100 MHz), that is the CPU our Mini ITX motherboard has been equipped with.

Intel HD Graphics

The Celeron 847 integrates a graphics core denoted as Intel HD Graphics, it is actually based on the HD Graphics 2000. Based on Sandy Bridge architecture and as such come with integrated graphics (350 base / 800 MHz dynamic), the GPU has 6 unified Shader units and feeds 64MB from the system memory.

Manufacturer Intel
HD Graphics HD Graphics 4600 20@400 - 1350MHz
HD Graphics 4000 16@350 - 1350MHz
HD Graphics 3000 12@350-1350MHz
HD Graphics 2500 6@650 - 1350MHz
HD Graphics (Ivy Bridge) 6@350 - 1000MHz
HD Graphics 2000 6@850 / 1100-1350MHz
HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) 6@350 - 1100MHz
Codename Sandy Bridge
Architecture Sandy Bridge
Shader units 6 - unified
Core Speed 350 - 1100 MHz
Shader Speed 350 - 1100 MHz
Shared Memory yes - uses LLC Cache
DirectX DirectX 10.1, Shader 4.1
Technology 32 nm

The NM70 Chipset

The NM70 Chipset  is designed specifically for the above mentioned processors models and is a somewhat simplified version of HM75. The device supports Intel Rapid Storage and has the ability to work with two displays, it has a PCI Express 2.0 interface and 4 ports SATA, one of which is a 6 Gbps (SATA3) port.  NM70 however does not support RAID, SMART, Anti-Theft Technology and the possibility of a wireless video transmission (WiDi). Model NM70 will exist in two versions, each supports up to 8 ports USB 2.0, but by an extra pair of USB 3.0 will be characterized only one of them.

The ECS NM70 I2 motherboard

ECS on its end introduced a handful of motherboards with the Intel NM70 chipset; the NM70-I and NM70-I2, which come with either that integrated Intel Celeron 847 or 807 CPU. Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) reveals its latest mini-ITX motherboard NM70-Ifeaturing the new Intel NM70 Express Chipset. 

Energy Efficiency
Designed to save space and energy, the ECS NM70-I is the ideal solution for small-form-factor systems. With the Intel Celeron processor only consuming a maximum of 17W the ECS NM70-I is a low power solution. It features intelligent power management by turning computing functions on only when needed, reducing energy usage by operating at lower frequencies when performance is not necessary. The ECS NM70-I also has electrostatic discharge protection and 100% solid capacitor for the CPU voltage regulator module to maximize the reliability and longevity of your system.

Excellent Extension Support 
Even with the mini-ITX size of the NM70-I, ECS has kept in mind the expansion needs of future-proof minded customers. The ECS NM70-I supports video and storage upgrades with 1x PCI-E x16 (running at x8) 2.0, 1x 6Gb/s SATA and 3x 3GB/s SATA connections. For industrial applications, the NM70-I is equipped with 2 Serial ports(COM). Moreover, users can enjoy high definition media as the NM70-I supports HD 1080p and Blue-Ray playback. The NM70-I is bundled with additional software including Norton anti-virus, Muzee, Cyberlink Media Suite, and the ECS iEZ utility, which combines eBLU BIOS Live Update Utility, eDLU Drivers Live Update Utility and eSF Smart Fan Utility.

Windows 8 Support 
The ECS NM70-I with official Windows 8 WHCK (Windows Hardware Certification Kit) certification allows users to take full advantage of the touch browser and function-oriented design of Windows 8. As ECS BIOS and drivers are specially designed for Windows 8, with the NM70-I it is guaranteed that you are ready for Windows 8.

Model Name

NM70-I

NM70-I2

CPU

Intel Celeron 847 & 807

Chipset

Intel NM70 Express Chipset

Memory

1 x DDR3 1333 SO-DIMM 2 x DDR3 1333 LONG-DIMM

Expansion Slot

1 x PCI Express x16 (run at x8 mode) 1 x PCI Express x16 (run at x16 mode)

Storage

1 x SATA 6Gb/s
3 x SATA 3Gb/s

Audio

VIA VT1705 6-Channel HD Audio

LAN

Realtek 8111E Giga LAN or 8105E 10/100 LAN

Rear Panel

4 x USB 2.0
1 x D-SUB (VGA)
1 x DVI or 1 x HDMI
1 x RJ45 LAN connector

Application

Windows 8 Support, iEZ utility (eBLU/ eDLU/ eSF), Multi-Language BIOS
Bundle Software: Norton / Cyberlink PowerDVD & PowerDirector9 / Muzee

Form Factor

Mini-ITX, 170*170mm


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