BIOS

The DS81 exploits a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) BIOS named Aptio Setup Utility, which, however, uses the old interface and doesn't support mouse input. Its available options are also fairly limited.


There aren't any voltage-control options, nor any overclocking features.


You can control each fans' operational profile through several presets. You better leave it in smart-fan mode, though, as it will adjust fan speed according to the CPU's temperature, which will utilize both fans in as quiet and effective a manner as possible, only ramping them up to cool the unit after temperatures reach a certain point.


The BIOS's other options.

Performance

Using an Intel Pentium G3258 CPU and two Kingston KTH-X3CS/4G DDR3 1600MHz 4GB SO-DIMM modules, we installed mainstream components into our DS81 sample. We also used an OCZ Vertex 450 128 GB SSD.

PC Mark 07

Its G3258 CPU and updated platform allowed it to perform significantly better than the DS61 with a G2020 CPU, and the performance difference between the DS81 and DS437T is huge.

3D Mark 06

Second place in this test, which is not bad for an integrated graphics solution.

Power Consumption

With the G3258 as its CPU, the DS81 consumed more power than the competition.

CPU Utilization

Temperatures

DS81's dual-fan heatpipe system didn't have an easy time with the G3258 CPU since temperatures at full load exceeded 80°C. However, temperatures were still within the CPU's specification, and we ran across no heat-releated problems in our tests (e.g. sudden shutdowns).

Noise Output

We used a Class 1 Bruel & kjaer 2250-L G4 Sound Analyzer, which we equipped with a type 4189 microphone that features a 16.6-140 dBA-weighted dynamic range, and placed it one meter away from the DS81 for these measurements. Ambient noise was below 20 dBA while we took these noise measurements and ambient temperatures hovered at around 25°C. We took measurements in idle mode and while the 3DMark06 benchmark was running.



Although we installed a CPU with a high TDP, the DS81 was very quiet in idle and produced no more than 32 dBA with light- to mid-level loads.