Findings, conclusions and awards
AMD's 780G chipset, limited to the company's own AM2(+) processors,
ushers in a new era for gaming with respect to graphics integrated into
a motherboard. That bold statement is predicated upon the performance
of the Radeon HD 3200 core - the beating heart of the 780G northbridge.
Generally analogous to the make-up of the discrete, low-end Radeon HD
2400 - albeit with an upgraded version of the video-decoding UVD ASIC -
the 500MHz-clocked IGP offers playable frame-rates, at 1,024x768 and at
low-to-medium settings, in a variety of first-person shooters, which,
really, is something that's not been possible up until now. Our
overclocking tests have shown it to scale to 850MHz with consummate
ease, too.
The 780G's IGP also offers an eclectic range of display outputs and its
3D performance can be further augmented by adding a low-end, discrete
ATI 3K card and combining the two, via Hybrid CrossFire, for around 20 per
cent additional performance over and above the discrete card's.
The paired SB700 southbridge is competent, if not
exceptional,
and the duo combines to offer a compelling reason for purchase, with
retail boards starting at around the £60 price-point.
Ideal for Mr Average
The feature-set is such that 780G makes for an ideal base for an HTPC
as well as a general workhorse/casual gaming machine for Mr Average.
AMD's lined up a bunch of partners for 780G's official launch and
Gigabyte's effort, priced at around £75, is decent enough in
most
respects. The layout and BIOS are both good, and when paired with a
power-efficient AMD Athlon X2 4850e, the overall proposition, at
£130, is enticing.
Bottom line: AMD's DX10-toting 780G chipset improves on the incumbent
690G in almost every way. It's leagues ahead of any other IGP-based
solution currently available. NVIDIA's will need to raise their
respective games, substantially, if they're to have a better solution
in H1 2008. Let's sit back, wait and see what MCP78/7A and G45 bring to the IGP table.
HEXUS Awards
AMD 780G chipset and Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
HEXUS Where2Buy
Gigabyte's GA-MA78M-S2H is available for £59.15 here.HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS.net, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any of AMD or Gigabyte's representatives choose to do so, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.HEXUS related reading
HEXUS.net - HEXUS.reviews :: AMD 690G chipset
You can read the full-length version of this review here.
