Final thoughts and rating
AMD's new 785G chipset is an updated version of the popular 780G model that debuted well over a year ago. The graphics portion of the chipset, Radeon HD 4200, has been upgraded by pulling DX10.1 and UVD2.0 features from a discrete Radeon HD 3000-series card, but the core speed, at 500MHz, remain the same. CPU support is present for the very latest AMD Socket AM3 chips, and that means the use of DDR3 modules on most boards. Keeping costs low-ish, we'll see the majority of motherboards pair up the RS785G northbridge with the SB710 RAID5-less southbridge.The chipset makes sense if building a low-cost PC that's good for (very) casual gaming and multimedia usage, although the lack of surround-sound multi-channel LPCM (audio) will put some potential punters off. We can see folk opting for a machine akin to the system setup used for evaluation, replete with a Phenom II X2 550 BE chip and 4GB of DDR3 memory. Add in a £65 785G board and you'll have decent change from £200.
Looking at it pragmatically, the ASUS M4A785TD-V is a well-specified interpretation of 785G that features a decent layout and a number of added extras - SidePort memory, for example - not found on the most budget boards. Pricing, too, is keen, at £70, but we'd like to see a BIOS-saving option and better onboard audio, as it's likely to be used in an HTPC environment.
AMD's 785G is an incremental upgrade from 780G and we can recommend it to readers looking for a new system that doesn't break the bank. If you can live with integrated graphics and want a no-nonsense, solid system, it's as good as most, yet doesn't tick all the HTPC boxes - a lack of 8-channel LPCM being an obvious omission.
Focusing on the sample motherboard, the ASUS M4A785TD-V is chock-full of features and arrives with an attractive etail price of £70. A few suggested modifications would take it from being good to great.
HEXUS Rating
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore the motherboard is evaluated with respect to our 'mid-range components' criteria.
ASUS M4A785TD-V
HEXUS Awards
The chipset provides significant multimedia value for a modest outlay.
AMD 785G chipset
HEXUS Where2Buy
The
ASUS M4A785TD-V
is currently available from Scan.co.uk for £71.30.
*As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum.
*As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim
