AMD 690G chipset explained and compared
To reiterate, the AMD 690 series of chipsets is the first all-new product from the 'new AMD'. In nutshell, it leverages Radeon X12xx-class integrated graphics and provides for a low-cost platform that is high on multimedia capability.
Introduction
Working from top-to-bottom and highlighting the salient points along the way, the AM2-supporting AMD 690 chipset family currently comprises of two members. The 690G and 690V SKUs are, as you would suspect, broadly similar. The 690V, however, utilises a slower-clocked X1200 IGP core, running at 350MHz, and does without integrated HDMI/DVI connectivity. We'd normally question such omissions which strip the chipset of its fundamental qualities, but the elasticity of demand is such in developing countries that hitting certain price points is critical to the success of a SKU.
The RS690 IGP (Radeon Xpress 1250)
The overriding focus of the online tech press has been to look at high-end SKUs. The architectures are interesting, the models - be they processor, graphics card or memory - are fast, and the trickle-down effect of technology is how today's top-end is repositioned as tomorrow's midrange and, ultimately, low-end.Volume SKUs, though, is where the real money is at, and selling chipsets with integrated graphics, which become the base for £500 PCs, is how Intel, for example, makes a juicy chunk of its revenue.
AMD's understood this fact and brings a couple of firsts to the table with the 690G's IGP. In terms of 3D performance, the Radeon Xpress 1250, clocked in at 400MHz, is, for all intents and purposes, half a discrete Radeon X700 GPU, which itself was a direct derivative of ATI's R300. The '1250, then, features DX 9.0-compliant core with four rendering pipelines and support for up-to 6-sample multisampling antialiasing and 8-tap anisotropic filtering. Up to 1GiB of memory bandwidth will be allocated from the system's and most retail boards will feature dual-channel DDR2-667 support.
Cutting through the tech, the discrete-derived spec indicates decent game compatibility with performance that should be adequate at 1024 x 768 with low-to-medium quality settings. RS690 has enough graphical clout, then, to comfortably run Microsoft Vista's Aero interface and is certified Vista Premium Ready.
Cost and power implications preclude IGPs from competing against low-end discrete cards, and their purpose is to allow the casual gamer the occasional foray into Quake 4 or Far Cry. If you want significant 3D power, buy a discrete card; it's as simple as that.
Display and multimedia capabilities
What's more interesting, however, is the multimedia-related capabilities of the X1250. It's the only chipset to directly support two independent digital outputs. We expect motherboard partners to launch 690G boards with both integrated HDMI (v1.2) and DVI (dual-link) outputs as standard, with the user able to operate them concurrently, say a DVI monitor and LCD TV hooked up to one board. What's more, the HDMI port carries HDCP support and HD audio from the SB600 southbridge, making the 690G's output a one-cable solution for Blu-ray or HD-DVD playback. Being independent, you will be able to set the resolution and refresh rate to each of the attached digital devices, as well.AMD has also tacked on the Avivo video-processing engine that, in the context of the 690G, offers 10bpc (bits per colour and over 1 billion colours) processing which is passed through to your analogue TV via ATI's Xilleon TV encoder and an on-chip DAC, and via HDMI and DVI through regular TMDS transmitters. The IGP also supports hardware-accelerated H.264 decoding which takes the brunt of the work off the CPU and should allow for stutter-free decoding up to 720p.
690G motherboards will also feature a single x16 PCIe slot and up to 4 x1 links. Adding in a discrete Radeon-based graphics card with dual outputs and taking advantage of SurroundView, the multi-view technology, you'll be able to run a 4-monitor setup without requiring any specialist hardware. Of course, should the integrated graphics not be up to your gaming requirements, any discrete can be used, although there's no (sensible) provision for multi-GPU support under CrossFire: that's not the target market, either.
Southbridge musings
ATI, frankly, struggled with its southbridge designs until SB600 was released to complement the Xpress 3200 chipset last year. The SB600 hooks up to the RS690 via a PCIe conduit and offers provision for 4 SATA2 ports with RAID striping and mirroring as well as 4-port RAID10 mode of operation. 10 USB 2.0 ports, the aforementioned high-definition audio and a single ATA133 PATA controller round off this competent partner that's only light in terms of networking. Take another look at the block diagram and you'll see that motherboard partners will need to add their own Ethernet ASICs, however.Price and availability
AMD has signed up around 15 partners who will produce 35 or so SKUs, split over 690G and 690V, so expect to see the likes of ASUS, Foxconn, MSI, ECS and Gigabyte jump on the bandwagon and release SKUs in the coming weeks.Depending upon manufacturer and feature-set implemented, we expect retail 690G examples to be presented in the mATX form factor and pricing to be between £45-£65, which, in conjunction with the attractive pricing of AMD's Athlon 64 X2 models in particular, opens up the low-to-midrange market for users looking for a capable multimedia box with practically all the checkboxes ticked.
AMD's 690G is, on paper, a shot in the arm for the Austin outfit. It combines ATI's GPU know-how with a well-priced processor line-up that, together, make a compelling case as the guts of a PC that's suitable for the vast majority of users, from mom and pop emailing to the little squirt watching movies on an LCD TV, ported over by HDMI.
Comparison
The obvious competitor is NVIDIA's decent AM2-based nForce 430/GeForce 6150 SKU, available for over a year, which has a similar feature-set, and, from the blue team, a 945G board featuring GMA 950 graphics and the newer G965 chipset utilising the GMA X3000 integrated graphics accelerator. Here's a table that lists their vital specs. Please note, the table is for the chipset, and partners may add additional features to specific SKUs.| Chipset | AMD 690G | NVIDIA nForce 430 | Intel G965 Express | Intel 945G Express |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor support | All AMD AM2 CPUs | All Intel LGA775 CPUs* | ||
| Memory support | Up to DDR2-800 in dual-channel | DDR2-667 DC | ||
| Northbridge/IGP | RS690 w/Radeon Xpress 1250 | GeForce 6150 | G965 w/X3000 | 945G w/GMA 950 |
| IGP Shader Model/DirectX | 2.0, DX9.0 | 3.0, DX9.0 | 3.0, DX9.0 | 2.0, DX9.0 |
| Hardware acceleration for HD video | H.264, MPEG2, WMV9 + HDCP over HDMI | H.264, MPEG2, WMV9 | MPEG2, WMV9 | MPEG2 |
| Native display outputs | HDMI, TV-Out, DVI, component, composite | TV-Out, DVI, component, composite | VGA, TV-Out + Clear Video | VGA, TV-Out |
| Extra display outputs | HDMI via dedicated ASIC | HDMI, DVI via SDVO | HDMI, DVI via SDVO | |
| Vista Premium Ready? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (just) |
| Southbridge | SB600 | nForce 430 MCP | ICH8R | ICH7R |
| SATA ports | 4 x SATA300 | 4 x SATA300 | 6 x SATA300 | 4 x SATA300 |
| SATA RAID | 0, 1, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 | 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| ATA channels | 1 | up to 2 | 0 | 1 |
| ATA RAID | No | Yes | No | No |
| Integrated Ethernet controller | No | Yes, 10/100/1000 | No | No |
| USB ports | 10 | Up to 10 | 10 | 8 |
| Audio | High-Definition Audio | |||
| Common form factor | mATX | mATX | ATX | mATX |
| Average partner price | £55 | £55 | £70 | £45 |
*- depending upon model.
NVIDIA's nForce 430/6150 has been available for over a year now and it's due to be replaced by a faster, single-chip IGP-based model featuring GeForce 7-series graphics. AMD has a small window to make hay before NVIDIA, we're sure, ups the ante again.