Can the board work with both DVI and HDMI used at the same time? All of the 780G uATX boards I looked at don't support two digital displays even when they have two port. Hell, an asus has DVI, HDMI and Displayport, and only one of the three can be used... talk about waste of backplate space.
Also - I don't really need this but out of curiosity - is the DVI port DVI-D or DVI-I, in other words can an adapter to D-Sub 15 be used with it?
I'm very surprised that they didn't include firewire into the mix. In a board that small, having to waste the only PCI slot on firewire for your external firewire hard drive would be kind of dissapointing. It's marked off of the list for me now :-/
Jason
Can you convert your hard drive to eSATA? Firewire is not the choice external HDD choice (for video editing I think it still is, but for video you should use a full PC).
I like this blog post very much, but would like to see Phenom overclocking on air (Scythe Infinity, Thermalright 120, etc), or in fact a benchmark of the current state of AMD performance vs Intel (I may have missed it :)).
Does this board offer hybrid crossfire? Can I put a 4650/4670 in it and have it shut off in 2D and light 3D apps while the onboard provides the accel and framebuffer?
Will multiple monitors work off the onboard video? 2X DVI/HDMI screens for example, or one HDMI/DVI and a VGA or RGB or S-Video even?
Keep the good info coming, it is nice to know that AMD is competitive on the HDTV PC front with a good platform (Intel released bargain basement ITX with integrated Core2 for $70, yet makes lack of PCI-e mandatory, shoot in foot much Intel? Not that they ever understood the video market.)
I am wondering if your are going to include maximum TDP ratings of the motherboards that you are planning of showing in your Monday review article. A lot of IGP chipsets can not handle high TDP and manufactures rarely state it. If motherboard manufactures state it, they state it after several weeks that their board were on the shelf.
That DFI board looks interesting for HTPC, but I doubt it is capable of handling high TDP such as 140 watts or more. I have an eye on XFX MIA78S8209, if that DFI or other micoATX motherboards are capable of handling higher than 95 watts then I will change my mind. I use Linux, so it needs a fast processor to handle HD because using the video card to decode is not there yet and probably never.
I've received this board this week and just finished setting up this beast yesterday. IGP on this board is pretty awesome...I've gotten an overall vista experience index score of 4.0 with a 4.1 score in graphics and 4.0 in gaming graphics. That's not bad at all for integrated graphics. I've did just a slight overclock and boosted my score up to 4.1 lol. My system consist of amd be-2400 /w ninja mini, 8 gb g.skill ddr2 800, seagate 1tb hd, this board, and a Silverstone ST70F psu. I'm going to see how far I can clock my amd chip; it's at 2.6 ghz so far.
It is apparent that good chipsets are very important to show off good CPU's. This has been an issue for AMD in the past and present. This has been an area where Intel has done well. I hope this is a new beginning for AMD.
These types of systems get us looking at high efficiency power supplies at lower wattage outputs. If your system is only using 130 to 170 watts, then the power supply you choose should have its most efficient and stable output in that range. Reading reviews and looking at the graphs will help in your choice.
I'd like to see how a three way hybrid crossfire with some LOW-PROFILE radeons would do (HD3450 or the strongest low-profile card out there). µATX is meant for HTPC, so it's something interesting to be testing out, albeit an odd configuration.
I have high hopes for the roundup. If they're going to look at a bunch of different chipsets, I hope that they look at a wide variety of processors too. I can find lots of different places that run a bunch of tests and just tell you what the fastest combo was.
I'm not a PC Gamer, thats what my XBox and PS3 are for. I'd like to know whats the "just fast enough" for a HD HTPC that's almost dead quiet. Do any of the integrated GPUs do HD video offloading? Can you go with a C2D 2.4GHz, or do you still need a 3+? Would you be better with a silent 9600GT,etc?
But you might have problems getting MPC-HT to work with DxVA offloading, and I don't think any commercial solution will like warez encoded (x264 in MKV-container) videos.
I know the 790gx has the integrated video and does do HD offloading.
From AMD website.
The AMD 790GX chipset allows you to immerse yourself in a full HD cinematic experience3 at home while enabling a quiet entertainment PC. Enjoy more vibrant colours and lifelike picture quality up-scaled beyond 1080p with ATI Avivo™ HD4. Watch the latest Blu-Ray® movies on your PC5 and easily connect it to your big screen TV. The AMD 790GX Chipset offers you a superior HD experiences that runs efficiently and at a price that won’t break your budget.
Great! I was just considering a purchase of this motherboard for an HTPC setup that I am going to be building. So far it was the best integrated graphics I could find in a uATX form factor (which is what the case I already own is).
Looking forward to the integrated graphics roundup!
at the beginning of the article you mention you'll soon have a roundup of all the igps (intel, amd, nvidia). my question is, will you have the 730i in your round up, or the older offerings from nvidia? i'm really interested in the 730i, because i got the asus g45 and it has problems working with nvidia graphics cards. some people are reporting that they have the same problems, some don't. please include that in your tests!
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
23 Comments
Back to Article
Visual - Monday, October 13, 2008 - link
Can the board work with both DVI and HDMI used at the same time? All of the 780G uATX boards I looked at don't support two digital displays even when they have two port. Hell, an asus has DVI, HDMI and Displayport, and only one of the three can be used... talk about waste of backplate space.Also - I don't really need this but out of curiosity - is the DVI port DVI-D or DVI-I, in other words can an adapter to D-Sub 15 be used with it?
Myrandex - Monday, September 22, 2008 - link
I'm very surprised that they didn't include firewire into the mix. In a board that small, having to waste the only PCI slot on firewire for your external firewire hard drive would be kind of dissapointing. It's marked off of the list for me now :-/Jason
nubie - Monday, September 22, 2008 - link
Can you convert your hard drive to eSATA? Firewire is not the choice external HDD choice (for video editing I think it still is, but for video you should use a full PC).I like this blog post very much, but would like to see Phenom overclocking on air (Scythe Infinity, Thermalright 120, etc), or in fact a benchmark of the current state of AMD performance vs Intel (I may have missed it :)).
Does this board offer hybrid crossfire? Can I put a 4650/4670 in it and have it shut off in 2D and light 3D apps while the onboard provides the accel and framebuffer?
Will multiple monitors work off the onboard video? 2X DVI/HDMI screens for example, or one HDMI/DVI and a VGA or RGB or S-Video even?
Keep the good info coming, it is nice to know that AMD is competitive on the HDTV PC front with a good platform (Intel released bargain basement ITX with integrated Core2 for $70, yet makes lack of PCI-e mandatory, shoot in foot much Intel? Not that they ever understood the video market.)
jmurbank - Sunday, September 21, 2008 - link
I am wondering if your are going to include maximum TDP ratings of the motherboards that you are planning of showing in your Monday review article. A lot of IGP chipsets can not handle high TDP and manufactures rarely state it. If motherboard manufactures state it, they state it after several weeks that their board were on the shelf.That DFI board looks interesting for HTPC, but I doubt it is capable of handling high TDP such as 140 watts or more. I have an eye on XFX MIA78S8209, if that DFI or other micoATX motherboards are capable of handling higher than 95 watts then I will change my mind. I use Linux, so it needs a fast processor to handle HD because using the video card to decode is not there yet and probably never.
BPB - Saturday, September 20, 2008 - link
To what Intel CPU does this AMD CPU (at these OC'd speeds) compare?phistyle - Saturday, September 20, 2008 - link
I've received this board this week and just finished setting up this beast yesterday. IGP on this board is pretty awesome...I've gotten an overall vista experience index score of 4.0 with a 4.1 score in graphics and 4.0 in gaming graphics. That's not bad at all for integrated graphics. I've did just a slight overclock and boosted my score up to 4.1 lol. My system consist of amd be-2400 /w ninja mini, 8 gb g.skill ddr2 800, seagate 1tb hd, this board, and a Silverstone ST70F psu. I'm going to see how far I can clock my amd chip; it's at 2.6 ghz so far.computerfarmer - Saturday, September 20, 2008 - link
It is apparent that good chipsets are very important to show off good CPU's. This has been an issue for AMD in the past and present. This has been an area where Intel has done well. I hope this is a new beginning for AMD.These types of systems get us looking at high efficiency power supplies at lower wattage outputs. If your system is only using 130 to 170 watts, then the power supply you choose should have its most efficient and stable output in that range. Reading reviews and looking at the graphs will help in your choice.
I am looking forward to the round up article.
MikeODanyurs - Saturday, September 20, 2008 - link
Wouldn't it be easier to bend the 1 corner section (of 6) of the NB heatsink inward to make room for the CPU cooler than bending the CPU heatsink?Baov - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
I'd like to see how a three way hybrid crossfire with some LOW-PROFILE radeons would do (HD3450 or the strongest low-profile card out there). µATX is meant for HTPC, so it's something interesting to be testing out, albeit an odd configuration.Goty - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
Does that picture with the patriot memory make anyone else head hurt?QChronoD - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
I have high hopes for the roundup. If they're going to look at a bunch of different chipsets, I hope that they look at a wide variety of processors too. I can find lots of different places that run a bunch of tests and just tell you what the fastest combo was.I'm not a PC Gamer, thats what my XBox and PS3 are for. I'd like to know whats the "just fast enough" for a HD HTPC that's almost dead quiet. Do any of the integrated GPUs do HD video offloading? Can you go with a C2D 2.4GHz, or do you still need a 3+? Would you be better with a silent 9600GT,etc?
Penti - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
The on-board GPU does have "ATi UVD". The 780G/790GX doesn't have the latest version of UVD. But it do H264 and VC-1. See the wikilink.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Video_Decoder...">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Video_Decoder...
Penti - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
But you might have problems getting MPC-HT to work with DxVA offloading, and I don't think any commercial solution will like warez encoded (x264 in MKV-container) videos.SilthDraeth - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
I know the 790gx has the integrated video and does do HD offloading.From AMD website.
The AMD 790GX chipset allows you to immerse yourself in a full HD cinematic experience3 at home while enabling a quiet entertainment PC. Enjoy more vibrant colours and lifelike picture quality up-scaled beyond 1080p with ATI Avivo™ HD4. Watch the latest Blu-Ray® movies on your PC5 and easily connect it to your big screen TV. The AMD 790GX Chipset offers you a superior HD experiences that runs efficiently and at a price that won’t break your budget.
SilthDraeth - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
But I got the ASUS M3A78-T.I am not sure how it fairs, but theoretically my processor should be able to hit 3Ghz on Air with enough tweaking?
I haven't OCed anything since my Thunderbird 800mhz that I OCed to 1Ghz. I know there are a lot more options these days.
sdelano - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
Great! I was just considering a purchase of this motherboard for an HTPC setup that I am going to be building. So far it was the best integrated graphics I could find in a uATX form factor (which is what the case I already own is).Looking forward to the integrated graphics roundup!
kevinkreiser - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
at the beginning of the article you mention you'll soon have a roundup of all the igps (intel, amd, nvidia). my question is, will you have the 730i in your round up, or the older offerings from nvidia? i'm really interested in the 730i, because i got the asus g45 and it has problems working with nvidia graphics cards. some people are reporting that they have the same problems, some don't. please include that in your tests!Casper42 - Thursday, September 25, 2008 - link
I want to see an nVidia SLI mATX Mobo myself.Being as DFI has now added a 2nd mobo to the LanParty Jr lineup, the only one they now have missing is Intel on nVidia.
I like the idea of stuffing 2 9800GTX+/GTX260/GTX280 into a mATX form factor and currently no such motherboard seems to exist on the market.
Arsenium12 - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
The article starts off:
"We are in the final throws ..."
Actually it's "throes" not "throws".
IdaGno - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
actually, it could be "throws" - too early to tellsurt - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
I'm pretty sure the parent is right, and they meant:http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throes">http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/throes
Basilisk - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
[Pssst... retake Humor 101... which IdaGno passed. :P ]Clauzii - Friday, September 19, 2008 - link
3.54 GHz is a pretty nice figure, but again, it IS a DFI board :D