Let's have an overall look at the 785G and its brethren to see how their vital statistics stack up:
| AMD 785G | AMD 780G | AMD 790GX | |
| Processor Interface | HT 3.0/5,200 MT/s | HT 3.0/5,200 MT/s | HT 3.0/5,200 MT/s |
| PCI Express Support | 2.0/26 lanes/1 x 16 Graphics | 2.0/26 lanes/1 x 16 Graphics | 2.0/26 lanes/2 x 8 Graphics |
| Integrated Core | RV620 | RV610 | RV610 |
| DirectX/OpenGL | 10.1/2.1 | 10.0/2.1 | 10.0/2.0 |
| Shaders/TU/ROP | 40/4/4 | 40/4/4 | 40/4/4 |
| Graphics Clock | 500 MHz | 500 MHz | 700 MHz |
| Display Outputs | DisplayPort, HDMI 1.3, DVI, VGA | DisplayPort, HDMI 1.2, DVI, VGA | DisplayPort, HDMI 1.2, DVI, VGA |
| Multi-GPU | Hybrid CrossFireX | Hybrid CrossFireX | Hybrid CrossFireX, CrossFireX |
| Addtl. PCIe | Six x1 PCIe 2.0 | Six x1 PCIe 2.0 | Six x1 PCIe 2.0 |
| Southbridge | SB710 | SB700/SB710 | SB750 |
| Interconnect | A-Link Xpress (4 x PCIe 1.1) | A-Link Xpress (4 x PCIe 1.1) | A-Link Xpress (4 x PCIe 1.1) |
| RAID Support | RAID 0, 1, 10 | RAID 0, 1, 10 | RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 |
| Audio | HD Audio | HD Audio | HD Audio |
| USB | 12 USB 2.0 + 2 USB 1.1 | 12 USB 2.0 + 2 USB 1.1 | 12 USB 2.0 + 2 USB 1.1 |
| Ethernet | N/A | N/A | N/A |
There aren't any super-significant differences between 780G and 785G as far as raw specifications are concerned, save DirectX 10.1 support for the new 785G. Keep in mind that the 785G does have some features that the 780G and 790GX do not have, which we'll go over in the next few pages.
The higher-end 790GX differentiates itself from its brothers with a higher 700 MHz graphics clock, the ability to use dual discrete graphics cards in CrossFireX, and the additional RAID 5 mode. All of these boons are missing from the new 785G, indicating that the 785G is not positioned as the next big thing, but as an improved replacement for the 780G chipset. Pricing will likely fall to current 780G levels over time, and while AMD admits that its customers will still be able to purchase the 780G chipset should they choose to do so, 785G will slowly replace 780G. Perhaps we'll see a 795GX chipset arrive in the not-too-distant future, bringing the 785G advancements to the higher-end 790GX price segment.
The SB710 Southbridge
The SB710 is nothing new. It has already been used in conjunction with the 780G as a replacement for the older SB700 chipset component. The SB710 is something of a hybrid between the older SB700 and the SB750 commonly used on 790GX-based boards. And, like the SB750, SB710 sports Advanced Clock Calibration (AAC), used to enable additional headroom in Phenom processors (but no longer needed with Phenom II).
Like the SB700, however, AMD's SB710 does not support RAID 5, although it does support RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays.
- Introduction
- 785G Northbridge And SB710 Southbridge Vital Statistics
- Features For The Home-Theater Crowd
- Radeon HD 4200 Enhancements
- Other 785G Goodies
- Hardware Choices, Setup, And Overclocking
- Test System And Benchmarks
- Benchmark Results: Synthetics
- Benchmark Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Benchmark Results: 3D Rendering And Productivity
- Game Benchmarks: First-Person Shooters
- Game Benchmarks: Flight Sim And RTS
- HD Video Playback Benchmarks
- GPGPU Benchmark
- Power Usage Benchmark
- Conclusion


A integrated GPU that can game. =D
Makes my lil Pentium D with a 4670 seem puny...
3.3GB/s memory bandwidth (single channel DDR2 533... though 2 sticks, it runs in single channel... damn prebuilts) also seems sad on my rig...
Good question. A dual core Atom with a 4200 integrated would be nice.
We all know Intel makes shitty mothebroards and AMD makes kickass motherboards anyways.
Not correct, the P2 has a built in memory controller so the switch to ddr3 affected that controller
Native ram for a pentium d is PC4200 which has a max of 4.2gb/s per channel etc and the FSB has the max of 6.4gb/s
The Intel atom would most likely underpower any video card out there, and Intel does actually make a good reliable business platform where video performance is not required etc
Perhaps the next task could be a power comparison to tell us how long a computer needs to stand in active state to consume more power than turning it off and back on again (including starting msn,av software and a bunch of other stuff running in the background).
Anyway good article
PS: Phenom II does support DDR3, there are only 2 models out of 12 that don't...
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My take on it is except for some specific HTPC features, the 790GX is still the better of the two, especially if any gaming is involved. They compared an OC'ed 785G to a stock 790GX; what if they'd OC'ed the 790GX also?
And, lest anyone develop any false hope, the Intel IGP has once again been shown to be a toad.
Let's seee... Decent performance, able to play HD videos, low cost. That covers everything I need for a HTPC!
We concentrated on the new aspects of the 785G in this article; hybrid crossfire is exactly the same as it was with the 780G, that is to say it maxes out with a 3450 card.
Nope, it's using a 24 W difference. I think that's why your numbers are different too. I get:
24 Watts * 24 hours = 576 WHrs / 1000 W/KW = .576 KWHrs * $0.15 cents/KWHr * 365 days = $31.54
Good article otherwise, thanks.
That is incorrect, if that was the case, the Phenom II wouldn't benchmark so much better and it wouldn't overclock so much better. Just because it has the Phenom name to it, doesn't mean all they did was give it a bit more L3 Cache and call it a day. You could've given the original Phenom more L3 cache all day long and it wouldn't still ran like poop. Not necessarily poop, but just not as well as the Phenom II.
If this is true, then why does the Hybrid crossfire graphic on the first page show HD4350, HD4550 and HD4650 as compatible hybrid crossfire GPUs?
It makes sense.. the 780G used an integrated 3200-series GPU, so it was compatible with lower-end dedicated 3000-series GPUs. The 785G uses an integrated 4200-series GPU, so it should be compatible with the lower-end dedicated 4000-series GPUs.
Can you clear this up? I was also wondering what GPU's can be used as Hybrid crossfire with the 785G. I thought I knew from that graphic on page 1, but your response confused me.
Thanks
Thanks for clearing it out, Cleeve! There is not much sense using Hybrid CF then. However, my original question still remains: how much extra wattage may one expect with mid-range 4600 or 4700 card added for example? Does disabling the device help here a bit more when not in use? Hope this is not too off-topic already...