AMD's New 780G Chipset Has Powerful GPU

By Bert Toepelt
published

Cost Of A Basic HD-Capable System

Thanks to the HD-video capabilities built into the 780G chipset, users who want to put together HTPC or multimedia systems can save themselves the cost of buying a graphics card. Meanwhile, the prices of Blu-ray drives have dropped so low that it is now possible to buy the innards of a full-featured HDTV system with a 500 GB drive for as little as €423.

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Basic HD-Capable System - Hardware Configuration
ComponentTypePrice
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-MA780GM-S2H€80
Processor:AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350 Boxed€70
Memory:2 GB DDR2-800€42
CPU Cooler:Boxed€0
Blu-Ray-ROM:LiteOn DH-4O1S€117
HDD:SATA 500 GB€84
PSU:Sharkoon SHA350-8P€30
Total:Row 8 - Cell 1 €423

The 780G system with a flat low-profile HFC-20820-C1 CPU cooler made by Hiper

Since this configuration gets by without a dedicated graphic card, the system can literally keep a low profile. If a low CPU cooler is used as well, this multimedia system can be installed in a very flat case. AMD is setting a new standard for HTPCs.

Thanks to their low profile, the components will allow you to use a small case.

Hiper's HMC-1K53A is a very flat HTPC case.

Hiper's HMC-1K53a is a mere 53 mm high.

Bert Toepelt
20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • rockwell73
    I would like to know can i run a video card with this mother board,with all the high demand for great video quality in these new video games such as Crysis, BioShock, Jericho and many others that require a high end video card how am i suppose to play these games without one
    Reply
  • You just put in any PCI-E video card in the X-16 slot. With the appropriate processor and beefy enough video card, games are not a problem. The real beauty is that the onboard video is plenty for casual, older games at acceptable rates and also makes for a great low power HD media center computer.
    Reply
  • dotroy
    I do not get it, how come 2600XT is more faster than 3450 ? I thought 3450 is newer than 2600XT. Please explain
    Reply
  • gerro1977rm
    What about the northbridge overheating issue everyone is talking about? I've bought this board only to find out it has idle temps of 80C at the northbridge. I'm planning on buying an after market cooler to stabilize it.
    Reply
  • gerro1977,

    What revision is your board? I just received this board and it's the new revision 1.1 which has a bigger heatsink (you can see the pictures from the gigabyte site for both revisions 1.0 and 1.1). I am getting my CPU soon and want to also check the northbridge temperatures. What can I use to measure the temps?

    Thanks
    Reply
  • I'm cooling my G780 on GA-MA78GM-S2H rev1.0 with additional pentium 3 box coller heatsink (fits perfectly) and radeon 3450 with p3 box fan :) - it works fine
    Reply
  • Does anyone know if the radeon HD4850 works on this board with hybrid graphics and crossfire.
    Reply
  • gerro1977rm
    Deleted Profile 06/23/2008 7;12 AM,

    Unfortunately, I'm using the rev 1.0 board. I fitted it with an HR05 heatsink from thermalright and its now just warm to the touch not hot. I'm using everest to monitor my temps. Aux now registers at 37 C, though I'm not really sure if its the NB temp. You can also use riva tuner among others.
    Reply
  • V3ctor
    I have a ASUS M3A78 EHM HDMI and I have a temperature of only 33ºc with my X2 BE-2350... I'm going tu put a HD3450, but i have a doubt... If i'm only in 2D graphics (like the desktop) the board switches to the HD3200? And when I need power does it "switch" to HD3450?
    Reply
  • kingsize566
    I have a GA780...DS3H rev1.0 (ATX) and the northbridge heatsink is large but made of some cheap light zinc alloy - waste of time IMHO, 70+ degrees and memory errors - but only when using a PCIex16 graphics card. The problem eased when I added a 40mm fan on top of the rubbish heatsink. I wrote to gigabyte about the issue, who said - tampering with the heatsink invalidates your warranty. Sounds like they're burying their head in the sand over the issue. According to some posts on SPCR, and here, the thermaltake HR05 replacement fits.

    I would question the QA process of a mobo manufacturer who offers not only a poor heatsink design, but a 4 phase mosfet unable to cope with the TDP of some of the higher power phenoms (see Tomshardware and Anandtech). The 780 board by XFX has a heatpipe solution on the mosfets and northbridge which looks like a better design, and similar price (cheaper if you count having to replace the deficient heatsink by Gigabyte). The Asus M3A78 possibly has a better heatsink on the northbridge.
    Reply