We searched all over 2 continents for a motherboard containing AMD's 785G chipset. After we identified our target, we scoped it out, constructed a snatch and grab plan, and then waited till the time was right. We assumed the time was right last week to swoop in and grab the object of our want. Sure enough, the plan went off without a hitch as we brought the Gb. GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H back to the laboratories for integration.

Before we could even try our hands at water boarding Gig's latest multimedia wonder, testing came to a grinding halt. It appears that in our rush to secure this motherboard that we overlooked one critical aspect during our inquiry.

It seems the driver set we were privy to for testing is an early beta set missing many crucial driver features while AMD is still optimizing performance. We encountered no stability issues running a large number of baselines, but the absence of features and optimizations exclude us from publishing a food first look, particularly for those wanting to use this new platform in an HTPC or SFF gaming system. Naturally, there were talks with AMD explaining some of the early issues we ran into during testing. As such, AMD requested that we wait till the drivers are mature and based totally on early test results we intend to heed their requests. What we are able to do today is debate some early findings and supply 2 results that imply of the board's capacity with an early BIOS and a fast look at Blu-ray playback results. Straight off even with less than stellar drivers, the board's performance was equivalent to or better than the existing 780G / 790GX motherboards and it'll only improve. How much is up for debate as AMD elected the new chipset merely a half point higher for a reason. The graphics core in the 785G is upgraded from the HD3200 / 3300 exploited in the 780G / 790GX to the HD4200. The first difference between the cores is that the HD4200 absolutely supports DX10.1, Unified Video Decoder 2.0 ( UVD ), hardware sped up picture in picture capacities, dynamic contrast, HQ video scaling, hardware speeded up video transcoding, and full Powerplay support.

The graphics core still runs at 500MHz ( in current form ) and at least in our particular sample, we were in a position to reach 1057MHz without too much difficulty. What does all this mean? For one, thanks to the HD4200, AMD ultimately offers multi-channel LPCM audio output and extra hardware video speeded up functions. So far as performance is concerned expect a 5% 15% performance increase in games.
That sounds galvanizing, but playing the Sims3 at 1024x768 with medium quality settings ended in a typical framerate increase from 23.9fps on the 780G to 26.1fps on the 785G with alpha level drivers. The most important difference happened in minimum refresh rates with an increase from 12fps on the 780G to 15fps on the 785G.

Otherwise, the GPU capacities are fine for casual gaming ( Plants vs Undead ) and flash based games. Naturally most users buying this kind of product are not that inquisitive about gaming and if you're, then we highly suggest purchasing a HD 4770 or HD 4850 for 1680x1050 or below resolutions. Anything higher, and we suggest a HD 4890 based totally on current price to performance proportions. The main point of this chipset is to capture the main line desktop market, you know, the market where ninety percent of units sold are with integrated graphic capacities only. When coupled with the Athlon II X2 250 processor we employed in early testing, this platform is an intensely motivating alternative option to the Intel G41 / E6300 mixture.

Considering the amount of features and platform performance that AMD provides with the 785G / SB710 chipset compared to the G41 / ICH7, we have got to ask why one go the Intel route, even this early in the game.
Our original plans requested a direct comparison between the 2 platforms but that will need to wait till the official release this month with production prepared drivers. AMD will have an official release applicant prepared at once and we are expecting the boards to ship with the 9.8 Catalyst driver set. That expounded, early results with HD video playback are extremely promising.

The majority of missing driver features center on the absence of Avivo options. Vector Adaptive de-interlacing was working in our driver set with Aero enabled under Windows seven Final x64 ( build 7600 ), but we spotted some slight edge flickering in titles like Wanted and The Dark Knight. The whole Avivo section in the driver set is missing so we don't know if features like HD Color Vibrance, HD Flesh Tone, HD Pulldown detection, HD edge enhancement, and dynamic contrast will be fully supported or not. We have asked the question and will have an update after we receive an answer. 1080p / twenty-four support is working correctly as is multi-channel LPCM audio output thru many A / V receivers.