AMD 780G Chipset and Athlon X2 4850e Preview
Test Systems and 3DMark06
AMD provided separate driver packages for benchmarking with and without Hybrid graphics. In the interest of minimizing the variables affecting performance, we tested both configurations using the release candidate 8.47 Vista x32 driver. Moreover, in order to get PCMark Vantage running on the 780G platform, a new direcpll.dll file was needed. (Futuremak recently released a patch for all of their benchmarks that included the necessary files) AMD System AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz processor Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard 2GB Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4 DDR2 memory Integrated Radeon HD 3200 graphics 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA hard drive Windows Vista x32
Intel System Intel Pentium E2200 2.2 GHz processor ASUS P5E-VM HDMI motherboard 2GB Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4 DDR2 memory Integrated Intel GMA X3500 graphics 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA hard drive Windows Vista x32
The AMD 780G platform that we tested included the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard, an AMD Athlon X2 4850 processor, two 1GB DDR2-800 memory modules from Corsair and a reference cooler that ran surprisingly quiet. We updated the board’s BIOS to the latest available version, testing with and without the Hybrid Graphics option using a passively-cooled Radeon HD 3450 card.
Test Systems
Intel and AMD Inside!
(AMD 780G/AMD SB700 chipset)
2 x 1GB modules
Discrete Radeon HD 3450 graphics
(Intel G35 chipset)
2 x 1GB modules
Preliminary Testing with 3Dmark06
Synthetic Benchmarks
Argue the validity of synthetic benchmarks until you’re blue in the face—no matter which side of the fence you’re on, 3DMark06 enables granular analysis of individual features and capabilities using the latest graphics architectures. The overall score takes all of the individual tests into account for a holistic view of what a solution can do under extreme duress.
The 3DMark06 results illustrate two things. First, AMD’s 780G more than doubles the score of Intel’s latest G35 graphics core. It just goes to show what happens when you cram the architecture of a reasonably nimble discrete card into a northbridge. Secondly, you can see how well Hybrid Graphics scales when you drop a Radeon HD 3450 card into the platform’s PCI Express x16 slot. Impressive, especially for an onboard solution.
AMD exercises a small lead in the CPU test. But for the most part, the 780G- and G35-based platforms put up similar numbers when their respective processors are under the gun.
