Power Requirement & Conclusion
System idle power was 65 W using only the chipset’s integrated graphics unit, and 11 W higher when installing the additional Radeon HD 3450 card. This was the case whether or not the system ran in Hybrid CrossFire mode.
The power consumption difference remains roughly the same at peak power when only the processor is at maximum load. Running a 3D-intensive benchmark does not result in peak power requirements that are much higher than this, as the graphics card requires less power at peak load than the processor.
Conclusion
AMD’s 790GX chipset isn’t able to deliver more system performance than any other Socket AM2+ compatible chipset—nor should it—as the most impactful component, the memory controller, is part of the processor. However, the platform delivers a modern computing experience and all of the features available today from AMD. This includes PowerPlay, CrossFireX, and Hybrid CrossFire, along with accelerated graphics performance plus powerful overclocking via Overdrive. While the 780G runs at a 500 MHz core clock, the 790GX clocks in at 700 MHz and consequently increases the value of the 780G chipset by a considerable margin. It also delivers added value when compared to Nvidia’s GeForce 8200/8300 mGPU.
However, our analysis focused on the side-port memory option that AMD has made available since the 780G chipset days, but which has not been used very often. Jetway’s HA07 Ultra comes with 128 MB DDR3 memory, which we found to be a valuable add-on when paired with shared memory. Using only the side-port memory results in the slowest possible 3D performance though, and AMD’s Radeon HD 3450 card with only 256 MB of memory also didn’t do really well on its own. In fact, the 790GX with its Radeon HD 3300 engine delivers better 3D performance than the HD 3450.
Side-Port Memory Helps
The most interesting benchmark run was the one where we used the 128 MB DDR3 side-port memory and 512 MB shared memory. This is the fastest possible setting in terms of 3D performance—only running the integrated graphics unit and a Radeon HD 3450 in Hybrid CrossFire mode was superior.
However, we recommend going straight for a higher-performing graphics solution instead of saddling yourself with such a low-impact hybrid solution. The side-port memory option does make a difference, but we can only recommend it if it comes at very little extra cost (just a few dollars). Most of the performance comes from AMD’s RV610-based 700 MHz DirectX 10 graphics unit.
Who Should Get 790GX?
Whether you get a high-end motherboard or a budget solution based on the 790GX chipset, the platform is modern, and delivers features and performance for all market segments paired with reasonable chipset cost. Hence, it is the best solution if you already know that you’ll upgrade the processor (Socket AM3 compatibility is there) or the graphics solution within a few months, or if you want one of the best AMD platforms with integrated graphics.
Latest Motherboards News
- 22/05 – Does Your AMD FX Platform BSOD with Steam? Read This.
- 04/05 – 54 Million Enthusiast and Performance PC Gamers Globally
- 01/05 – Intel's Next Unit of Computing Rivals Raspberry Pi in Size
- 10/04 – Intel P67 Express Chipset Begins Product Discontinuance Cycle
- 26/03 – Tom's Hardware Benchmark Charts and Database Updated
Latest Motherboards reviews
- 30/04 – Six Sub-£160 Z77 Motherboards, Benchmarked And Reviewed
- 23/04 – Video Teaser: Intel's DZ77GA-70K Motherboard
- 17/04 – Overclocking: Asus Rampage IV Extreme Versus EVGA X79 FTW
- 08/04 – Intel’s Z77 Express And Lucidlogix MVP: New Features...
- 27/02 – Six £165-£215 LGA 2011 Motherboards, Reviewed
Running one additional Radeon HD graphics card (up to a Radeon HD 3470) allows the enabling of Hybrid SLI
shouldn't it read "allows the enabling of Hybrid Crossfire"
Lol @ above comment xD
Be interested to see the overclocking results, and I really can't fault this hardware (aside from limiting the DDR3 memory to a 64-bit bus rather than 128). Older games should be fine, and you get HD capability (one that actually works), as well as plenty of upgrade options even if you install a cheap card. Well done, AMD.
yeah this is a very smart move ,i,am looking to upgrade from my skt 939 and doing it this way allows me to spread the cost by not having to buy a graphics card straight off
Hopefully AMD will release a HD4370-based onboard solution with HybridCF compatibility with HD4550 cards. Low-profile mATX systems are really suffering at the moment. Plus that above setup could actually be decent if the 4370 was OCd and had 256MB GDDR3 sideport with a 128bit interface. A HD4000-based GPU on one of their ITX boards would make things interesting too - we've seen elsewhere how scalable AMD CPUs and GPUs are with regards input voltage (hint: undervolting can give surprising TDP results...)
And when the hell will HD4000 chips start appearing on mobos and laptops anyhow? They'd be a pretty compelling reason to go AMD on the smaller platforms; its been shown already that AMD can undervolt 65nm X4 quads to run with a lower TDP than Nanos (
Hopefully AMD will release a HD4370-based onboard solution with HybridCF compatibility with HD4550 cards. Low-profile mATX systems are really suffering at the moment. Plus that above setup could actually be decent if the 4370 was OCd and had 256MB GDDR3 sideport with a 128bit interface. A HD4000-based GPU on one of their ITX boards would make things interesting too - we've seen elsewhere how scalable AMD CPUs and GPUs are with regards input voltage (hint: undervolting can give surprising TDP results...)
And when the hell will HD4000 chips start appearing on mobos and laptops anyhow? They'd be a pretty compelling reason to go AMD on the smaller platforms; its been shown already that AMD can undervolt 65nm X4 quads to run with a lower TDP than Nanos (
Cool, even the comment box fails now
Absolute tosh, who in there right mind would even consider this for gaming. If you don't game then you don't need it! If you do game you need better. There is no market for this. Buy the 8800GT/9800GT or the 4830 and get a board without crossfire and sideport. It ends up the same price and much quicker.
"Absolute tosh, who in there right mind would even consider this for gaming. If you don't game then you don't need it! If you do game you need better. There is no market for this. Buy the 8800GT/9800GT or the 4830 and get a board without crossfire and sideport. It ends up the same price and much quicker"
... Yo frodo ( to anonymous ) wake up ... Most of the boards that have the 790 have multiple pcie slots ... so you can actually use the crossfire option if you have two ( o lets say ) HD3850 or other , it will shut down the igp yes .. but it would only slow down performance anyways ... on the other hand the chip is good , overclocks very well , it has AM3+ support and stuff .. so it can be used to make a mean gaming machine . And what`s more you can build it in stages , lets say you are short on money right now first get just the board and CPU and ram and a 3450 , in a couple of months when the bank account has filed up you can sell the HD3450 on e-bay and by one HD4650 .. then in time another or change to a AM3+ CPU ... The boards with the 790 gives you the freedom to adapt your machine over time .
Hi Guys,
I read through the article and it says that the new HD3300 chipset handles 1080i nicely. How does it perform at 1080p with all the Sideport + addition shared memory etc?