ECS A780GM-M3 780G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

$50 off SuperMicro 1U Barebone Server Intel 945GC Atom 230 coupon code SERVER1155X [Exp 11/8]

$40 off Onkyo TX-SR607 + FS coupon code RECEIVER1164 [Exp 11/8]

$40 off Onkyo TX-SR707 coupon code RECEIVER1154 [Exp 11/8]

$5 off Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor coupon code CPU1145 [Exp 11/10]

ZipZoomFly Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1156 Processor $175 Discuss (15)

ZipZoomFly Biostar P4M900M4 ATX Intel Motherboard $39 Discuss (4)

ZipZoomFly AMD Phenom II X4 955 Deneb 3.2GHz Processor $161 Discuss (5)

ZipZoomFly ASUS Rampage II GENE mATX Motherboard $192 Discuss (1)

has the integrated Radeon HD 3200... Best integrated video out there. Can play TF2, L4D, Crysis Demo decently...

Best integrated graphic for $47. GeForce 9300/9400 mGPU and AMD's own 790GX are better

Isn't the 780G with the side port memory the best? Not all 780G have this and I don't believe any of the 790G do. I could be wrong. If someone knows more about this chime in. I want to build a new HTPC and want to get the best integrated graphics solution. I prefer AMD due to the hybrid option available on some boards. Integrated low power under light loads, high power add in card kicks in only when needed. If I add a high power card in the future. Thinking 4870.

You should defl'y do more research on the compatible hybrid crossfire cards before you make a purchase decision.

from what I know, the 780 and 790 are only compatible with the lower end Radeon cards- I don't think the 4870 is one of them.

As for sideport I don't know much about it or do I have any experience with it since I got a first-gen 780g it was never available for my card. If you go with 64-bit OS, you could probably contribute more CPU RAM to VGA RAM...

...but for an htpc, i think this is a fantastic motherboard..

There's only limited cards supporting ATI Hybrid and the 3450 is the basic mainsteam (also see the attached chart) that work. You can get Hybrid Crossfire with most 780* some 790GX and 760G (see the chart) and double check with the mobo makers specifations. While I don't believe it actually able to power down the add-in board and run only on the IGP.
I believe Nvidia was trying to do that, although never heard any more. They called it Nvidia HybridPower and thought it would be for desktops when introduced, though I only see it as Hybrid SLI for Notebooks now.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/ati-hybrid-graphics/Pages/ati-hybrid-graphics.aspx

http://game.amd.com/us-en/content/images/crossfirex/CF_combo_chart.jpg

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2272629,00.asp

http://hothardware.com/Articles/AMD-780G-Chipset-and-Athlon-X2-4850e-Preview-/?page=1

http://www.nvidia.com/object/hybrid_sli.html

damn fine job cutter

The best integrated video is nForce 8200. Why? Because nVidia has better video drivers, and because it's stupid to pretend any integrated video is worth chosing for gaming when a $20 AR video card easily beats them all.

... and no, you should definitely not waste your time researching hybrid crossfire because it's a piddly insignificant difference compared spending a mere $50 on a normal video card, let alone more for a gaming card.

Main point is, there is no point talking about performance when it's a contrast of the slowest options out there besides Intel's integrated video. There isn't much difference in power consumption either if comparing a video card that merely gets double the performance of the best integrated video, when it's in 2D mode instead of 3D gaming.

Then there's the other reasons to avoid this, that it's ECS and has a rebate. You're not saving THAT much money over other options, the only real consolation here is that at least it's Newegg selling it so you won't have as much of a hassle if you need to return it.

I lost all interest in this MB when I saw the word "rebate".

To post comments, please Sign In or Register.       Forgot Password?

Registration takes seconds! Once registered you'll have members only access to a Favorites bookmark list, a fully customizable User Profile, and the ability to instantly add your thoughts to each discussion topic.