Computex 2009: Hardware Preview

AMD 785G motherboards make an appearance

We're not an Intel P55 news channel, don't worry! AMD's latest 785G Northbridge features an updated UVD 2.0 engine for the same integrated 7.1 channel High-Definition sound support current 4000-series ATI GPUs enjoy making it an interesting item to consider if you're building a media PC.

As we can see from the Northbridge (and the ECS board named below), AMD had originally intended to call the 785G the 880G, but then felt it wasn’t yet enough of a core performance upgrade to raise the name. I have to say, well done to AMD for having the balls not to just go “WOW SOMETHING NEW!” about a product which is really an incremental improvement. While we think the addition of UVD 2.0 and ACC is essential for the AMD arsenal, the 785G name was the right one to go with.

Gigabyte

The microATX Gigabyte board is basically the same as the one we reviewed last year for the 780G, however it now features Ultra Durable 3 technology with a 2oz copper PCB, and AM2+/AM3 CPU support. There are five S-ATA ports (the sixth is used for eSATA on the rear I/O), and there's still IDE for a bit of backward compatibility. Sound still comes from the very good Realtek ALC889a, and connectivity is improved by Realtek Gigabit Ethernet.

Coupled with that, there's the updated SB710 Southbridge that features Advanced Clock Calibration (ACC) for improved overclocking and a fixed clockgen (broken in the original SB700). There's still no RAID 5 support - that's saved for the SB750 alone, but the rest of the features are identical to what's gone before.

The Rear I/O features three video outputs: VGA, DVI and HDMI, but AMD has still limited the Northbridge IGP to just one digital output, only allowing either the DVI or HDMI to be used independently.

Possibly the greatest thing Gigabyte has done for AMD is the unofficial converting of tri-core to quad-core across all boards that feature dual BIOS. While AMD does not condone opening the fourth core, Gigabyte will ship the boards with the backup BIOS that has this hidden option.

To access it you need to set the “EC Firmware Selection” to Hybrid then ACC to Auto; the BIOS will automatically redetect a tri-core CPU as a quad-core without you even having to reset the system! Gigabyte will launch the sneaky feature on all its new boards, as well as progressively update current AM2+/AM3 boards with SB750 (since ACC is required) as well. Kudos to Gigabyte for researching and adding yet another well designed BIOS feature to its already industry leading technological arsenal.

ECS

ECS A880GM-M is ECS’ first microATX Black Series (not to be confused with AMD’s Black Edition) board. The Black Series is specifically designed for performance, or so ECS claims, although the AMD 785G chipset isn’t exactly a performance nut's first choice. Unlike the Gigabyte board above, it features an AM3/DDR3 1,333MHz combination only, but it also has a few more features than the Gigabyte, such as a larger heatsink on the Northbridge and another to cool the CPU power MOSFETs as well. The Titanium (colour) anodised aluminium heatsink designs are lovely, but we just wish ECS would get a little more brand colour co-ordinated.

The six S-ATA ports face outwards, making cable routing easier, and ECS includes an extra two eSATA ports on the rear I/O, powered by a JMicron JMB362 chipset. Like the Gigabyte there's VGA, DVI and HDMI outputs, a single Gigabit Ethernet from a Realtek RTL8111D and 7.1 channel High-Definition surround sound from Realtek AALC888S, and the ECS also features S/PDIF out as well.