Anyone using the On Board Video of an AMD 780 or 790 Chipset

I was wondering how users liked the on board video of the AMD 780 and 790
chipsets.

In the hybrid crossfire with a 3450/3470 it would appear to be pretty
good - not as good as an individual 4850 though. I was going to build a
computer for one of my kids using a 790 GX chipset and a Tri Core Phenom and
they play a lot of Sims2 .. would just the on board video alone play a game
like the Sims2 or would it need the hybrid crossfire .. or is better to get
a MB that doesn't have onboard video and just get a decent video card?

"Wookie" <Tom@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:_JWdnej9jPZUECzVnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>I was wondering how users liked the on board video of the AMD 780 and 790
>chipsets.
>
> In the hybrid crossfire with a 3450/3470 it would appear to be pretty
> good - not as good as an individual 4850 though.

Under ideal circumstances, Hybrid Crossfire combines two bottom-feeder video
chipsets (790GX integrated video + 3450) into a setup that doesn't suck as
badly. Onboard video is really just a drop in the bucket, negligible.

> I was going to build a computer for one of my kids using a 790 GX chipset
> and a Tri Core Phenom and they play a lot of Sims2 .. would just the on
> board video alone play a game like the Sims2 or would it need the hybrid
> crossfire .. or is better to get a MB that doesn't have onboard video and
> just get a decent video card?

What makes you think Hybrid Crossfire will be fast enough for Sims2? :-) The
3450 has the capabilities of a high-end card from 8 years ago (Geforce3
era). Better to save some money on the CPU/motherboard and get a decent
video card. The 4850 is *eight times* as fast as the 3450 at higher
resolutions.

--
"War is the continuation of politics by other means.
It can therefore be said that politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."

The SIMS2 is played quite well on video cards that are many years old ... it
is not a demanding game.

This review
http://www.digit-life.com/articles3/...ipsets-p4.html
shows these chipsets and video cards are not totally inept .. to the
contrary. Not the cutting edge but not crummy either, I was just hoping
that some one who actually has the 790/780 chipset and hybrid combo would
comment. Sure the 4850 is many times faster .. the 4850 is many times
faster than an ATI 9800 ,, but the 9800 pro plays the SIMS2 quite
adequately.

"First of One" <root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:rtadnbttOMNvVyzVnZ2dnUVZ_hWdnZ2d@giganews.com ...
> "Wookie" <Tom@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:_JWdnej9jPZUECzVnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>>I was wondering how users liked the on board video of the AMD 780 and 790
>>chipsets.
>>
>> In the hybrid crossfire with a 3450/3470 it would appear to be pretty
>> good - not as good as an individual 4850 though.
>
> Under ideal circumstances, Hybrid Crossfire combines two bottom-feeder
> video
> chipsets (790GX integrated video + 3450) into a setup that doesn't suck as
> badly. Onboard video is really just a drop in the bucket, negligible.
>
>> I was going to build a computer for one of my kids using a 790 GX chipset
>> and a Tri Core Phenom and they play a lot of Sims2 .. would just the on
>> board video alone play a game like the Sims2 or would it need the hybrid
>> crossfire .. or is better to get a MB that doesn't have onboard video and
>> just get a decent video card?
>
> What makes you think Hybrid Crossfire will be fast enough for Sims2? :-)
> The
> 3450 has the capabilities of a high-end card from 8 years ago (Geforce3
> era). Better to save some money on the CPU/motherboard and get a decent
> video card. The 4850 is *eight times* as fast as the 3450 at higher
> resolutions.
>
> --
> "War is the continuation of politics by other means.
> It can therefore be said that politics is war without
> bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."
>
>

"Wookie" <Tom@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:_-KdnUVBC_d8aCzVnZ2dnUVZ_h-dnZ2d@comcast.com...
> The SIMS2 is played quite well on video cards that are many years old ...
> it is not a demanding game.

<Whoosh>

The 3450 has a 64-bit memory interface. It will be lucky to run at 1/3 the
speed of a 9800 Pro...

BTW, decent 790GX motherboards with 128MB of "Sideport" video RAM (it's what
keeps them from being totally inept) are at least $150. Better to cut back
on the motherboard and spend more on the video card.

--
"War is the continuation of politics by other means.
It can therefore be said that politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."

"Wookie" <Tom@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:_-KdnUVBC_d8aCzVnZ2dnUVZ_h-dnZ2d@comcast.com...
> The SIMS2 is played quite well on video cards that are many years old ...
> it is not a demanding game.
>
> This review
> http://www.digit-life.com/articles3/...ipsets-p4.html
> shows these chipsets and video cards are not totally inept .. to the
> contrary. Not the cutting edge but not crummy either, I was just hoping
> that some one who actually has the 790/780 chipset and hybrid combo would
> comment. Sure the 4850 is many times faster .. the 4850 is many times
> faster than an ATI 9800 ,, but the 9800 pro plays the SIMS2 quite
> adequately.
>
> "First of One" <root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
> news:rtadnbttOMNvVyzVnZ2dnUVZ_hWdnZ2d@giganews.com ...
>> "Wookie" <Tom@comcast.net> wrote in message
>> news:_JWdnej9jPZUECzVnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>>>I was wondering how users liked the on board video of the AMD 780 and 790
>>>chipsets.
>>>
>>> In the hybrid crossfire with a 3450/3470 it would appear to be pretty
>>> good - not as good as an individual 4850 though.
>>
>> Under ideal circumstances, Hybrid Crossfire combines two bottom-feeder
>> video
>> chipsets (790GX integrated video + 3450) into a setup that doesn't suck
>> as
>> badly. Onboard video is really just a drop in the bucket, negligible.
>>
>>> I was going to build a computer for one of my kids using a 790 GX
>>> chipset
>>> and a Tri Core Phenom and they play a lot of Sims2 .. would just the on
>>> board video alone play a game like the Sims2 or would it need the hybrid
>>> crossfire .. or is better to get a MB that doesn't have onboard video
>>> and
>>> just get a decent video card?
>>
>> What makes you think Hybrid Crossfire will be fast enough for Sims2? :-)
>> The
>> 3450 has the capabilities of a high-end card from 8 years ago (Geforce3
>> era). Better to save some money on the CPU/motherboard and get a decent
>> video card. The 4850 is *eight times* as fast as the 3450 at higher
>> resolutions.

"Wookie" <Tom@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:_JWdnej9jPZUECzVnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>I was wondering how users liked the on board video of the AMD 780 and 790
>chipsets.
>
> In the hybrid crossfire with a 3450/3470 it would appear to be pretty
> good - not as good as an individual 4850 though. I was going to build a
> computer for one of my kids using a 790 GX chipset and a Tri Core Phenom
> and they play a lot of Sims2 .. would just the on board video alone play a
> game like the Sims2 or would it need the hybrid crossfire .. or is better
> to get a MB that doesn't have onboard video and just get a decent video
> card?
The 780 & 790 are ideal for HTPC use - they can cope easily with 720/1080
HD. Most buyers of the 780g are using them for this purpose. It works out
cheaper than a mobo + separate HD video card, plus low power consumption &
low noise level.
If only occasionally used for games, the on-board graphics are fine for
games like half-life 2 and UT2003. Tom's Hardware pitch the 780g graphics on
the same level as an Nvidia FX5900
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Gaming...w-30439-8.html
And as I have both, I think the comparison is spot-on.
However, if you add a 3450 or 3470 in, you loose any price advantage, 'cos
you could get a cheaper mobo and a better video card like the 3650 (ddr3)
for about the same. You loose the low power consumption and maybe the low
noise. For some idea, the 780g using onboard video gets a Vista overall
graphics score of 3.5. Adding a 3450 bumps it to about 4.3.
I like the 780g - it is suberb for an HTPC using the onboard graphics,
especially if paired with a Phenom (B3). But if you want a more
games-centric PC, better value to get a mobo without onboard graphics and a
better video card.

What 'performance - games centric' MB would you get if you had a 9950 (B3)
Phenom and then purchase a better video card?

"GTS" <gts123SPAM-NO!@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:wlBtk.123376$gM4.116974@newsfe25.ams2...
>
> "Wookie" <Tom@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:_JWdnej9jPZUECzVnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>>I was wondering how users liked the on board video of the AMD 780 and 790
>>chipsets.
>>
>> In the hybrid crossfire with a 3450/3470 it would appear to be pretty
>> good - not as good as an individual 4850 though. I was going to build a
>> computer for one of my kids using a 790 GX chipset and a Tri Core Phenom
>> and they play a lot of Sims2 .. would just the on board video alone play
>> a game like the Sims2 or would it need the hybrid crossfire .. or is
>> better to get a MB that doesn't have onboard video and just get a decent
>> video card?
> The 780 & 790 are ideal for HTPC use - they can cope easily with 720/1080
> HD. Most buyers of the 780g are using them for this purpose. It works out
> cheaper than a mobo + separate HD video card, plus low power consumption &
> low noise level.
> If only occasionally used for games, the on-board graphics are fine for
> games like half-life 2 and UT2003. Tom's Hardware pitch the 780g graphics
> on the same level as an Nvidia FX5900
> http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Gaming...w-30439-8.html
> And as I have both, I think the comparison is spot-on.
> However, if you add a 3450 or 3470 in, you loose any price advantage, 'cos
> you could get a cheaper mobo and a better video card like the 3650 (ddr3)
> for about the same. You loose the low power consumption and maybe the low
> noise. For some idea, the 780g using onboard video gets a Vista overall
> graphics score of 3.5. Adding a 3450 bumps it to about 4.3.
> I like the 780g - it is suberb for an HTPC using the onboard graphics,
> especially if paired with a Phenom (B3). But if you want a more
> games-centric PC, better value to get a mobo without onboard graphics and
> a better video card.
>