AMD 785G Chipset Launch: ASUS and Gigabyte

For the AMD 785G chipset launch, ASUS is ready with three different implementations; two mATX boards and one ATX. There's the M4A785D-M PRO and the M4A785TD-M EVO; the two mATX boards. The ATX board is the M4A785TD-V EVO and we have it in the lab today.

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ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO Motherboard Specifications & Features

Processor and Chipset Based on AMD 785G chipset AMD SB710 southbridge Supports AMD AM3 Processors Memory 4 x DIMM (Max. 16 GB combined) Support DDR3 1800 / 1600 / 1333 / 1066 / 800 ECC, Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory Dual channel memory architecture     Expansion Slot 2 x PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x16 + x4) 2 x PCI-Express x1 3 x Conventional PCI slot     Video Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200 GPU Hybrid CrossFireX Support 128MB SidePort Memory - onboard DDR3 1333 Maximum shared memory of 512MB Storage 5 x SATA 3Gb/s ports (RAID 0,1,10,JBOD) 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s port 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices     Audio Integrated VIA VT1708S audio codec 8-channel audio Networking Integrated Realtek RTL 8112L LAN Supports 10Mb/s, 100Mb/s and 1000Mb/s     Internal IO ATX 24-pin power connector ATX 4-pin 12V power connector 3 x FAN connectors 1 x CD-in connector 1 x Front panel audio connector 1 x Front panel header 1 x Chassis intrusion switch connector 3 x USB 2.0 front-panel connectors 1 x IEEE 1394a connector 5 x SATA II connectors 1 x COM connector 1 x LPT connector 1 x IDE connector 1 x S/PDIF Out Header

Back Panel I/O 1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Combo port 1 x DVI 1 x D-Sub 1 x HDMI 1 x eSATA 1 x S/PDIF Out (Optical) 1 x IEEE 1394a 1 x RJ45 LAN 6 x USB 2.0/1.1 8 -Channel Audio I/O Accessories 1 x User's manual 1 x Driver & Utility DVD 1 x I/O Shield 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable 4 x SATA cable 1 x Q-Connector Special Features  - 100% Solid Capacitors  - 8+2 phase power design  - ASUS Green EPU  - ASUS GPU NOS  - ASUS TurboV  - Turbo Key  - ASUS Express Gate   ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 9.6 inch (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm) click to enlarge

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The first thing you'll notice about the ASUS 785G boards are the long and cryptic model names. In this case 'PRO' doesn't seem to mean "better" since the M4A785D-M PRO is the only one of the three that doesn't have SidePort memory while the two EVOs both pack 128MB of DDR3-1333. SidePort memory is integrated RAM dedicated to the IGP and its presence noticeably boosts performance over using shared memory alone. The M4A785TD-V EVO supports 512MB of memory sharing along with the SidePort memory for a possible maximum of 640MB of video memory. However, remember that the "shared" part of shared memory means that 512MB will be coming out of your available system memory so plenty of RAM is recommended.

The ATX form factor M4A785TD-V EVO is the most fully featured of ASUS' three 785G boards, with two PCI-E x16 slots which support Hybrid CrossFireX, allowing two discrete graphics cards to link up with the onboard IGP for a three-way CrossFire configuration. Hybrid graphics, referring to the ability to link an IGP with a discrete graphics chip, is a neat feature that can really boost the system's performance when using lower performance chips like the Radeon 3450, but higher performance hardware will perform better alone.

Feature-wise, the M4A785TD-V EVO is pretty packed. There is a full implementation of every one of the 785G's main features as well as some extras. The bundle is also quite good, including everything you might need to get started like four SATA cables, an IDE cable and a Q-connector set.