|
|
AMD to release new integrated chipset
Author: Brett ThomasPublished: 14th February 2007
The 690G could be the first integrated chipset with both DVI and HDMI support.
The new chipset is said to be dubbed the "690G", and will be part of an AM2 socket solution. Though integrated graphics rarely offer something special, though, this one is rumoured to do things differently. If the leaked specifications are right, it appears that this will be the first integrated chipset to feature both native HDMI and DVI out. And with a typical cost to motherboard makers said to be about $80, it won't even break the bank.
Though it will likely be far from a powerhouse, the 690G will definitely fill a market void - particularly in the HTPC sector. HDMI out along with DVI will prevent the need for a separate, discrete graphics card for any modern day HDTV connection. This not only lowers the cost of the systems, but also reduces heat - many HTPC setups require passive cards for silence, and the cramped space then can cause thermal issues.
Having the 690G coupled with an energy-efficient X2 processor should make a pretty powerful (and very affordable) HTPC solution. We'll be looking forward to the rumoured release at the end of this month, and hopefully see it start appearing on uATX motherboards shortly after, with a greater takeup than the previous ATI integrated chipsets.
Do you have a thought on the news? Tell us about it in our forums.
Recent articles on bit-tech.net
Comments (21)
Stats: 0.184 seconds
L J
Either way, it could be the same output just to 2 plugs, but ofc not everyone uses HDMI, so you really should offer DVI
nothing new and I suspect from the news posts about HDCP and HDIM that bit-tech fears offending there advertisers? (I notice alot of graphics card manufactures advertise here).
"We're under NDA at the moment" this troubles me if you sign NDA's how can you claim to be a journalist?
by reading your site I trust your judgment on hardware to dictate my future purchases but how can I for much longer with NDA's and strange over enthusiastic press releases?
to employ staff bit-tech must have a decent cash flow, can't you buy the hardware and sell it on at a slight loss instead of signing NDA's?
*the return to apples to apples comparisons was a good step in the right dirrection
AFAIK, its the only way they get to have some hands on experience with the hardware...
I'd rather wait for the NDA to lift and have some informed opinions than the mis-informed ramblings of some 'journalist' who's never even see the hardware in the flesh much less used it.
I do see your point, that it seems hardware makers are dictating what can be published.
But as long as its only when something's published rather than what's published they influence, then I'm happy. :)
I think the inquirer has a no NDA policy
I'm not suggesting the bit-tech staff are consiously editing articals to be favorable it's just hard to trust a source that has already denied knowlaged based on the veiws of someone there ment to be critical of.
DVI also sends analog signals (which the crts used) and the digital (most lcds use) and iirc hdmi only uses digital signals
I'll agree that more pins should mean "better", more pins most always does mean that the connector has the physical capability to provide a "better" link. However, take the SATA power connector for example, it has like 15 pins but those pins only have 5 functions (12v, 5v, 3.3v and 2 grounds).
L J
It is Never EVER the case that "what is published", only when. NDAs are common in every industry and if you want top class reviews with lots of detail and kit to review you have to abide by them. It's got nothing to do with advertisers, only AMD. I have all the detail here on the 690G, but we're waiting a board to test fully and I'll be writing about it in some depth later this month. FYI: ExtremeTech's article is wrong in several respects. I'd love to confirm with you what they are and reply to your comments but I'd also like to go to future AMD events :) The Inq has a no NDA policy but they also get things wrong quite often and never get invited to official industry events.
There's nothing cryptic or conspiracy about it: we just cant officially comment on an unreleased product. Yet. ;)
http://www.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=Fatal1ty+F-I90HD&fMTYPE=LGA775&pPRODINFO=Specifications&fSEARCHTEXT=Fatal1ty%20F-I90HD
Hope that clears some things up on why we follow NDAs...and for the record, we would never sign one that required anything more of us than to wait for a particular release date - if it's got any stipulation on what we can or can't report from that day forward, we don't sign it.
That has got to be the funniest post I've read in a very long time on any forum.
Let's start with the obvious stuff first - HDCP is not limited to HDMI and is just as aplicable to DVI. In fact most new monitors are shipping with HDCP compliant DVI ports, specifically so that they can playback protected content.
Then we have "crappy" audio :) As is rightly pointed out above, HDMI can carry the highest quality audio, including completely lossless codecs like Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD. Unless you're indicating that these codecs are "crappy" of course, but having listened to some TrueHD mixes over HDMI at Dolby's labs recently, I can assure you that they're not!
Then we have the issue of NDAs, which aparently call journalistic integrity into question :)
The non-disclosure agreement is a way for companies to brief key journalists well in advance of a launch. This means that guys like Tim can start working on a review LONG before that product hits the streets, thus giving his readers the best possible information.
There is nothing underhand about adhering to an NDA, it just means that manufacturers can launch a product when it's ready, and journalists can have enough time to formulate quality editorial.
The fact that the Inquirer doesn't sign NDAs doesn't make them more trustworthy, it just means that they can publish every snippet of information that they get without fear of a law suit, AND as was mentioned above, much of that information often turns out to be wrong.
As for buying hardware to review and then selling it on, that's just hysterical. So, what you're saying is that journalists shouldn't even start the review process until the product is already widely available on the street. Then, while consumers are already buying it, journos should start testing and come up with an in depth review that is then published just as the initial buying frenzy has ended!
So, do you think that the guys on Top Gear buy all the cars they test? No? Why not? Do you think that film reviewers just try to book a ticket for opening night at the movies, so that no one reads their review until after the big opening weekend? No? Why not? Surely your suggested model applies to all types of journalism?
On the sata power connector front, that actually only uses 4-5 wires, but has 15 pins, this is to distribute the current more evenly across the pins, allowing "hot plugging" to be done much better (if you've ever hot plugged a hard drive with a molex, you may have seen the large spark arking between the connector and pin - not a good sign as that is a large surge)
a lot of good power supplies do have the extra 3.3v line connected though
finally, back on topic, NDA's are the only way to get pre-launch experience, how do you think bit-tech always has these articles ready on the day of release, for eg the 8800GTX review that was launched
At least i would assume that bit-tech will not go around releasing snippets of information (like this article) that are incorrect, they just wouldn't publish them
Or were you just confirming for the other readers? :)