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We had taken a look not so long ago at the 785G IGP video performance, in a two part article (Pt. I and Pt. II). Motherboard manufacturers obviously released products based on this brand new chipset as soon as the NDA was lifted.

This release is more oriented toward the mainstream and HTPC market though, so this is a little bit different than the high-end video card reviews we often publish. In fact, none of these motherboards support CrossfireX setups, even though the ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO and the Gigabyte MA785G-UD3H have two PCI-E x16 slots. The others only have one PCI-E x16 slot since they are mATX-sized. These are the MSI 785GM-E65, the ECS A785GM-M and the Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H. All of them support Hybrid Crossfire, which makes the integrated HD 4200 working with the low-end dedicated card for a substancial boost.

Furthermore, the dedicated graphics card can be disabled to save energy when performance is not needed. The HDMI output also makes them very suitable for an HTPC build; they can be hooked to an HDTV when running on the HD 4200.

They all feature an AM3 socket ready for the latest Athlon II & Phenom II processors and the faster DDR3 memory, except the ATX board from Gigabyte, which still has an AM2+ socket, meaning DDR2 memory must be used.

So I will put these five motherboards in direct comparison to determine which one is the best option for a given use.

As of now, they all retail for $90 dollars except the ASUS board. There is also a Mail-In rebate available on the ECS A785GM-M, bringing the cost down.

• ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO: $99.99
• MSI 785GM-E65: $89.99
• Gigabyte MA785G-UD3H: $89.99
• Gigabyte MA785GMT-UD2H: $89.99
• ECS 785GM-M: $89.99 ($71.99 after $18.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Let's now look carefully at each of them.