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3DMark Vantage is the stunning sequel to 3DMark 06, which is also going to be run. Futuremark's benchmarking programs have always been at the center of every bragging match; the best way to show that one has got the greatest gaming rig is to show the highest 3DMark score. These benchmarks put systems through a series of strenuous tests, and provides the user with a score to brag about!
It's always interesting to see what an IGP can do in these well known benchmarks. A score of 9197 in 06... this is the score I remember I was getting on my 8800GT rig at stock. Pretty impressive! As for 3DMark Vantage, it shows a similar GPU lead that was found with Bobcat.
next: PCMark Vantage & 7 »
So, with just this processor, that costs $135, you can get the same performance of a lower mid ranged dedicated GPU in games, and also a quad core processor that performs well in just one chip?
If I'm correct in that, would you recommend, if my friend wants to buy a gaming PC but has a restricted budget, that this would be something to buy until he can afford a better dedicated GPU?
Like, if his budget is $500, I could buy this chip for $135, mobo $50, RAM $35, Case $50, HDD $50, PSU $60, and a copy of Windows 7 for a total of $480, and he'd be able to play most games at medium - high settings on a 1080p HDTV, with playable framerates (in the 30's)?
That way he could save the $200 he'd need for a 6870 or something?
Also, if they're doing this, I don't see the point in buying dedicated graphics cards for the lower mid-range (usually around $80 - $120) anymore? So wouldn't this chip effectively make all those cards useless, due to the fact that you get a quad core CPU and the power of one of those $80-$120 dedicated cards for $135, instead of $250+?
The PC you have described here is exactly the market segment Llano is aiming at: casual gaming with a decent level of graphics and incredible capabilities for HTPCs. As such, it is a good build.
The lower mid-range cards are still going to be present for systems without integrated graphics, or for those with too weak ones.
Also, one thing I haven't talked about yet, as there is so much to say, is the dual graphics capability; one can add a dedicated graphics card and run both together, much like Hybrid Crossfire did with previous chipsets. The compatible cards are the lower-end segment, up to the Radeon HD 6670. I am going to add a word about it in the review, and ultimately I would like to test that out in a separate article.
Yes, on top of that you could see it easily tangling with the Phenom II 980 without much trouble at a lower clock speed even.
I would say yes, the money spent on a lower end card unless it's a previous generation would probably be wasted, there are exceptions. I know for a while they were blowing out 5850's and such for around $119.
Seeing the same benchmarks but the AMD meeting at E3 leaves me to believe yes they're aiming for exactly that, out of the box playable gaming without needing to strap in a mid-high range card to the cost as well.
The whole pricing structure is due for a shift at this point and they're stacking cards behind the APU as the new standard of basic computing. If we looked at the volume sales of the 5450 and such I have doubts that the highest selling market would be the mass consumers, chances are volume sales to OEM's would be on the list. With that said they're just reducing the build / material cost to the companies.
I doubt we'll see them kill the value market entirely but they do want to showcase how high processing power can be combined with playable video power in a single package.
I've honestly heard nothing on this or the actual release of it, the only stuff I've heard was speculation on the APU and how it would work (which got me very excited).
If this is all the case, I don't see why it wouldn't become very mainstream, and a way for big name companies to market this heavily saying that for such a price point, it can play games (like Sims 3, WoW, etc. for the mainstream casual market).
I mean, I have a few people interested in me building them some new computers, because theirs are getting old, with budgets of around $400 - $500... One is a console gamer who I've been trying to get into PC gaming, and the other is a casual gamer who plays WoW, Sims 3, and things of that nature. I would most definitely buy this for these people, and even for the other 3 who don't play games, just in case they want to in the future, or want to try some games.
This just seems very revolutionary for casual gamers (which make up majority of gamers), and the only time I've even heard of its release or really anything on it has been on Neoseeker, today.
Actually a lot of the thunder got taken for Sandy Bridge a few months back :/ as a revolution to how a single chip could do graphics and processing to reduce the need for a dedicated GPU. The lack of inclusion of course is a downer in this case because the market pricing is radically different. I know the SB chips are floating high and the A8-3850 is killing the 980 for less and probably able to dance with some of the lower end SB chips in CPU power and probably dominating on GPU power.
This is pretty much aimed right at those users, it takes the steps out of building and the need to pick based on what the rep at Bestbuy or Frys might be pushing on you. The FX line coming soon will address the hardcore market in a similar manner. The guy I spoke with noted they're looking with 32nm to push an 8 core out that is able to use AOD/ACC to deactivate 4 cores and push the remaining 4 up to 4.5Ghz or so.
Unfortunately our hardware news is pretty flat at this point, not sure if Sean (Chautemoc) might be up for helping get someone back on top of that area. After Kevin we had some trouble getting a steady hardware news guy in there and eventually it came to a halt.