SPCR

AMD 690G (formerly ATI RS690) is due by the end of this month. It is positioned to replace NVIDIA GeForce 61x0 as the chipset of choice for Integrated Graphics systems on the AMD platform.

AMD claims their GPU is twice as fast as GeForce 6150 (link), though preliminary benchmarks are not as enthusiastic (link). Nevertheless, 690G should run cooler than GeForce 6150. It also implements AVIVO to compete with the PureVideo video enhancement capabilities of GeForce 6150.

Expect an extensive micro ATX roundup at AnandTech around the launch date with cross-chipset benchmarks.

One 690G-based board will be Asus M2A-VM. Its technical specifications were revealed two weeks ago at XtremeSystems (link). A higher-end variant called M2A-VM HDMI (images) adds a FireWire port and an expansion card with HDMI and HDTV outputs. It's still unknown whether a Digital Home variant is also in the works. Features I'd like to see: eSATA, WiFi, Remote Control, Analog Devices audio codec, SPDIF in & out.

Today Asus uploaded the M2A-VM user's manual (link). One section that caught my attention:

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In essense it means one can undervolt the CPU at BIOS level in a reliable manner without depending on software. In theory this should work together with Cool'n'Quiet. This as far as I know is a "first" for Asus. Cheers

This is great news! Good catch, too. So... any way this thread could be merged with this one? Not just because I started that one.

In theory this should work together with Cool'n'Quiet

This is rarely the case. Cool and Quiet usually resets the voltage set in the bios. Still, this is great for those who like bios undervolting.

I see. For some reason I'd thought otherwise. Thanks for the correction.

There's a review of this board here.

Looks like performance is about same as the M2NPV-NM for most non-graphic benchmarks. For graphics it does out outperform, but most new games are still pretty much unplayable.

Also seems only to have a little power savings over the nVidia 6150 from one of the reviews comparing the MSI version.

Big round up of AMD 690 reviews over at DailyTech.