INtel INtegrated

For most hardware enthusiasts and gamers, mentioning "graphics accelerator" would immediately bring to mind "NVIDIA" and/or "ATi". The rest of the world's PC users who can't tell a GPU from a CPU, and thinks that they don't have graphical acceleration built in their PC, are more likely than not, to be using Intel engineered graphics chipsets. Mind you, that alone takes up a lion's share of the graphics accelerator market.

Think about it; imagine the dozens of Dell PCs running at your workplace which all have their VGA connectors stuck right on the motherboard. Think about how many offices are running similar PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Packard Bell, Acer and numerous other system integrators. Think of Aunt Susie's trojan infested PC, or maybe Uncle Thomas's Facebook machine. Maybe your cousin's complaining he can't run Serious Sam 2 or Quake 4 because his desktop is allergic to them or simply because he's greeted with not-so-interactive PowerPoint slides during gameplay. Think of how many machines of this nature are scattered over the globe compared to the all-so-orgasmic SLI/Crossfire Quad Core/SMP you're viewing this review on. All of a sudden, Big Brother Intel seems to have shrunk AMD and NVIDIA out of proportion. Massive 12 inch long cards can induce spasms in dyed-in-the-wool geeks but the rest of the world are living the IGP way of life. More likely than not, the Intel IGP way of life.

Of course, Big Brother's here to stay.

Now that AMD has ATi under it's wings, Intel appears more than intent on gearing up for the competition. Recent acquisitions of Neoptica and Havok could suggest that Intel is going into specialist graphical solutions. What we have here today is nothing mean and wild. It is not the testosterone-pumping, ego-boosting greens or reds that enthusiasts are so used to. It's an IGP motherboard made by a (generally) well regarded motherboard maker that offers a couple of new tricks up the sleeve, including DX10 and Video acceleration. Of particular interest to users would be the HDMI port embedded onboard allowing connection to the latest displays with HDMI support.

Yep, that's right. If you want a PC in the living room that allows you access to your endless collection of (insert favourite genre of media here) right in the comfort of the couch, you should keep yourself interested enough to read about what Intel and Asus has with us today.

G35 Specifications

Integrated Graphics Device
  • Core frequency of 400 MHz
  • 1.6 GP/s pixel rate
  • High-Quality 3D Setup and Render Engine
  • High-Quality Texture Engine
  • 3D Graphics Rendering Enhancements
  • 2D Graphics
  • Video Overlay
  • Multiple Overlay Functionality
    • Analog Display
  • 350 MHz Integrated 24-bit RAMDAC
  • Up to 2048x1536 @ 75 Hz refresh
  • Hardware Color Cursor Support
  • DDC2B Compliant Interface
    • Digital Display
  • SDVO ports in single mode supported
  • 225 MHz dot clock on each 12-bit interface
  • Flat panels up to 2048x1536 @ 60 Hz or digital CRT/HDTV at 1400x1050 @ 85Hz
  • Dual independent display options with digital display
  • Multiplexed digital display channels (supported with ADD2 Card).
  • Supports TMDS transmitters or TV-Out encoders
  • ADD2/MEC card uses PCI Express graphics x16 connector
  • Two channels multiplexed with PCI Express* Graphics port
  • Supports Hot-Plug and Display