Asus M3N78 PRO

INTRODUCTION

It’s quite interesting to see the computer industry go full circle and experience the resurfacing of old technologies. Because the computer industry is always standing on the cutting edge, it is not often that we see the returning of old ideas, since newer technologies are often faster and better.  However, lately, we have seen a surge of old technology such as SLI. We have also seen a resurgence of integrated graphics processors (IGP). These IGPs were originally meant to be used with a low-cost system, where users were never going to be playing games on their desktop, except for Solitaire.  NVIDIA has changed the landscapes with their plans to incorporate new IGPs - which they call "motherboard GPU" or "mGPU" - on every chipset.

A few months ago, NVIDIA announced that any future chipset from the company would come with an integrated graphic chip built-in. This may come as a surprise to many enthusiasts, as many of us will never purchase a motherboard with integrated graphics since we are always going to need something stronger.  However, in this increasingly environmentally-conscious world, going green is the talk of the town, and NVIDIA has taken this on by incorporating mGPU to their chipset. Confused? Read on.

The rationale behind NVIDIA’s decision is that while we need a super powerful graphics card in games, the computer system is actually not going to need all that graphical power while it is running desktop applications. In many cases, enthusiasts are using computers for web browsing, working, and running non-graphically intensive applications. It would be wasteful to have a powerful 3D graphics card sitting idle during these applications, wasting precious electrical power. Thus, by incorporating mGPU and combining it with NVIDIA’s “Hybrid power”, the computer is able to reduce the power usage (and energy bill) by switching off the discrete graphics card and using only the integrated graphics for low-demand applications. When the demand for graphic power increases, the dedicated graphic card will then kick in.

NVIDIA launched their first mGPU at CES 2008, and today we are going to take a look at their GeForce 8300 chipset courtesy of Asus.  

ASUS:  The Company

ASUS, a technology-oriented company blessed with one of the world's top R&D teams, is well known for high-quality and innovative technology. As a leading provider of 3C (computers, communications and consumer electronics) total solutions, ASUS offers a complete product portfolio to compete in the new millennium.

In 2006, the company shipped 55 million motherboards, which means one in three desktop PCs sold last year was powered by an ASUS motherboard. Our 2006 revenues reached US$16.5 billion, and is expected to garner US$23 billion in 2007.

ASUS products' top quality stems from product development. It's like learning Chinese Kung-Fu; one must begin with cultivating the "Chi" and inner strength. Besides innovating cutting-edge features, ASUS engineers also pay special attention to EMI (electromagnetic interference), thermal, acoustics and details that usually go unnoticed to achieve complete customer satisfaction. ASUS notebooks are the first TCO'99-certified notebooks worldwide. The requirements for this honor include radiation emission control, energy (battery consumption), ecology (environment friendly) and ergonomics.

To succeed in this ultra-competitive industry, great products need to be complimented by speed-to-market, cost and service. That's why all 100,000 over employees of ASUS strive for the "ASUS Way of Total Quality Management" to offer the best quality without compromising cost and time-to-market while providing maximum value to all customers through world-class services.

With unyielding commitment to innovation and quality, ASUS won 2,168 awards in 2006, meaning on average, the company received over 5 awards everyday last year. BusinessWeek ranked ASUS amongst its “InfoTech 100” for the 9th straight year. The readers of Tom's Hardware Guide, the world's largest IT website, selected ASUS as the best maker of motherboards and graphics cards. Furthermore, the company is ranked as No.1 in quality products and services by the Wall Street Journal.