There is space for a larger chipset heatsink, though this isn't required because the AMD 690G is fine with small passive aluminum heatsink. As a bonus, it's totally silent.

On the rear I/O we find all the different connectivity ports from displays to the USB and audio headers. The MSI K9AG Neo2 Digital motherboard supports dual analog and digital monitors at the same time however the DVI port does not work with DVI to analog converters. The HDMI jack integrates digital audio in with the video signal.

AMD 690G / ATI RS690 Chipset

The AMD 690G (previously known as the ATI RS690) is designed with Microsoft Windows Vista in mind, specifically for Vista's AeroGlass feature. It's the integrated video capabilities that really make this chipset stand out; it supports all of AMD's 32-bit and 64-bit Socket AM2 processors and features a Radeon Xpress 1250 DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics core.

AMD's 690G is built on TSMC's 80nm manufacturing process, even though AMD has its own fabrication plants.

The Radeon X1250 is based on the Radeon X700 architecture, albeit with four rendering pipelines. That gives AMD a 3D performance advantage over comparable integrated nVIDIA graphics cards like the GeForce 6100 series, but not necessarily against the nVidia Geforce 7050. The integrated videocard supports one TV output DAC for TV output, and HDCP natively (something the GeForce 6100 series doesn't) through DVI and HDMI.

The AMD 690G chipset unmasked on MSI's K9AG Neo2 Digital motherboard.

Within the AMD 690G, the Radeon Xpress 1250 videocard supports dual monitors (one digital and one analog display). If you want to run dual monitors, one will have to be analog and the second digital, DVI to analog converters do not work with the Radeon Xpress 1250, so you cannot connect two analog monitors onto the onboard videocard.

Should you want to use a stand alone videocard the AMD 690G supports a PCI Express x16 slot. The Radeon Xpress 1250 videocard shares up to 512MB of installed system memory. The AMD 690G supports up to four PCI Express x1 slots along with six PCI bus mastering slots, although it's up to the motherboard manufacturer to implement things. There are generally four Serial ATA II ports and a single Ultra/133 IDE controller, coming from the AMD SB600 Southbridge.

Also integrated is are ten USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit MAC and a 7.1 channel High Definition audio controller. The AMD's 690G chipset is a real challenger to nVIDIA's old GeForce 6100-series and the new Geforce 7050 chipset, but whether it truly is faster and a good alternative is something we'll find out in just a moment.

Overclocking the MSI K9AG Neo2 Digital is next in this PCSTATS review...