Nice demo but nothing that's relevant to 90%+ of the users of this forum as we use discrete graphics cards. Even the background video in the latter part of the test is irrelevant, as that would be CUDA-accelerated in my system.
Nice demo for lower-end user setups though.
Actually you ARE missing the point, completely, does your system have a Nvidia CPU in? No, well you're seeing IGP's but ALSO cpu ONLY workloads going on. One of the best things about the video is not that Llano trashes Intel in video playback, in several incredibly cpu intensive workloads the AMD
SYSTEM is simply smoother.
The point being, a high quality APU , despite your discrete gfx, leads to a more responsive system while doing ANYTHING, not just graphics workloads.
Infact thats more relevant in the video than the gpu power, though that will be part of it, the more you can offload to the GPU the more cpu resources you have for everything else.
What you could maybe suggest from the video is an 8 threaded Intel Sandybridge offers less good multi-tasking than the upcoming MIDRANGE AMD cpu, and Bulldozer is going to take that even further.
Smoother is smoother, yes you might not run a video, and a game, and a 3d rendering while compiling a database, but you might, a game can run essentially a data base of massive data compilation like Supreme commander, while running 3d loads and I frequently have video playing on one screen with a game like an MMO on the other screen.
As for which chip, the chip is irrelevant, in every metric that AMD system is offering more usable performance, a smoother system experience, better performance in all the applications AND using less power. A more powerful higher clocked quad would also use more power, and would lose more efficiency. The idea is a lower power Llano will offer improved battery life and better performance all around, sorry but thats win win win. Throw in a faster quad core, lose more battery life gain performance, throw in a faster llano with higher clocks, it will still have higher performance.
TO be fair I have literally no clue how high quads go in laptops with sandybridge, are they really going miles higher in clockspeed?
The last thing you are ignoring is the VAST MAJORITY of gamers use cards like a 5770 or below, the lower you go the more of them are used. Something around 480 shaders is pretty much on par with what most people have anyway. Then thats of course ignoring how many people have PC's and don't "game" at all, which is most of them, things like Youtube/flash acceleration(which saves a lot of power) are becoming far more important in terms of mobile power saving than gaming performance.
But, the current IGP on the AMD side and the lowest end 5450 and the 4350 before it all have 80shaders, the IGP in Llano will have 480shaders, the gpu is going to be probably over 6 times faster than current IGP's, which puts it firmly in the area of lower midrange graphics power, which puts it in range of laptop resolution "proper" gaming, something a 80shader AMD IGP or a el rubbisho Intel IGP(pre sandybridge) could even contemplate using.
You're talking about a 80shader IGP getting 5fps in Dragon age and a Llano/sandybridge pushing 30-50fps, low settings but literally not playable becomes completely playable. Its a monumental leap in graphics power while not killing battery life and for far lower costs than adding a normal 400shader discrete gpu.
So the bulldozer chip can use its gfx components when a discrete gfx card is added to the system for increased benefits? Rather than deactivating it and making the discrete gfx card do the work?
Have I understood correctly, as I know the intel sandybridge switches off its GFX when you add a card.
Bulldozer isn't coming with gfx, yet, 2nd gen(2012 sometime) looks odds on for adding a gpu die, we might see some quad core + gpu bulldozers sooner, not really sure. Size wise on early-ish 32nm runs an 8 core Bulldozer with a 480sp gpu will be pretty huge though would be fantastic performance wise.
However Sandybridge doesn't have to turn off the IGP with a discrete graphics card disabled, however you do have to have the IGP connected to a screen, so you'd need your 6970 connected to one monitor and your Sandybridge IGP connected via the mobo output to your 2nd(or 7th) monitor and you can still use quicksync, though not to sure about actually using the IGP for anything except for quicksync and you can't do that on the P67 at all as the igp is fully disabled on that chipset.
Its a bit of a mess, why they didn't come out with the Z68 at launch, and a budget version with usb3 and a few ports and usb removed I don't know, p67/h67 is a shambles even before their monumental chipset screwup.
