Last month saw the introduction of AMD's 690G chipset, which we took a look at here.

NVIDIA still reckons its nForce 430/GeForce 6150 is the better IGP proposition at the £50 mark.

If those words aren't enough to convince you, NVIDIA's releasing an updated core logic that currently goes under the MCP73 codename.

ECS, as it happens, had a near-production sample on show.

The Intel-based GeForce 7050/nForce 630 integrates GeForce 7300-class graphics on to a single-chip design, giving IGP performance a much-needed shot in the arm, albeit with access via single-channel memory mode.

There's also support for native HDMI (not included here) and DVI outputs, and the usual gaggle of current features such as SATA2, high-definition audio and a x16 PCIe slot for discrete graphics.

ECS' board, evidently, will support upcoming Core 2 Duo CPUs that run off the faster 1333MHz FSB.

AMD's capable 690G chipset, also strong with respect to multimedia connectivity, is facing some serious competition that will come to market in a few short weeks.