AMD went demo crazy today by showing off identically looking Viiv and Live PCs and laptops.

The difference between AMD and Intel systems in The Sims 2 had the most startling effect on me. It utilizes Shader Model 2 as standard on AMD integrated graphics, whereas Intel's GMA 3000 graphics seem to be stuck in the dark ages, using only Shader Model 1.1. Water detail and reflections were missing from the Intel system and textures generally made the game look straight out of the 90s.

AMD has a very convincing lead when comparing integrated graphics side by side. A low end computer bought for Christmas will indeed have a better 'out of the box experience'.

As we said in our news story, the other half of AMD's presentation was that Live's integrated graphics will run Vista's Aero desktop acceptably, even with the demanding glass translucency effect.

This flies in the face of the widely accepted viewpoint that a discrete mid-range to high-end graphics card will be needed. When AMD wouldn't show us Vista in action on a Live system, claiming Intel's drivers are too poor for a fair comparison, our suspicions grew stronger.

We hope to test AMD's claims soon because if true, the impetus to be Vista ready really will fade.