On board graphics

Kirth Gersen · 10 Oct 2008 at 10:48

I'm considering building a basic PC for a friend, who only will be using it to surf, maybe write a few documents, maybe play a bit of music. Definitely no games.

So it's got to be basic and cheap. But I want to build a reliable PC with reasonable quality parts, and keep it quiet.

I know nothing about onboard graphics and have 2 questions.

1. For just a surfing requirement, is a mobo with on board graphics the way to go?

2. If so, could you suggest a decent one?

Thanks

rjk · 10 Oct 2008 at 10:56

yes definatly just onboard - lower power requirements too

anything with intel onboard graphics is ok

i got a mATX asrock for £15 with an amd athlonX2 4800 with nvidia onboard graphics
it can just about run halo

so it depends really

Kirth Gersen · 10 Oct 2008 at 11:14

Searching the OC site, it seems that the bulk of mobos with onboard graphics are MATX jobs suited for HTPCs I guess. Is that right, or are there a bunch of others I haven't spotted?

This one looks good value:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-098-GI

Kirth Gersen · 10 Oct 2008 at 11:29

Another question.

Are there monitor size limitations with onboard graphics? Will it be able to drive a 22" monitor without problems?

cpatain-chaos · 10 Oct 2008 at 11:51

Kirth Gersen said:
Another question.

Are there monitor size limitations with onboard graphics? Will it be able to drive a 22" monitor without problems?

my Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H has an nVIDIA nForce 7100-630i (MCP73PV) chipset with o/b gfx, I'm on a 22" at 1680 x 1050 native, XP SP3 plays older games no problem Q3, Jedi Outcast, NOLF2 Black and White etc handles video very nicely and comes with both DVI and HDMI. using an e6600 @ 3.2 passively cooled it's a quick and quiet machine. cost me around £45 incl del and for my needs it's an excellent mobo. paired up with a e2** / e5200 would be a very nippy system that's a good all rounder

some details on it here http://hardwaretechreview.com/gigabyte-ga-73pvm-s2h-review

Kirth Gersen · 10 Oct 2008 at 11:58

cpatain-chaos said:
my Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H has an nVIDIA nForce 7100-630i (MCP73PV) chipset with o/b gfx, I'm on a 22" at 1680 x 1050 native, XP SP3 plays older games no problem Q3, Jedi Outcast, NOLF2 Black and White etc handles video very nicely and comes with both DVI and HDMI. using an e6600 @ 3.2 passively cooled it's a quick and quiet machine. cost me around £45 incl del and for my needs it's an excellent mobo. paired up with a e2** / e5200 would be a very nippy system that's a good all rounder

some details on it here http://hardwaretechreview.com/gigabyte-ga-73pvm-s2h-review

Sweet, sounds like a good choice - thanks. And now I am thinking about getting an HTPC case for a more homely feel to the rig...