Integrated graphics or not

Kirth Gersen

Kirth Gersen

Kirth Gersen

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4 Nov 2005
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617
I'm going to build a PC for my old dear (retired in Spain), and need to keep it cheap and functional - primary use will be internet and video calls on MSN. What is the best option: a cheap mobo and cheap GFX card, or a mobo with integrated graphics? The mobo needs to be a reasonable clocker as my plan is to couple it with a 2140 and clock it sensible levels on the stock cooler.

My current thought is:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-129-AB

+ this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-123-AS

But that's £100. Can I do cheaper with an integrated solution?
 
I'd suggest using a a dedicated gpu, it might be slightly more expencive and possibly slight overkill, but if you do find yourself using the computer for anything more than browzing the interweb then you're likely to find it useful
 
balls said:
I'd suggest using a a dedicated gpu, it might be slightly more expencive and possibly slight overkill, but if you do find yourself using the computer for anything more than browzing the interweb then you're likely to find it useful
Click to expand...

Honestly - she's on her own and won't be using it for anything other than what I said. So long as the solution does not slow down showing piccies and typical webcam video streaming over a broadband connection, she'll be fine.
 
I would add a cheap graphics card...

reason being that we had some shuttle pc's at work (onboard graphics) that were used for remote CCTV monitoring, and they were just cooking themselves due to overheating etc. leading to random shutdowns etc.
granted thats a bit more intensive than your occasional webcam use, but it shows the limitations of onboard.

maybe somthing like this:http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-073-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1010
 
then you could look at slightly cheaper non-integrated mobos to offset the cost of the graphics card,
I have to ask, why the importance of the overclock considering th pc's intended use?
 
mattyfez said:
I would add a cheap graphics card...

reason being that we had some shuttle pc's at work (onboard graphics) that were used for remote CCTV monitoring, and they were just cooking themselves due to overheating etc. leading to random shutdowns etc.
granted thats a bit more intensive than your occasional webcam use, but it shows the limitations of onboard.

maybe somthing like this:http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-073-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1010
Click to expand...

That's got to be a cooling problem - a decent fan close to the chipset should help. My instinct is to get the integrated board, and upgrade if there are problems. I have yet to find a mobo / card combo cheaper than that £61 Gigabyte.
 
Kirth Gersen said:
That's got to be a cooling problem - a decent fan close to the chipset should help. My instinct is to get the integrated board, and upgrade if there are problems. I have yet to find a mobo / card combo cheaper than that £61 Gigabyte.
Click to expand...

Agreed, onboard graphics shouldn't overheat. They are very simple and require very little cooling of their own. They will add a lot less heat to a compact case than a dedicated GPU.

Onboard 'Sucks' for 3D (IE most games), but is generally sufficient for 2D 'windows desktop' and light video work.

The majority of motherboards with integrated video will still have a PCI express socket ( or agp on an older motherboard ), as long as you make sure that the board you get has PCI express, should the owner of the computer suddenly decide to become a gaming fanatic (ok I know not likely in this case by the sound of it, but stranger things have happened), then you can still upgrade the system by slotting in a dedicated graphics card.
 
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