
This will be a good way to establish expectations moving further into the article. So, let’s talk about how modern integrated graphics solutions actually perform. Let’s see: How Integrated Graphics Compare to Discrete Graphics Today So…are these iGPUs actually competitive? What workloads are they good enough for, and where do they simply prove inadequate?
Even if you don’t have a dGPU (discreet GPU = Graphics Card) you will have an iGPU (integrated GPU). Any PC needs graphics processing capabilities to function. And since the perception is generally that non-gamers don’t need to worry about graphics cards, this status quo for budget hardware has gone pretty unchallenged for a while now. Outside of gaming and consoles, integrated graphics are incredibly common in lower-end desktops and laptops. Integrated Graphics have evolved quite a lot over time, and the technology is still being regularly pushed and used in retail products like the current-generation consoles.Ĭonsoles currently use an AMD SoC design that combines Ryzen and RDNA cores onto a single chip, and past-gen consoles used a similar AMD SoC design with older-generation hardware. What you’re using if you aren’t using a discrete graphics card is instead something called Integrated Graphics, which refers to a GPU chip that’s embedded into another chip, usually a CPU. It needs graphics processing capabilities to function at all. So let’s start with the first bit: even if you aren’t spending extra on a discrete graphics card, you are still buying a GPU with your PC. If you aren’t a gamer, all this fixation on graphics cards and gaming performance might lead you to believe that you don’t need a discrete graphics card for your workloads.Īnd that actually might be true, depending on what you’re doing.īut the short answer to this article’s question is: Yes, you can make use of (and might need) a powerful GPU for your workloads, even if you’re not gaming at all.īut let’s not get ahead of ourselves: The Basics: You’ll Be Using a GPU Whether You Buy One or Not What are the best GPUs for professional editing and rendering?. What are the best CPUs with integrated graphics?. Compositing, Motion Design, Post-Production. Graphic Design, Illustration, Photo Editing, Drawing. Workloads That Need a Graphics Card (discrete GPU). Workloads Where Integrated Graphics are Fine.
How Integrated Graphics Compare to Discrete Graphics Today.The Basics: You’ll Be Using a GPU Whether You Buy One or Not.