Integrated graphics card or dedicated graphics card?

If you ask any enthusiastic computer gamer for advice, they will probably tell you to find the best GPU (dedicated graphics card) you can afford and to cut costs in other ways (always with common sense). Unfortunately, getting an excellent quality graphics processor generally requires a good expense (and more so now with the rise in prices for the cryptocurrency).

So what happens if your budget doesn't allow it? Does that mean you should give up on your dreams of being a great gamer? What are your options? Is an integrated graphic worth me?

Index of contents

Integrated graphics cards vs dedicated GPUs

Graphics processing units are typically classified into two types: Integrated GPUs and Dedicated GPUs. You may have heard the word " discrete card " also when talking about being cards, so to erase any confusion, discrete and dedicated refer to the same thing.

Integrated graphics cards have the advantage of being cheaper, which in turn leads to a less expensive computer. They also dissipate much less heat than dedicated GPUs, and therefore allow compact machines with relatively small cooling systems.

Also, a laptop that relies solely on integrated graphics will be more energy efficient for longer battery life.

Compensation is, of course, the performance you get. Integrated GPUs are perfect for casual tasks like watching videos and processing graphic documents. Anything more than that, and your system will start having problems.

Dedicated or discrete units, on the other hand, come with their own video memory, which is used exclusively for graphics processing. This dedicated video memory, or VRAM, is not only faster than system RAM, but it also leaves RAM free for other functions. That is, the famous GDDR5, GDDR5X, the new GDDR6 or the expensive HBM2.

That is, powerful graphics cards cost more and require elaborate power supplies and cooling systems, but if you plan to use your new computer for intense gaming, they are the best option.

Integrated vs. dedicated graphics card performance

We are going to use the new AMD Ryzen as an example to measure the performance of integrated graphics card against the dedicated one. We already know in advance, that the dedicated GPUs are quite superior, but it never hurts to see the real difference between them.

Integrated AMD vs Integrated Intel

We have used an Intel Core i5 4300M that we have in one of the notebook computers in the office (Thinkpad T440p), an Intel Core 8700K from our test bench and both latest-generation APUs Ryzen 3 and Ryzen 5. The difference is quite palpable, Where it is most noticeable is in the Intel hasweell against the new AMD APU. But beware, we are under 720p (HD) resolution and with filters at a medium level. But if you are not too demanding, is it valid enough as an occasional system?

Integrated vs dedicated

In this case, if you can see a big difference in a game that is not too demanding, but in 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and medium / high graphic quality, the APUs (integrated cards) are light years away from the dedicated cards .

Final conclusion on integrated graphics cards

Today there is no integrated graphics card that has the same performance as a dedicated mid-range or high-end GPU. Mainly due to two factors: the first is that it is encapsulated in the same processor and the second and possibly the most important to you… is that it uses the RAM of your system.

It is known that AMD and Intel are working on processors that integrate a GPU similar to an Nvidia GTX 1060 , so surely all this will change soon. But we already warned you, that the price will be much higher than expected. But it looks great!

We currently have two pretty decent options for playing many games with good graphics quality in 720p. The new AMD Ryzen 3 2200G and AMD Ryzen 5 2400G that we reviewed recently, convinced us for undemanding users or those who want to wait for the new generations of dedicated graphics cards.

Finally we can summarize everything in:

Processor with integrated graphics card: Users who are occasional gamers who do not mind lowering the resolution (720p) and its filters (low or medium quality), basic tasks: office automation, web browsing, watching videos or retouching at the amateur level, photo retouching. Dedicated graphics card: Users who want to play smoothly, with good resolution and graphically to the maximum on their computer. It also gives a boost in video rendering or in applications that get the most out of your graphics card. Without forgetting, those users who want to always be up to date.

What did you think of our article on integrated and dedicated graphics cards? Do you miss something? We want to know your opinion!