Hi there, I'm a novice in the world of self-built comps. I have a question here: Q1) Where can I find onboard display cards? Are the followings where onboard display cards can be found in? Code: Mainboard CPU Q2) So is there any differences between 2 kinds (or more) onboard display cards? Q3) Does it mean that "when I'm using, I can switch from one card to another" if my mainboard and CPU both include onboard display cards? Thanks, dude for reading my questions!
Basically you have two options regarding graphics cards: a) On the motherboard - as an integrated solution (it has nothing to do with the CPU btw). Think of it like having an audio controller on the motherboard - in a similar way you can have an onboard GPU (graphics processing unit) for graphics... b) Add-on graphics card - this is the most common. Standalone graphics cards 'sit' on the motherboard using a BUS connector i.e. PCIe. This is what you should be looking at, if you are serious about GPU-demanding applications i.e. HD playback, games etc. In recent years, graphics cards have become increasingly more powerful, thus taking more burden off the CPU. A good example of that is the hardware decoding of H264 which can now be carried out almost exclusively by the graphics card. That frees up CPU resources and allows people with older hardware (such as myself!) to enjoy full 1080p playback ... on a single-core P4 Although I never had a onboard graphics solution in the past, I know there usually is an option in BIOS for disabling onboard graphics if required, so that you can still use a separate graphics card (or you might not have to do anything at all). I am not sure you can switch between the two. At least 'not on the fly' that is... Does that answer your questions? Subject discussed in more detail here
Thanks for the useful information, x86. But I'm currently surfing the Intel site and found that the firm's CPUs have onboard graphics? See here: http://ark.intel.com/products/family/59134 That's why I'm so confused with onboard displays. What if I have CPU onboard and motherboard onboard (or even more, an add-on VGA) ? Is it possible to run them all together to achieve synergy? Extra question: How about ARM Cortex-A processors (those including graphics cards running on iPads)? Thanks!
I have to admit I was a bit outdated on that Still that doesn't change much in comparison to when the Intel Integrated Graphics weren't in tandem with the CPU (i.e. on the motherboard). I am not denying that there has been considerable improvement since then. Another advantage is that you don't need to spend extra $$$ on a graphics card and that also translates to less system power consumption. But... You will be better off with a standalone current graphic solution from ATI or NVidia; relying on Intel Integrated Graphics for GPU-demanding applications at the moment isn't the way to go in my opinion. There is a similar question discussed here, but also an in-depth review / comparison of how this 'GPU-in-CPU' solution stands up against competition from standalone cards. Regarding your 2nd question - I am not really sure. All I know is that my N82 was one of the first devices to carry a separate GPU solution from PowerVR