Integrated graphics only or integrated + dedicated

[aryanakhterkl2]

Consider the following setup:

1. A machine with a processor (plus integrated graphics) and
2. another machine with the same processor and integrated graphics but aditionally a dedicated graphics card which is worse than the inegrated one.

My question is now if its better to get the machine with the additional dedicated GPU or not?

I'm aware that the integrated graphics will use my RAM. I

• Will the inegrated graphics "function" of the CPU and the CPU share some bandwidth with each other or are they independent?
• Will somehow the graphics functin of the CPU interfere with the "CPU function", meaning will I get a performance loss due to heavy GPU and CPU load at the same time even tho I have enough RAM (16GB) for the tasks I want to perform?
• Will I get a benefit from the additional dedicated GPU? I cannot obviously use the integrated GPU and the dedicated one at once for photo editing for example and since the integrated is better I dont see the sense of the dedicated in it or am I thinking wrong?

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello aryanakhterkl2,

Thank you for posting on the Intel®️ communities. 

In this case, it is important for you to know that our main recommendation is to check the requirements of the different applications you are going to run and see if with the dedicated or with the integrated you are able to run all the applications without any issues. 

Regarding your inquiries about how the integrated graphics cards work, both integrated and dedicated graphics cards will share bandwidth with the CPU regardless of the type of card it is. 

Having more RAM will improve the system's general performance, not only the performance of the GPU. It is true that the integrated graphics card uses the RAM to work with the graphics tasks of the system. Unlike the integrated card, discrete graphics cards include their own RAM (VRAM). This allows the graphics card to not depend on the amount of RAM your system has installed and will not be affected if other programs are using a high amount of RAM since it will have its own memory to use only for graphics tasks without sharing it with other types of processes. 

Some systems include the hybrid graphics feature, which allows using of both integrated and dedicated graphics cards at the same time. The way it works is that on high demanding tasks, the dedicated graphics card will be the one performing all the processes related to graphics. With low demanding tasks, the integrated card will be the one in charge of performing these processes. 

It is important to check with the manufacturer of the system to see if this feature is available on the system. Also, please check with the application developers for the requirements of each program you will run to see if your system will be able to handle it and if not, to see which components are needed for everything to work without any issues. 

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician

[JosueO_Intel]

Hello aryanakhterkl2,

If you need any additional information, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Regards, 

Josue O.  

Intel Customer Support Technician