Replacing Integrated Graphics with Dedicated Card?

[cwjakesteel]

Hello all. I wasn't sure if I should have made this topic in the Planning and building thread or the Graphics card thread.

 

Anyway, I wanted to build a new mini-ITX PC with an MSI, ASUS Strix or Zotac GTX 970. I hear they are all good, but where I live, I have no access to anything to build a computer. I can ship them overseas, but I hear that when building a computer, there is a high chance that many parts might be dead on arrival and require sending them back to the manufacturers. This would be very difficult and expensive for me.

 

So I was thinking of getting a pre-built gaming PC from cyberpowerpc. However, they only have the Reference card and the EVGA 970 card which I know has misaligned heat pipes and I don't want a faulty card.

 

So I am wondering if I should buy the PC with integrated graphics, and buy the card seperately from amazon or some place.

 

If I do get Intel integrated graphics, is it possible to install the graphics card on the sole PCI-E and make the computer switch to it? And how would I do that? I don't know how to use BIOS or anything like that...

 

I want to game at 144 Hz at 1080p, so I am willing to go a little below max settings to get 144 Hz at 1080p so I know the 970 is capable of it.

[niofalpha]

There is NOT a high chance of getting faulty cards..

 

And never buy anything from Cyber Power.. They rip people off massively.

[Altecice]

 they only have the Reference card and the EVGA 970 card which I know has misaligned heat pipes and I don't want a faulty card.

 

EVGA tested the 780 cooler with the 970/980's and yes 1 of the heatpipes only make half contact but the card is still capable of keeping cool with the cooler. It will be fine.

 

---

 

Except form that I would urge you to build your own rig and get better bang for buck.

[othertomperson]

As far as I know the heat pipe thing with the EVGA card doesn't have much of an effect.

 

You will almost certainly get a CPU with integrated graphics whatever route you take, so just make sure you plug your monitor into the PCI-E card and not the motherboard.

 

 

Except form that I would urge you to build your own rig and get better bang for buck.

 

 

Normally I would agree but I don't know where OP is posting from and if returning components is going to be very expensive or difficult maybe the customer support this route offers is worth the small margin they add to the cost. As much as I love Corsair, for example, the fact that if I did have an issue and wanted to return a component from them it would involve shipping it internationally outside the EU does give me pause.

[dizmo]

There isn't a very high chance. I've built 4 or 5 PC's (not loads, but still) and I've never run across a DOA part.

It's already been gone over, the EVGA card is fine. It's not faulty.

You could do that, but honestly the chances of you having a DOA part is pretty slim. It happens, yes, but not as often as I think you think it does.

Yes, you can install the graphics card and it'll have no problems with the integrated graphics. IIRC it automatically choses the GPU.

[Megazero]

Hello all. I wasn't sure if I should have made this topic in the Planning and building thread or the Graphics card thread.

 

Anyway, I wanted to build a new mini-ITX PC with an MSI, ASUS Strix or Zotac GTX 970. I hear they are all good, but where I live, I have no access to anything to build a computer. I can ship them overseas, but I hear that when building a computer, there is a high chance that many parts might be dead on arrival and require sending them back to the manufacturers. This would be very difficult and expensive for me.

 

So I was thinking of getting a pre-built gaming PC from cyberpowerpc. However, they only have the Reference card and the EVGA 970 card which I know has misaligned heat pipes and I don't want a faulty card.

 

So I am wondering if I should buy the PC with integrated graphics, and buy the card seperately from amazon or some place.

 

If I do get Intel integrated graphics, is it possible to install the graphics card on the sole PCI-E and make the computer switch to it? And how would I do that? I don't know how to use BIOS or anything like that...

 

I want to game at 144 Hz at 1080p, so I am willing to go a little below max settings to get 144 Hz at 1080p so I know the 970 is capable of it.

Integrated GPU(iGPU) is a part of CPU(note that not all CPU have iGPU), not something you can remove/change. By default it's locked by BIOS in favor of using the dedicated GPU but it's pretty simple to unlock (it cant be any simpler than that, especially for mobo that have custom BIOS interface like what we have right now instead of the old style BIOS). If you are using the iGPU for sometime and then switch to dedicated GPU, simply connect the monitor to the dedicated GPU instead of the motherboard to use the dedicated GPU, you dont even have to go back to disable the iGPU.

And I'm pretty sure the chance for one to be dead on arrival isnt high, and it will be much cheaper/more powerful to build one from scratch instead of buying pre builded one. Or (this I'm not sure) I think that Newegg or NCIX do offer you the choice of letting you choose the part, they will build it and test it for you, then packed everything and ship to where you are. You better check up on that.

Also for your part choice... is there any reason you HAVE to go with Mini ITX? the 970 is a full size card after all, and mini ITX always have the problem of airflow, If you dont absolutely need it (like you move around alot, LAN party and stuff) then I'd suggest go with Micro ATX or ATX.

[AlwaysFSX]

However, they only have the Reference card and the EVGA 970 card which I know has misaligned heat pipes and I don't want a faulty card.

There's nothing faulty or misaligned about it. There's just an extra heat pipe for a bigger core. The card is 100% A-Ok.

[Joshua Ondangan]

you have to be really really lucky to get one doa.

[GloriousPain]

1 I have no access to anything to build a computer. I can ship them overseas,

2 But I hear that when building a computer, there is a high chance that many parts might be dead on arrival and require sending them back to the manufacturers. This would be very difficult and expensive for me.

 

3 So I was thinking of getting a pre-built gaming PC from cyberpowerpc. However, they only have the Reference card and the EVGA 970 card which I know has misaligned heat pipes and I don't want a faulty card.

 

4 So I am wondering if I should buy the PC with integrated graphics, and buy the card seperately from amazon or some place.

 

5 If I do get Intel integrated graphics, is it possible to install the graphics card on the sole PCI-E and make the computer switch to it? And how would I do that? I don't know how to use BIOS or anything like that...

6 I want to game at 144 Hz at 1080p, so I am willing to go a little below max settings to get 144 Hz at 1080p so I know the 970 is capable of it.

1. WTF do you need? All you should needs is a phillips head screw driver, and I've had togo without one before and built a computer with nothing but my bare hands bro it's not that tough, if you have fingernails they work just fine in place of a screwdriver...  I kind of think someone told you some bullshit...

2. 3% is the average DOA(dead on arrival) rate and a computer takes maybe 10 parts at most, so you could see a 30% chance, but i doubt a Case is gonna be DOA and stuff like that, GPU, CPU, PSU, MOBO, HDD/SSD, RAM that's 6 parts  so 18% and actually the rates of DOA are higher for prebuilts... chance of a prebuilt being DOA are ~20%

3. It's not a misaligned heatpipe, again I think you read some misinformation thats a tad "sensationalist" they added more heatpipes than would fit on the GPU it's not misaligned it's OVERKILL

4. I and most people recommend buying all the components at the same time.

5. You'd switch the HDMI/DisplayPort/DVI cable from the mobo to the gpu's outputs, and install drivers off Nvidia's or AMD's website

6. the 970 should be able to handle 1080p 144hz the majority of the time just fine with max settings; Do remember alot of games have FPS limits built in lke say Shadow of Mordor has a 100fps limit cause the game engine cannot handle producing more than 100 frames to be rendered... So if you don't hit 144 it's not the end of the world.

[cwjakesteel]

I see. Thank you all for your replies. This is my first time investing in a desktop PC. I have had a gaming laptop with a 460M for the past 3 years.

 

1. WTF do you need? All you should needs is a phillips head screw driver, and I've had togo without one before and built a computer with nothing but my bare hands bro it's not that tough, if you have fingernails they work just fine in place of a screwdriver...  I kind of think someone told you some bullshit...

 

When I said I had no access to anything to build a computer, I mean, none of the parts are sold in my country, like the cases, power supplies, cards, processors. I would have to get them internationally shipped or travel to the US to acquire them.

 

 

 

Since many of you attest to the rate of DoA being low, then I may just go ahead in acquiring all the parts individually. However, I would hate to find out that even one USB port at the back didn't work, or say the ethernet port didn't work and I was set back to using the computer for several more weeks.

 

chance of a prebuilt being DOA are ~20%

 

I would assume that having it pre-built, the companies such as cyberpowerpc would check for these things. Having the PC built professionally for novices and making sure all the parts work - I thought that would be standard quality assurance.

 

As far as I know the heat pipe thing with the EVGA card doesn't have much of an effect.

 

Okay. However, I was only going to choose that card if I were to buy pre-built from cyberpowerpc. Otherwise I would get one of the much cheaper cards such as MSI's. So if I do end up going with cyberpowerpc, then I shouldn't have to worry about that.

 

Also for your part choice... is there any reason you HAVE to go with Mini ITX? the 970 is a full size card after all, and mini ITX always have the problem of airflow, If you dont absolutely need it (like you move around alot, LAN party and stuff) then I'd suggest go with Micro ATX or ATX.

 

I like the small form factor if mini-ITX cases and the portability. Since mini-ITX cases don't suffer any loss of over-all power (for single GPU set ups) and I can move them around easily, I prefer them.

 

Actually, I would have even gone with a mini PC if I could find any that had a GTX 980M. According to Linus, the 980M has only 10% less performance than the big 980, so it would even be more portable without sacrificing performance over the GTX 970. I plan to use the bit fenix prodigy since it has handles, side USB ports and enough room for cooling (I also plan to use a CPU liquid cooler). All the mini-PCs I found only had the AMD r9 275M as the highest level card.

 

However, a mini-ITX setup is much more future proof and upgradable than a mini PC or laptop.

 

6. the 970 should be able to handle 1080p 144hz the majority of the time just fine with max settings; Do remember alot of games have FPS limits built in lke say Shadow of Mordor has a 100fps limit cause the game engine cannot handle producing more than 100 frames to be rendered... So if you don't hit 144 it's not the end of the world.

 

Well, as long as some games go up to 144hz then I'll appreciate it. I already own the monitor after all.

[GloriousPain]

1When I said I had no access to anything to build a computer, I mean, none of the parts are sold in my country, like the cases, power supplies, cards, processors. I would have to get them internationally shipped or travel to the US to acquire them.

 

2Since many of you attest to the rate of DoA being low, then I may just go ahead in acquiring all the parts individually. However, I would hate to find out that even one USB port at the back didn't work, or say the ethernet port didn't work and I was set back to using the computer for several more weeks.

 

3I would assume that having it pre-built, the companies such as cyberpowerpc would check for these things. Having the PC built professionally for novices and making sure all the parts work - I thought that would be standard quality assurance.

1 Ah okay, my misunderstanding but the wording is a bit off; I'm gonna assume you're from a non english dominated country...

2 As said industry standard rate is 3% for the WHOLE part being broke odds of a malfunctioning usb port are astronimically low,  biggest issue with those would likely be ports loose or bent, but that'd be harmless

3 Some places do that, but not all companies do that, and something some places do to make more profit is use, USED parts infact I used to work for a business building computers for people, and would just get open boxes, some parts would even have scratches and on the side would be "newegg refurbished" or "EVGA refurbished" or "Open box return" ... and my instructions were build computer throw in a Windows 8.1 key a disc with windows 8.1 and ship the F'er immediately do not check for posting, do not cable manage just GO and collect check later...  They'll use used and/or refurb parts to save money combined with the fact they buy windows keys in such bulk it's only ~$3/ Windows key... thats how they make their prices okay-ish  and still have tons of profit, even the best of prebuilt deals are lies and still horrible deals.

I will not say where I worked for however I will say it wasn't CyberPowerPC and I cannot attest if they have the same sketchy practices...