discussion Would a discrete GPU improve the performance of a CPU with integrated graphics?

[YamiYukiSenpai]

I stumbled onto a couple of old FirePro V4900 that was about to be discarded, but decided to take it for myself.

 

My dad has a rebuilt Dell Optiplex 790 (Core i5-2500, 8GB RAM, SSD+HDD, Ubuntu) where I transplanted it onto an old Cooler Master (circa 2013; probably N300).  I put one of the GPUs there (cuz why not?).  He primarily just watches videos on it (YouTube, Netflix, Crave, etc.). I figure the GPU might be able to help the CPU out in the long run (by reducing the stress), giving that PC a little more life.

 

I'm now wondering if my assumption is correct?

[svmlegacy]

7 minutes ago, YamiYukiSenpai said:

I stumbled onto a couple of old FirePro V4900 that was about to be discarded, but decided to take it for myself.

 

My dad has a rebuilt Dell Optiplex 790 (Core i5-2500, 8GB RAM, SSD+HDD, Ubuntu) where I transplanted it onto an old Cooler Master (circa 2013; probably N300).  I put one of the GPUs there (cuz why not?).  He primarily just watches videos on it (YouTube, Netflix, Crave, etc.). I figure the GPU might be able to help the CPU out in the long run (by reducing the stress), giving that PC a little more life.

 

I'm now wondering if my assumption is correct?

It won't help the CPU in the slightest. Your 2500 is not going to die anytime soon, and it certainly isn't a chip that power throttles.

[BobVonBob]

It might make the CPU a bit cooler, and it's definitely more capable than the dumpster fire of an iGPU in the i5-2500, but I doubt it's going to make the computer last longer. CPUs are almost never the thing that dies. Usually it's the PSU, the motherboard, the storage, the RAM, or really anything other than the CPU. That's why old CPUs get so cheap, but the motherboards don't drop nearly as much. There's tons of old working CPUs, and not enough old working motherboards.

 

I used to volunteer at a computer refurbishing charity, and they had drawers full of Core 2 Quad and early Core i processors that they couldn't do anything with because there weren't enough motherboards to go around.

 

Basically, don't worry about the CPU. It's probably going to outlive everything else in that computer.

[Kilrah]

This old GPU is likely not going to bring anything that matters in that use case and as mentioned the CPU couldn't care less about the iGPU being used or not... The main difference you would see is more available RAM since the iGPU won't be taking some, but that's at the cost of higher power consumption.