Need help! Do i really need a dedicated graphics Card?

[Alexi_Revero]

I have always been a laptop user. The only time i use PC is when i have Computer classes at school. 

I am planning on building a pc, but i am not sure if i need a Dedicated Graphics Card. All my laptops have integrated graphics, and i have never felt it to be underwhelming. I have never gamed, and i don't plan on to. I'll be using the PC for flashcards, Chrome and word, ChatGPT, thats it.  I am just wondering if integrated graphics on pc is as good as the ones on laptop, or should I get a graphics card. 

Just so you know, i am a student, and i have a limited budget of 500USD and i dont intend on buying refurbished or parts on resale. 

 

What is plan on is:

1. Motherboard approx. 100USD

2. Case: 50-100USD. 

3. Processor: i5 or i7(doesn't matter as long as it has integrated graphics) : 150-200 USD

4. PSU: 70 USD

5. RAM 16x2 : 60USD

6. Cooler (stock) : 0USD

7: Fans: Couple of bucks 

 

 

Please provide me with recommendations and suggestions. And should i allocate funds for graphics card?

[Needfuldoer]

[ Moved to New Builds and Planning]

 

24 minutes ago, Alexi_Revero said:

I'll be using the PC for flashcards, Chrome and word, ChatGPT, thats it.

Integrated graphics are more than enough for what you want to do.

[Why_Me]

45 minutes ago, Alexi_Revero said:

I have always been a laptop user. The only time i use PC is when i have Computer classes at school. 

I am planning on building a pc, but i am not sure if i need a Dedicated Graphics Card. All my laptops have integrated graphics, and i have never felt it to be underwhelming. I have never gamed, and i don't plan on to. I'll be using the PC for flashcards, Chrome and word, ChatGPT, thats it.  I am just wondering if integrated graphics on pc is as good as the ones on laptop, or should I get a graphics card. 

Just so you know, i am a student, and i have a limited budget of 500USD and i dont intend on buying refurbished or parts on resale. 

 

What is plan on is:

1. Motherboard approx. 100USD

2. Case: 50-100USD. 

3. Processor: i5 or i7(doesn't matter as long as it has integrated graphics) : 150-200 USD

4. PSU: 70 USD

5. RAM 16x2 : 60USD

6. Cooler (stock) : 0USD

7: Fans: Couple of bucks 

 

 

Please provide me with recommendations and suggestions. And should i allocate funds for graphics card?

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($143.57 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: *Gigabyte Z790 S WIFI DDR4 (rev. 1.0) ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($119.00 @ Amazon) 
Memory: *Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Storage: *Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($55.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: *NZXT H5 Flow (2024) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ NZXT) 
Power Supply: *MSI MAG A550BN 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $463.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-05-16 04:35 EDT-0400

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/windows-11-free-or-cheap

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/134586/intel-core-i512400-processor-18m-cache-up-to-4-40-ghz/specifications.html

Intel UHD Graphics 730

[DreamCat04]

45 minutes ago, Alexi_Revero said:

I have always been a laptop user. The only time i use PC is when i have Computer classes at school. 

I am planning on building a pc, but i am not sure if i need a Dedicated Graphics Card. All my laptops have integrated graphics, and i have never felt it to be underwhelming. I have never gamed, and i don't plan on to. I'll be using the PC for flashcards, Chrome and word, ChatGPT, thats it.  I am just wondering if integrated graphics on pc is as good as the ones on laptop, or should I get a graphics card. 

Just so you know, i am a student, and i have a limited budget of 500USD and i dont intend on buying refurbished or parts on resale. 

 

What is plan on is:

1. Motherboard approx. 100USD

2. Case: 50-100USD. 

3. Processor: i5 or i7(doesn't matter as long as it has integrated graphics) : 150-200 USD

4. PSU: 70 USD

5. RAM 16x2 : 60USD

6. Cooler (stock) : 0USD

7: Fans: Couple of bucks 

 

 

Please provide me with recommendations and suggestions. And should i allocate funds for graphics card?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JfYrXR
Something like this is what you could get for 500$. The i3 should be plenty for browsing and there's enough storage for importing stuff from flash cards

[Dutch_Master]

I'd suggest taking a look at AMD, in particular the AM4 platform. It's now EOL but that means plenty of good deals to be had. Aim for a decent B550 mainboard, a Ryzen 4600G CPU and 2x 16GB DDR4 RAM. The 4600G has integrated graphics and will do perfectly for your use case.

 

Taking it a little further, you could also opt for the Raspberry Pi 500 computer. (link) Incredibly cheap, comes with a keyboard as standard and you'd only need a mouse, powerbrick and monitor. Mind though, it doesn't run Win-OS, so you cannot use Win-OS programs on it like you're used to on your laptop. Perfectly fine for your use case as most of it is browser-based anyway.

[PDifolco]

1 hour ago, Alexi_Revero said:

I have always been a laptop user. The only time i use PC is when i have Computer classes at school. 

I am planning on building a pc, but i am not sure if i need a Dedicated Graphics Card. All my laptops have integrated graphics, and i have never felt it to be underwhelming. I have never gamed, and i don't plan on to. I'll be using the PC for flashcards, Chrome and word, ChatGPT, thats it.  I am just wondering if integrated graphics on pc is as good as the ones on laptop, or should I get a graphics card. 

Just so you know, i am a student, and i have a limited budget of 500USD and i dont intend on buying refurbished or parts on resale. 

 

What is plan on is:

1. Motherboard approx. 100USD

2. Case: 50-100USD. 

3. Processor: i5 or i7(doesn't matter as long as it has integrated graphics) : 150-200 USD

4. PSU: 70 USD

5. RAM 16x2 : 60USD

6. Cooler (stock) : 0USD

7: Fans: Couple of bucks 

 

 

Please provide me with recommendations and suggestions. And should i allocate funds for graphics card?

But then you don't really need a desktop PC neither, you can do all of that on a laptop..

[Alexi_Revero]

2 minutes ago, Dutch_Master said:

I'd suggest taking a look at AMD, in particular the AM4 platform. It's now EOL but that means plenty of good deals to be had. Aim for a decent B550 mainboard, a Ryzen 4600G CPU and 2x 16GB DDR4 RAM. The 4600G has integrated graphics and will do perfectly for your use case.

 

Taking it a little further, you could also opt for the Raspberry Pi 500 computer. (link) Incredibly cheap, comes with a keyboard as standard and you'd only need a mouse, powerbrick and monitor. Mind though, it doesn't run Win-OS, so you cannot use Win-OS programs on it like you're used to on your laptop. Perfectly fine for your use case as most of it is browser-based anyway.

Thanks for your response, ill note it down. 

I tried Raspberry Pi 500. It was good, but had become so used to windows shortcuts, powertoys, and automations that I felt like it was slowing me down. 

Thanks again!

[jaslion]

27 minutes ago, Alexi_Revero said:

Thanks for your response, ill note it down. 

I tried Raspberry Pi 500. It was good, but had become so used to windows shortcuts, powertoys, and automations that I felt like it was slowing me down. 

Thanks again!

Whats the reason for a desktop? This sounds like a laptop can be heaps good here whilst still being portable. You can hook it up to a screen and all no sweat.

 

Whats the current pc that needs an upgrade? That might still be totally fine if given a bit of love

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, Alexi_Revero said:

Thanks for your response, ill note it down. 

I tried Raspberry Pi 500. It was good, but had become so used to windows shortcuts, powertoys, and automations that I felt like it was slowing me down. 

Thanks again!

As you're a student though, learning how to do things on Linux would seem wise, although I would recommend something more powerful than a Pi 500.

[PDifolco]

56 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

As you're a student though, learning how to do things on Linux would seem wise, although I would recommend something more powerful than a Pi 500.

A mini PC would be a cheap alternative 

[Doobeedoo]

You never gamed or plan to, wtf?! 

Anyway, laptop aside, yeah most processors have basic integrated GPU for basic use. So mini PC is a good choice.