Progress in the field of computer technology is developing so rapidly that many things that seemed fiction just yesterday are now becoming a reality. For example, it is unlikely that a decade ago anyone could seriously think that the integrated video card will become the same obligatory attribute of a modern computer as the AC97 audio codecs and the Audio HD that replaced them.
Perhaps every computer owner knows what a video card looks like. This is a relatively small board (although there are exceptions) with two rows of sliding contacts with which it connects to the connector on the motherboard. Such varieties are called discrete. But the integrated video card is a completely different design solution. If an inquisitive user wants to find such a video card on the motherboard, then he may not succeed right away.
The integrated graphics card is a large microcircuit on the motherboard, often with its own heatsink. However, such a constructive solution has recently been used less and less. Improving the manufacturing process of semiconductor transistors (22 nm or less) made it possible to integrate the computing and executive units of the video adapter on the processor chip. Thus, to see how the integrated video card looks, just look, for example, at the Intel Core processor of the Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge generations. Part of its crystal is just a video adapter. If the motherboard has connectors for connecting a monitor, then an integrated graphics card is provided.
Compared to discrete models, the advantages are obvious:
- reduced power consumption;
- fewer noisy fans;
- 100% compatibility with the central processor ;
- savings on the purchase of another card.
By the way, the absence of a PCI-E 16 slot almost certainly indicates the presence of an integrated solution. The only drawback is that in some cases the performance of such a solution may not be enough. Still, on a separate device, you can place more computing units than on a single chip with
processor cores. If the user is not interested in modern computer games, then the built-in card is the best choice. Sometimes a little
You can improve performance by simply installing new drivers on the integrated video card. They need to be downloaded from manufacturers' websites - NVidia, Intel or AMD (the most popular). Alternative solution: we go to the website of the motherboard manufacturer and look for the appropriate driver for our motherboard. However, this does not guarantee the latest version.
If for some reason the owner of the computer is not satisfied with the speed level of the built-in device, then you can purchase and connect a discrete video adapter to the motherboard (if you have the corresponding connector). In this case, it is recommended to disable the integrated video card, which will free up some of the reserved resources. Interruption is released, part of the RAM, the power of the integrated video card is turned off, and the total power consumption is reduced. To do this, go to the BIOS (often press the DEL button immediately after turning on the computer), find the Integrated or Onboard Video item and put it in the Disable state (Disable, Disable).