Ok I have a simple but important question!

nik22

Honorable
Jul 8, 2012
21
0
10,510
I have quite a good knowledge of computer in general but there's something I'm wondering since forever and I would like if you guys can explain to me this.

What improvement does a Graphic/Video card procure to a system IN GENERAL. Now I mean other than for playing video games and having more choice for the display resolution.

It is important for me because I build regularly computer towers but when I ask my customers what are their main computer use, even if they don't play video games at all or use any professional video editing software, they still want a good video card in their system. So what would be the difference for those people if I build a system with only the integrated GPU of the motherboard or adding a cheap/average video card? Of course if I don't install a video card I would tell them, but I want to be sure to really understand the difference between integrated gpu and a cheap added graphic card for the non-gamer users, so I may be more able to explain them that they don't need a video card.

Any information you share with me is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
Solution
Post processing is not rare and a pain to setup. All good players will have the options and it's just a slider of each option to set how high you want it and you're done. Amd, nvidia and intel also have some options in their ccc/control panel. The "post" darksable referred to were post effects, this is for video/photo editing and games, not video playback. There is no such thing as anti aliasing for videos. Color balance is essentially color schemes, you wouldn't affect this on video playback. Some post processing for videos include noise and artifact reduction (the most common, useful and noticeable ones) and resolution, color, contrast enhancements.

Any gpu can do this, amd were shown to be a bit better. But you wouldn't see a...
G

Guest

Guest
Most modern day integrated graphics chipsets are good enough for pretty much everything to a certain degree. It depends entirely on what you do. Upgrading from modern integrated graphics to a cheap graphics card won't really make much difference in general. Integrated graphics can easily handle Aero and HD videos fluently if the rest of the system is up to scratch.

I'm not sure how much detail you wanted. And I'm not sure if this really answered your question. Of course, if this isn't enough, someone can just add on to what I have said.
 

nik22

Honorable
Jul 8, 2012
21
0
10,510


Ok I understand better thank you. Now for example if I add a 128bit 2Gb graphic card to a motherboard, is quality for watching video or movies will get get improved?

 
If you are using a modern CPU with onboard graphics like intel HD2000 or an AMD APU, the you should be fine.
If you are using an old board/cpu where the video is built into the northbridge, then start shopping for a video card because it is AWFUL.
 


Movie quality will be better only if using post processing. 128bit 2gb is irrelevant though. The better gpu will be better even if it were lower bit depth and vram. But will the difference be noticeable between the low vs high gpu even with post? Probably not by an average person.
 

nik22

Honorable
Jul 8, 2012
21
0
10,510
Movie quality will be better only if using post processing. 128bit 2gb is irrelevant though. The better gpu will be better even if it were lower bit depth and vram. But will the difference be noticeable between the low vs high gpu even with post? Probably not by an average person.

post processing? Im sorry im not sure to understand. Also someone said the gpu are integrated into the cpu? I though integrated gpu were into the motherboard?
 
Graphics used to be integrated into the motherboard, yes. Now, with modern parts, motherboards have to do less and less; there is no more northbridge any more, as the ram controller and agp are all integrated.

Also, basically what we're saying is that for media; i.e. watching videos, there will be NO increase in quality with a dedicated card unless post processing (processing the video as it's being played) is being used - and that's rare and a pain to setup, with little gains... plus it can mostly still be done without a dedicated video card.
 

nik22

Honorable
Jul 8, 2012
21
0
10,510
I work full time as a computer tech, I have A+ certification so im not fully retarded. Also I live in Montreal Canada, where I studied in french language so I might not understand every english computer terms. I am more than willing to learn anything with hardware. Now dont you guys think that instead of saying what I do not know, maybe you should write more then one sentence and give me some useful information so I can learn something.

Thanks

edited: sorry DarkSable I didnt see your post bellow, thanks for explaining to me.
 
No worries. Also, I know a little bit of french due to an acadian father, so if you'd like a translation, I can do my best to not mangle it.

Post processing, or post-traitement, is taking a video as it's playing and applying effects to it, such as color balance, sharpness, or some forms of anti aliasing.
 

ihog

Distinguished
These aren't complicated things. Knowing the performance differences between GPUs is something you should know if you're getting paid to build towers for people.

Maybe you should learn a bit more about something before getting paid to do it.
 

nik22

Honorable
Jul 8, 2012
21
0
10,510


You know why I think your message is funny. Firstly the IT world is like one of the biggest field, there's unlimited among of knowledge you can learn. You cannot learn everything at the same time and of course you cannot know everything after only a few years of experience.
Now what made me laugh honestly, I dont know if you know some people owning or working in a computer shop, or offering any kind of IT services. But probably (well at least where I live) more then 50% of those people, know close to nothing about computers. Might sound strange? But its true. Yet, most of those people still have a fine revenue and even something can live very well.

I rarely do mystake when I work, and my customers are always satisfied. They refer me a lot to their entourage. So why should I not get paid? :)
 
^That's actually very true. The number of people working in the IT industry who are completely knowledgeable is astonishing, because there isn't a widespread industry standard. Yes, there are tech certifications, and those matter when looking to work for a company, but someone walking into a computer repair shop with a broken laptop, without a knowledge of computers, isn't going to have a clue what means what.
 

ihog

Distinguished


And that makes it okay?
 

nik22

Honorable
Jul 8, 2012
21
0
10,510
And that makes it okay?
Hmm Im not saying if its okay or not. People are trying to make a living by working in place they can even if they actually dont have the minimum knowledge. At this moment where the cost of living just keep increasing, I think it can be understandable that a lot of people are just trying to work hard for a revenue and doesnt spend any of their time learning or following anything IT related. Because also maybe they just dont really like computing stuff more than that. But you know its a complex subject and we could talk about this for a long time.

Personally I dont like the feeling of not being sure of what I do when I work. So I make plenty of research on the internet, read books.. and of course ask some questions in forums like here!
 
Post processing is not rare and a pain to setup. All good players will have the options and it's just a slider of each option to set how high you want it and you're done. Amd, nvidia and intel also have some options in their ccc/control panel. The "post" darksable referred to were post effects, this is for video/photo editing and games, not video playback. There is no such thing as anti aliasing for videos. Color balance is essentially color schemes, you wouldn't affect this on video playback. Some post processing for videos include noise and artifact reduction (the most common, useful and noticeable ones) and resolution, color, contrast enhancements.

Any gpu can do this, amd were shown to be a bit better. But you wouldn't see a difference unless taking screenshots and comparing side by side.

ihog, I'd suggest you stop down talking the op and instigating, it is against the rules and leads to a ban.
 
Solution