Upgrading Intel HD 2000 graphics

DJ_B

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Mar 5, 2014
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Just a week ago I upgraded my very old computer to i3-2100 based machine, and I am currently using HD 2000 graphics. I primarily use my computer for image/video processing programming, image/video editing and animation + entertainment (music, HD films/videos, Internet etc.).
However, since I've heard not-so-many good things about this version of integrated graphics, I was wondering if I should buy a GPU as an upgrade. If so, would you be able to recommend any?
From personal experience, all the things I'm using my machine for are much more memory/CPU than GPU intensive...
Also, I've always given advantage to Nvidia/GeForce, and often (ignorantly?) dismissed Radeon. The primary reason is that I've seen way too many burnt AMD CPUs...
Thank you in advance for your replies.
 
Well, I don't know -- something around $120 or less? If that's impossible, I'd invest more, of course.
 

A GTX 750 could be a good gpu for you since you like Nvidia and the card is very efficient on the Maxwell architecture. Its probably more powerful than you would really need but for intensive programs it can be better to go a little over than under with performance especially because of the efficiency of the card. It runs for about $120 within your budget.

 
Thanks for your quick replies.
@Sharphawk1234: GTX 750s cost a bit more here in Europe ($150+).
While I do not doubt this is a great card, do you have any other less-expensive suggestions?
Also, should I go for a second-hand GTX 750, and which manufacturer/model should I go for? I've always been a bit sceptic about buying any second-hand parts (with possible exception of Intel CPUs) as I never know how much they've been abused.
 

Ok this one should definitely be in your budget http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?gclid=CKKosvu3_rwCFS1eOgodrgYABA&Item=N82E16814130821&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-Desktop+Graphics+Cards-_-N82E16814130821&ef_id=UwanpwAABADOtkPl:20140306173047:s and in case you wanted something a little newer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121799 which can be had for a little cheaper than what its showing. The nvidia card should be more than enough for your needs even though it is a bit older, but its at a great price.

 
@Sharphawk1234: Thanks so much again for the detailed reply.
I've just realised that I missed to mention the most important info of them all: http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html . I guess, these are what I really need.
Since GTX 750 or R7 are not listed here, my final question would be is there a $50-$150 card on this list, and if so, which manufacturer should I stick to. Still would prefer Nvidia if they are not too expensive (I've just googled the Quadro and Tesla series, and saw the prices which almost made me faint).
Sorry for so many questions, and thank you all for your patience!
 
The cheapest nvidia solution that I see is to pick up a used 470 if youre ok with buying used. Something like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/PNY-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-470-GMGTX47N2H12Z-QT-1280MB-Qty-Avail-SLI-HDMI-Tested-/201044720910 However, Im not very familiar with Adobe and how much gpu power you would really need, this 470 should be enough I just dont know how much it needs i.e. if more is better. Staying on the Nvidia side, If you needed more power than I would have to say the gtx 570 which you should be able to find in your budget. If you wanted to go amd http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAPPHIRE-100358-2L-Radeon-HD-7770-GHz-Edition-1GB-128-Bit-GDDR5-PCI-Express-3-0-/251463640829 something like that. Just let me know if you would need more power than the 470 or what I listed. The 470 performs about as well as the gtx 750 btw.
 
@Sharphawk1234: Thanks again for all the effort in finding me those cards! Well, I think there should be more power than in GTX 470, but then again, it's best to get GTX 750 I guess.
The GPUs listed on Adobe website I sent the link for can be used by "Mercury Playback Engine" so that stuff you edit or animate is presented in real-time, and there's no need for rendering (i.e. wasting time on) many things.
By the way, are ALL of the cards listed there better than GTX 750? I still cannot figure out why this model was left out there...
Thanks again!
P.S. As this is my first post here, how do you select the best answer?
 

Well another reason to maybe steer you in the direction of the newer 750/750ti is the much lower tdp, a difference of almost 150w comparing some of the older chips to these newer ones. If you have a psu that has plenty of watts youll be fine but if not that may be a factor as well. Actually no it isnt the worst card because there are a few mobile chips that perform worse as well as a few amd chips (AMD Radeon HD 6750). The 750 (haswell) probably wasnt included because this card just came out in the second half of feburary, like 3 weeks ago so maybe it wasnt updated or maybe the software will be integrated at a later time? Im not sure on that but just remember if you need more power you can upgrade the gpu, but keep in mind if you do much else above a 750/750 ti you may need to invest in a higher wattage psu. Btw there should be a button on the bottom right side that say click here for best solution. P.S. Im new here too, just joined a few weeks ago.

 


Thanks again for the detailed reply.
Well, I guess it's GTX 750/750 TI then.
Still cannot figure out how to add the best solution tag, but I'll just shout out that this is the BEST ANSWER.
 

Haha your welcome have fun with your new card and you can google how to select it for future refrence I cant remember exactly where it is.

 


Yes, I realise that now.
Thanks for the info -- I'll post a thread as a question next time.
 
Well, there seems to be just one more question. I have just one more question before I make the purchase.
If I upgrade to Intel Core i5-3570K Processor which has HD graphics 4000, would it be as good as GTX 750/750 TI?
In fact, is there any major difference between HD graphics 2000 and HD graphics 4000?
Thanks again!
 


There is a fair difference between the 2000 and 4000 but it is still NO comparison with even a low end GPU
The GTX750 is about 7x faster
 


Thanks for your quick reply. I guess I'll definitely upgrade my GPU firstly.
 
Well the hd 4000 will not as good as the gtx 750 not nearly im afraid, althought he 4000 will be roughly a 2x boost over . Discrete cards, even the budget ones, are just much more powerful than integrated graphics. However what you could do if you wanted to stay discrete is upgrade to the i5-4670 (only get the i5-4670k if you plan on overclocking) because it has hd 4600 graphics, which is 25% better than the hd 4000. So in short, if you were looking to get roughly 2x more performance and thats all you needed, get the i5-4670. But, if you needed more graphics power than that get the 750/750ti. However, oly upgrade your cpu if you need more power out of it with this program, the cheapest solution would be to just slab on the 750 for about $130, second would would be to replace the cpu with the new maxwell i5-4670 with hd 4600 which will run you about $220 or so but keep in mind it may not have enough graphics power from the integrated card. The final and most expensive option would be upgrading to an i5-4670 AND buying a gtx 750/ti. Only do this final option if you feel you need more cpu power, although I think your cpu should be fine.
 


Well, I'll shout it out once more -- this is THE BEST ANSWER!
Thanks to eternity for this detailed and comprehensive reply!