Anybody have experience lately with Integrated Graphics?

Grimezy

Prolific Poster
I'm looking to build a really cheapo rig as the missus's laptop has broke and she really enjoys playing Guild Wars 2 (unfortunately on my machine at the moment!). I've been having a look around and I think the only way I'm going to be able to do this is with an Integrated Graphics CPU. I just wanted some advice as to what I can expect really, she'll only use it for browsing, music, films, and the occasional gaming and I've heard GW2 isn't very well optimised for multiple cores but is more CPU dependant than GPU. It seems after a little bit of research something like a dual core i3-4130 will outperform the equivalent quad core AMD processor while playing GW2 and in single-threaded tasks. Obviously the AMD processor will obliterate it for multi-threaded tasks but I really don't think she intends to do this at all.

So my concerns are:

1) How much have integrated graphics come on lately? Am I likely to see sufficient performance from a new i3 or am I really going to suffer without a dedicated card?
2) Does having integrated graphics effect temps much? I was going to try and give a proper CPU cooler a miss to save on costs and because it's not really meant for anything too taxing.
3) Is it still possible to get by in todays world with a dual core? :D I assumed they had become a bit extinct apart from cheap laptops.
4) If I was to scrounge up some money in future for a dedicated card, would I have issues with bottlenecking with the i3? Could this be a reason to go for the AMD equivalent?
5) I really am aiming to go as cheap as possible, obviously I don't want too much help as these are PCS's forums (if they sold parts that people could assemble themselves they'd be the first place I went to!) but any suggestions on other decent processors? I've only really looked at the i3-4130 and A10-6800K. I would still be open to a CPU + GPU combination if the price was right, I'm trying to scrimp this build for less than £400 at the moment though which I know sounds tight but I know it's possible.

For information, GW2 requirements are here: http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=684&game=Guild Wars 2

Any help would be great :) And if it is possible to spec a sufficient build through PCS then I'm open to suggestions! Like I said though, general consensus seems to be that a decent dual core will beat a budget quad core.
 

kruppsy

Master
...general consensus seems to be that a decent dual core will beat a budget quad core.

I think it depends heavily on the game mate. If by 'budget' you mean AMD though, then I'd say yeah, an i3 dual will more than likely be more effective than a AMD A-Series quad. Just as a vague comparison...the desktop i3 is often better than a FX-6300 in games which aren't optimised for multiple cores. A-Series cpus do have better integrated graphics though so its catch 22.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/fx-8350-8320-6300-4300_6.html#sect0

I had a Core2Duo @3.4GHz paired with a HD 6950 and it did feel I was being held back by the processor on certain games like Battlefield 3 (big fps spikes and troughs). Older games (L4D for example) felt as smooth as my i7/680m laptop. Im not sure if low end dedicated cards are powerful enough to expose a bottleneck though?


You may have seen this but...(if you went for a i3 4130)....

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4400.91979.0.html

It might be ok for a combination of low/med settings?

The cheapest/best all-rounder might be going for something like an A10 as you mention? Your motherboard will be cheaper than an intel equivalent as well.

I think I've only very loosely contributed here...sorry...

After some research, turns out i need to retract some of the above, especially as it turns out you could self build an FX-6300 + R7 250 or HD 7750 for £400 quite easily.

(think ive edited this post more than any post has been edited....ever...)
 
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Bsrz

Rising Star
cant be to much help but here is a video of guild wars 2 running on an i5-3570k with intergrated graphics - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3nvVevqMFM - its playable but only on min - medium settings :/ you might want to invest in a separate gpu provided you can fit it into your budget maybe go for a really cheep amd card? anything is better than on board graphics. back in the day when I was using on board graphics in my laptop it was just horrid very bad fps and had to keep the settings on low.
maybe try and get something like this - http://www.ebuyer.com/455240-xfx-hd...ium=products&gclid=CNmol86yqroCFXMRtAode1EAJw ??

I would also just add the latest nvidia geforce r331 driver is out for anyone that didn't know.
 
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Frank100

Rising Star
In terms of the Intel GPUs they have considerably fewer processing units than the AMD APU versions, although you can't always directly compare numbers of cores.

I haven't used an AMD APU yet but I wouldn't fancy gaming on the in-build GPU in the Ivy bridge processors of which I have a few.

I don't think I can add anything else you wouldn't already know.
 

Grimezy

Prolific Poster
Thanks for the input guys. I've had another think about it and although logic would say go for an AMD CPU, I've heard they can have serious performance issues in GW2 and that really they need some heavy OC'ing to keep up with the i3's. Now I'm pondering on the idea of going for the i3-4130 paired with a HD7770. Do you think I'm likely to see any issues with this combination? It would give me the flexibility to upgrade to an i5 in future if she needed one and would be solid for GW2 performance. It does take my budget more towards the £500-£550 range though but I do think it would be a solid build for her needs.

Now I'm stuck on the case though. Need something quite small and 'girly'... And she likes white a lot... I've been looking at things like the Fractal Design R4 but I've never been keen on 'silent' cases. Any suggestions? Something subtle but good looking without breaking the bank?

And also CPU cooler-wise, I was going to try out the stock cooler but I'm not sure if this is wise. Any suggestions for one compatible with a 1150 socket?
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
It does take my budget more towards the £500-£550 range though but I do think it would be a solid build for her needs.
For that budget I would get a FX-6300 (overclock the _______ out of it) and get a R9-270X.
Need something quite small and 'girly'
I refuse to comment on that
And also CPU cooler-wise, I was going to try out the stock cooler but I'm not sure if this is wise. Any suggestions for one compatible with a 1150 socket?
Any £15+ air cooler (artic freezer)
 

kruppsy

Master
White, cheap...a bit too boisterous?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-Z3-P...id=1382543209&sr=8-1&keywords=zalman+z3+white

Cheap, respectable cooler...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009XGZZPC/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=computers

I like the idea of an i3 and 7770, should work well and as you say, give you the option of an i5 at a later date. Especially if you know of issues with AMD and the game that you're essentially building it for.

As keynes says, the FX-6300 would be another route you could go down, my biased opinion would be for it but nothing wrong with a i3 on the not so recent releases. Interested to see how they'd hold up on the blockbuster games...but if you aren't playing them on this particular build, it doesn't matter.
 
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Grimezy

Prolific Poster
Thanks Krupps! That case looks spot on and I think that cooler is what I'm after :)

I agree Keynes, logic would dictate I get a FX-6300 but honestly the GW2 forums are riddled with people with issues about that specific CPU so I just don't think I'll take the chance on it. It seems I'll get better performance out of the i3 for her needs. I am curious about these 'R' cards from AMD though. Would the R9-270X be better value than a 7770? I've read a 7770 can handle GW2 absolutely fine on high settings so I would be happy with that but obviously with these new cards coming out I don't know where I stand anymore. They seem to be too cheap to be true (if you know what I mean)?
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
I agree Keynes, logic would dictate I get a FX-6300 but honestly the GW2 forums are riddled with people with issues about that specific CPU so I just don't think I'll take the chance on it.
I check a few threads but couldn't find people having issues but I am pretty confident an overclocked FX-6300 + R9-270X will give much better performance than an i3 + HD 7770.
Would the R9-270X be better value than a 7770?
I think it is. Around £150 and offers more futureproof than the hd 7770.
 

Grimezy

Prolific Poster
I'll have another think then :) I'd rather stay away from OC'ing as I wouldn't feel 100% confident with it especially if it's not me using the build on a day to day basis.

Budget builds are tough, the price is slowly creeping up. I've gone from wanting her to have a barebones cheapo system to something a little bit more long-standing and respectable :(
 

Frank100

Rising Star
Me again. I hadn't realised you would be looking in the £500+ mark so I would definitely say go for a separate graphics card and the i3 will be fine. On the girly front I have seen pink LED fans or is that too much?
 

Grimezy

Prolific Poster
Me again. I hadn't realised you would be looking in the £500+ mark so I would definitely say go for a separate graphics card and the i3 will be fine. On the girly front I have seen pink LED fans or is that too much?

Well I wasn't meant to be looking at the £500+ mark... it just kinda happened :( Pink LED's would be good though :D I think..

I still don't get how an overclocked fx-6300 may perform better than an i3 on gw2.

It seems at stock, the i3 will trump the fx-6300 in pretty much all games. Once overclocked, the fx-6300 trumps the i3 in pretty much all games. GW2 being mainly ran on one core means the i3 is still close to the fx but slightly behind.

My issue being that it's not going to be my pc and as her house is a slight trek away I'd rather she was just sorted with something that ran absolutely fine with no farting about required... I'm sure it would be fine with a standard overclock, but still, I don't want to do anything really that could give the pc an excuse to throw a wobbly.

So really what you guys are forcing me to do is buy her an i5-3570, which I think might be the best case scenario despite costing quite a bit more. I might have to have a chat and see what she thinks and whether we could go halves or something. If I went for the i5, would I need to go for a better GPU than the 7770? (perhaps the 7850 that krupps suggested or one of the r7's?)
 

kruppsy

Master
So really what you guys are forcing me to do is buy her an i5-3570

Don't do it! think of the car fund!

Ive been messing about overclocking my 6300 and at the risk of spoiling the thread I started about it, in short, there's not much point. Where gamings concerned anyway. My benchmark scores improved quite a bit but actual gameplay was not vastly improved. Best case it was 10fps, but most were less than 5fps improvements going from stock 3.5GHz (4.1GHz boosted) to OC'd @ 4.7GHz. I guess Im saying you wouldn't have to bother messing with the FX chip, it works fine as it is. I wouldn't worry about what the benchmarks and reviews say, I very much doubt you will tell the difference between an i3 and FX-6300. My i7 3740QM is supposedly 30% better than my 6300, I honestly wouldn't have known.

The AMD motherboard will also be cheaper and remember, by buying socket AM3+ you can upgrade to an 8 core FX cpu no problem, in the future. The FX-8350 would get you that bit closer to i5 performance and wouldn't hurt the wallet too much. The good thing about AMD is that they reduce the price of their chips quite a bit when new lines are realeased (intel don't) so these 8 cores could come down a bit in 6 months time? All this talk of multi core processors being better for future games...AMD may close that performance gap a bit more in the coming months as well?

GPU wise, I'd consider an 7790(£90) or the 7850(£110), they seem to out do their NVIDIA price point alternatives from what I've seen (happy to be wrong though). The 7770 is a bit weak, the other two would make a good foil to a 6300. The R9-270X(£150) is a great card, I just wonder if its worth it considering what it'll be used for.

This will help get your budget back in check a bit mate. :)

I had rambled on a lot more but lost it all getting signed out mid write...probably a good thing....
 

Grimezy

Prolific Poster
Haha I did add an i5-3470 to my basket and then almost fall off my chair at the basket total - let's say it escalated quickly and that was only with a 7770 as well!

FX-6300 may well be the best shout then, unless I revert back to the i3 just to satisfy keynes ;)
 

keynes

Multiverse Poster
If you buy the i3 I will send you PMs with spoilers on the walking dead every Monday morning.
Seriously the fx-6300 is pretty good value for money.
 
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