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Integrated 3D Graphics Motherboard Round-Up
Keefe writes "In the recent past, integrated video was seldom a viable solution for hardcore computer gamers. Enthusiasts shunned from motherboards with integrated video, and opted to buy ones without it, in additional to a much faster ATi or Nvidia-powered graphics accelerator. Today, the picture is beginning to change. The last few integrated motherboards sported decent graphics chipsets, like the Nvidia NForce (GeForce2 MX), ATI IGP320 (Radeon VE), or Intel 845G. Techware Labs has taken a look at the current integrated 3D video chipsets on the market and concluded how they perform in the latest 3D software."
The submitter makes it sound like these integrated video platforms are good enough for gamers. WTF? At no point in history, including now, have integrated video accelerators offered acceptable performance for current games. Sure, these things might run Quake 3, but they better, seeing as it's so many years old.
True gamers are never going to use integrated video, when even the cheapest of new videocards spank them in all terms of performance, and most joe blows don't need anything approaching good 3d performance in their integrated video, because their activities consist of emailing and web surfing.
These motherboards are trying to fill a niche that doesn't exist. Power users will ignore the integrated video, and normal users (if they have any say in what goes into their box) will get cheaper integrated video solutions that don't cost as much as 'supAr fast 3d shared memory game integrated 3d card things'.
Regardless of the level of chip you put into an integrated motherboard no serious gamer will buy this...
If for no other reason than upgrade-ability. What's they point of intergrating the latest chip when a year from now (in the gamers mindset, and the games development) that chip will be out-dated...
and from a manufacturing standpoint you will be left with motherboards that are too expensive for the low-mid end user and useless to the high end gamer...
All arround pointless....
DJMD - The fourth man - Planetary
First of all, I'll let somebody behind me take on the dumb comment.
Second of all, when i build systems for my family and friends, I want to pick integrated video (after explaining to them the inherent drawbacks)that doesn't suck, and always pick a MB that has AGP as well. I'm the one that reviews available information on hardware performance and tells them "yes, it's ok to buy the nforce mboard, it'll play warcraft II" or whatever game they are looking at. And i haven't purchased anything faster than a 1 gig Tbird yet..
Don't be elitist. There are plenty of gamers out there that can't bloody afford the latest and greatest, much less upgrade every two years (6 months?). Some folks are actually interested in knowing what the best integrated video is, even if it doesn't compare to your Robocop 6000 SUX.
If only they had a sample of the NVIDIA nForce2 to compare. Then again, maybe they did -- anyone seen a mirror? I loaded their page once, it linked a supposed mirror, but it was for a 40x CDRW review...
"Then WTF would you want an integrated graphics chip?"
If you're a bussiness. Seriously, most of the computers at work, even the ones we got receantly, have something like a Matrox G400 or a GeForce 2 MX or soemthing like that. There is just no need for a fast 3d card because it is for work, not for games. Now some of the systems come with built-in video cards and this is rather nice. Saves money and it's all interrgated. Does just fine for office apps.
Not everyone needs the latest greatest accelerator. Yes, I have a GeForce 4 in my home computer, I play games here. At work I'd be fine with an integrated graphics card.
There are many arguments in this thread about "gamers won't by this because of this and that and this..."
Guess what? We all bought these integrated systems, it's called a ps2, gamecube, or xbox.
So it's slightly different under the hood but the idea is the same. And you know what, as a gamer I appreciate the simplicity of consoles.
There will always be hardcore enthusiasts who will buy the big, bad, best stuff. That's a certain market. However, as an electronics manufacturer with a payroll you've got to follow the bell curve and shoot for the group within the bell, right?
I think the more products that speak to the whole range of computer users and gamers is a good thing.
Oh yeah, better integrated chips mean I won't always get stuck with the sh*tty 11mb shared card in that crappy dell l800 when purchasing gets cheap on the next upgrade.
You save
And if you use your computer not for 3D work or gaming, there probably won't be a reason to upgrade for the next 3 years. Doing my daily work, I can't tell a difference between a TNT and a GeForce4.