Intel UHD graphics question

[Glen Barrington]

My Lenovo desktop is nearing end of life, and I'm thinking of what could replace it. I've been tempted by PCs with those Intel integrated graphics cards.

Up till now, I've pretty much relied on separate nVidia lower tiered graphic cards. I'm currently using GeForce GT730 which I suspect will become inadequate in the not too distant future.

Those i5 Alder Lake PCs with integrated graphics seem like pretty good deals, However I worry that they may not be enough for the future. Especially graphics.

Are these devices adequate for Still photography? (ACDSee Ultimate & Topaz products) What about limited, non professional video editing (ACDSee Luxea 7, Camtasia 9. No heavy production values.)

There appear to be multiple generations of these things, are there any that ought to be avoided? Are the newer, lower tiered NVidia cards adequate for my needs?

I know databases, but I feel out of my comfort zone on graphics cards. So any advice you guys can offer would be appreciated.

 

[Ephemeris]

My Lenovo desktop is nearing end of life, and I'm thinking of what could replace it. I've been tempted by PCs with those Intel integrated graphics cards.

Up till now, I've pretty much relied on separate nVidia lower tiered graphic cards. I'm currently using GeForce GT730 which I suspect will become inadequate in the not too distant future.

Those i5 Alder Lake PCs with integrated graphics seem like pretty good deals, However I worry that they may not be enough for the future. Especially graphics.

Are these devices adequate for Still photography? (ACDSee Ultimate & Topaz products) What about limited, non professional video editing (ACDSee Luxea 7, Camtasia 9. No heavy production values.)

There appear to be multiple generations of these things, are there any that ought to be avoided? Are the newer, lower tiered NVidia cards adequate for my needs?

I know databases, but I feel out of my comfort zone on graphics cards. So any advice you guys can offer would be appreciated.

 

[JerseySailor]

Since you are using Topaz software - the answer is clear. On chip, CPU graphics just don't cut it with the GPU needs of Topaz software.

I have the full Topaz suite, and think it is incredible. However, is it very GPU intensive, and requires a good GPU behind it. Even lower-level GPUs are not good enough, but CPU based GPUs will definitely not be acceptable - unless you want to go brew a cup of coffee between each photo's rendering!

It was only when I upgraded to a GeForce RTX 3060 that I was satisfied with Topaz performance. Now, I'm extremely happy with what the Topaz software can do - it is incredible.

 

[Robert Zanatta]

By today's standards, the 730 is a slow video card. The integrated GPU on a 13th generation Intel processor will be faster.

 

[Austinian]

My Lenovo desktop is nearing end of life, and I'm thinking of what could replace it. I've been tempted by PCs with those Intel integrated graphics cards.

Up till now, I've pretty much relied on separate nVidia lower tiered graphic cards. I'm currently using GeForce GT730 which I suspect will become inadequate in the not too distant future.

Those i5 Alder Lake PCs with integrated graphics seem like pretty good deals, However I worry that they may not be enough for the future. Especially graphics.

Are these devices adequate for Still photography? (ACDSee Ultimate & Topaz products) What about limited, non professional video editing (ACDSee Luxea 7, Camtasia 9. No heavy production values.)

There appear to be multiple generations of these things, are there any that ought to be avoided? Are the newer, lower tiered NVidia cards adequate for my needs?

I know databases, but I feel out of my comfort zone on graphics cards. So any advice you guys can offer would be appreciated.

The first time I ran Topaz Sharpen AI, I had neglected to tell it to use my discrete graphics card (that CPU had no integrated graphics). After a few seconds, my desktop PC's CPU overtemp alarm went off! That had never happened before.

No doubt that 12th integrated graphics would be better than none at all, but I agree with the members who suggested an RTX 3060 (or above).

 

[kelpdiver]

By today's standards, the 730 is a slow video card. The integrated GPU on a 13th generation Intel processor will be faster.

but still crappy.

By one synth benchmark (passmarks)

gt730 - 828

UHD 770 (on the I5-12600k - 1811

GTX 3060 - 17204.

 

[Sean Nelson]

The first time I ran Topaz Sharpen AI, I had neglected to tell it to use my discrete graphics card (that CPU had no integrated graphics). After a few seconds, my desktop PC's CPU overtemp alarm went off! That had never happened before.

After I put together a desktop system I always run a stress test using Prime95 to make sure that the system is being adequately cooled. There simply aren't any workloads that push the CPU as hard as Prime95.

 

[BobKnDP]

The first time I ran Topaz Sharpen AI, I had neglected to tell it to use my discrete graphics card (that CPU had no integrated graphics). After a few seconds, my desktop PC's CPU overtemp alarm went off! That had never happened before.

After I put together a desktop system I always run a stress test using Prime95 to make sure that the system is being adequately cooled. There simply aren't any workloads that push the CPU as hard as Prime95.

I don't recall when I last tried Prime95.

CinebenchR23 is the only stressing software I've tried recently that can take an I9-13900K to its maximum load. It's a good test of cooling. The idea is to avoid having the CPU throttle at 100°C. (That may only apply to Gen12 and Gen13 Intel CPUs.) If necessary, CPU power limits can be enabled in the BIOS settings.

 

[Glen Barrington]

Any particularly good budget options?

--
Life is an ongoing learning process. You can stop once you are dead.
http://glenbarrington.blogspot.com/
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[NickZ2016]

The thing is on most desktops you can add a GPU later. You need to make sure the case is big enough. That the PSU is powerful enough with the right connections. Less likely an issue the slots support the number of PCIE lanes.

You mention video. Even if you have a 4090 the IGPU can be useful. There are things only it will decode. That means it's not one or the other.

 

[Robert Zanatta]

The first time I ran Topaz Sharpen AI, I had neglected to tell it to use my discrete graphics card (that CPU had no integrated graphics). After a few seconds, my desktop PC's CPU overtemp alarm went off! That had never happened before.

After I put together a desktop system I always run a stress test using Prime95 to make sure that the system is being adequately cooled. There simply aren't any workloads that push the CPU as hard as Prime95.

Prime95 has various options. Running the default settings isn't the most stressful. Use Small FFTs and it will really tax the system cache and stress the processor the most (with a caveat). A lot of BIOSes will have an AVX offset (which you can often configure). Since Prime95 defaults to using AVX instructions, the processor is likely to clock down when it detects a high AVX load. This means that an all core load in another stress test might run the cores at something like 4.7GHz, but Prime95 might run at 4.4Ghz. Regardless of the BIOS setting, running this for 30 minutes without issue is a good indicator of stability with a demanding AVX load.

For stressing the memory controller, run y-cruncher VST mode. I don't think there is a test that is more stressful on the IMC.

Memory tests like Memtest64 are good for stressing the RAM. It should be run for an hour so that the DIMM controller has time to teach maximum thermals.

For general workload, CB R20 or R23 do a pretty good job. An hour or those without issue is a pretty good indicator of system stability.

 

[Bobapingu]

My Lenovo desktop is nearing end of life, and I'm thinking of what could replace it. I've been tempted by PCs with those Intel integrated graphics cards.

Up till now, I've pretty much relied on separate nVidia lower tiered graphic cards. I'm currently using GeForce GT730 which I suspect will become inadequate in the not too distant future.

Those i5 Alder Lake PCs with integrated graphics seem like pretty good deals, However I worry that they may not be enough for the future. Especially graphics.

Are these devices adequate for Still photography? (ACDSee Ultimate & Topaz products) What about limited, non professional video editing (ACDSee Luxea 7, Camtasia 9. No heavy production values.)

There appear to be multiple generations of these things, are there any that ought to be avoided? Are the newer, lower tiered NVidia cards adequate for my needs?

I know databases, but I feel out of my comfort zone on graphics cards. So any advice you guys can offer would be appreciated.

I built a system with an (Alder Lake) i7-12700K with UHD Graphics 770. It worked brilliantly with Adobe Lightroom Classic. However, since Lightroom brought out it's great AI Denoise, it's an issue. It still does everything it did just as well but it takes 4 minutes to run AI Denoise. The UHD Graphics is just no longer up to it. I'm looking at having to an Nvidia RTX or similar to run the AI bit at a reasonable speed.

 

[Austinian]

The first time I ran Topaz Sharpen AI, I had neglected to tell it to use my discrete graphics card (that CPU had no integrated graphics). After a few seconds, my desktop PC's CPU overtemp alarm went off! That had never happened before.

After I put together a desktop system I always run a stress test using Prime95 to make sure that the system is being adequately cooled. There simply aren't any workloads that push the CPU as hard as Prime95.

Back in Ye Olden Days I was regularly o/c'ing my systems, and I'd use Prime95 as a test, but in recent years there was no use; my CPU cooling system was an ancient, but totally silent, Zalman Reserator 1+. Since I didn't really need to overclock any more I wasn't giving up its virtues even if its cooling abilities were limited.

However, the change to LGA 1700 meant that this long-obsolete system had to be replaced on my latest build. The new AIO has proved surprisingly-to-me satisfactory, once pump and fan speeds were adjusted for quiet. And it's much smaller and prettier.

Nowadays I just use HWiNFO64 to record what's happening when I run application-related loads; I'm less concerned about worst-possible-case situations.

 

[Austinian]

Any particularly good budget options?

Just a thought; if you have concerns about noise levels under load, I'd be cautious about buying too cheaply; the maker might be scrimping on the size of the heatsink and spinning the fans faster to compensate. Good tech reviews should give you info about that aspect.

 

[CAcreeks]

Any particularly good budget options?

The answer in an earlier thread, not yet acknowledged by OP, is this:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-...The-do-it-all-multimedia-laptop.640819.0.html

Currently $999 at Dell.com, it contains RTX 3050Ti with option of RTX 3060.

 

[BobKnDP]

Any particularly good budget options?

The answer in an earlier thread, not yet acknowledged by OP, is this:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-...The-do-it-all-multimedia-laptop.640819.0.html

Currently $999 at Dell.com, it contains RTX 3050Ti with option of RTX 3060.

Is this a laptop discussion?

The desktop RTX 3050 has 8GB of VRAM, which is desirable. Aside from that, it's pretty cut-down compared to the 12GB version of the 3060.

 

[skyglider]

My Lenovo desktop is nearing end of life, and I'm thinking of what could replace it. I've been tempted by PCs with those Intel integrated graphics cards. .... snip ....

Do you really need a high end graphics card to run de-noise and other intensive software for your images?

I'm just a snapshot shooter taking pictures on vacations, for special events like birthday parties, graduations, anniversary, etc. Using ETTR for all pics taken with my FZ1000 camera to get optimum exposures and for stock photos taken with my smart phone, I haven't found a need to de-noise my pics. Just the occasional unsharp mask is fine. ..... So the integrated Intel graphics on my MSI motherboard running an old i6700 CPU has been fine.

IOW, your inclination to just go with Intel integrated graphics for your new PC may be fine for what you do. Maybe for just a few, (rare), times you might want to run AI de-noise software, waiting a few minutes will be OK. Or if high end AI software can't run on your integrated graphics card, just use de-noise software that will run. Maybe do a reality check on what you will do in the future.

Just a thought.

 

[CAcreeks]

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-...The-do-it-all-multimedia-laptop.640819.0.html

Currently $999 at Dell.com, it contains RTX 3050Ti with option of RTX 3060.

Is this a laptop discussion?

Upon rereading, I'd say not. Sorry.

Buying a deskside without discrete GPU seems like a strange move. For a laptop, it makes more sense due to heat and noise.

The desktop RTX 3050 has 8GB of VRAM, which is desirable. Aside from that, it's pretty cut-down compared to the 12GB version of the 3060.

 

[BobKnDP]

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-...The-do-it-all-multimedia-laptop.640819.0.html

Currently $999 at Dell.com, it contains RTX 3050Ti with option of RTX 3060.

Is this a laptop discussion?

Upon rereading, I'd say not. Sorry.

Buying a deskside without discrete GPU seems like a strange move. For a laptop, it makes more sense due to heat and noise.

The desktop RTX 3050 has 8GB of VRAM, which is desirable. Aside from that, it's pretty cut-down compared to the 12GB version of the 3060.

I wasn't trying to be critical.

A desktop that uses the CPU's integrated graphics is probably great for most purposes.

It might serve for photo processing, but the user could be stuck with CPU processing. It usually works fine, if slowly.

 

[philmar]

I bet the display you will use also is important. On my previous desktop I was able to get by using the CPU integrated graphics up until I added a 2nd 1440p monitor. Then it was insufficient and I needed a discrete GPU to push the extra pixels.