Integrated Video Cards

[outoftheloop]

Ok It has been about 10 years since I was in the computer scene. Unfortunately I have lost contact with all my old computer colleges and have fallen out of the loop on allot of the latest hardware.

One question I have is this Integrated Video Cards. It seems the computer companies are really pushing these instead of going with a traditional company like NVIDIA or the like.

I have also been hearing on different tech boards that these IVC's are not the best for high end performance. I.E. gaming, graphic design or anything of the like. The only people that the IVC’s are good for are the solitaire playing word processing types.

Can someone please fill me in on the truth of the matter and if they are so bad why are they getting shoved down our throats.
.

[VBdynamic]

You are correct, they aren't for gaming, and other high performance applications. They use system Ram for the video memory so this can cause a performance drop. As for why they are being used, the answer is simple they are cheap!

[guitarhero14]

Spend the extra money and get an actual video card. I had an integrated video card and once i saw the slow performance I went out and bought a card. If you plan on playing any games or anything that uses the graphics card to some extent, you might as well get a card. Less trouble and less headaches.