Any value to keeping a NVIDIA 6600 VC

[rivethead]

I've currently got a AMD/Socket 939 system with a LeadTek Winfast PX6600 video card (pci-e). It served it's purpose and was plenty of video processing power for our needs.

Now, I'm considering a new build to upgrade to a multi core processor. I'm looking at some mobos with integrated graphics and they appear to be more powerful than what I currently have.

So my question is: is there any reason to keep the 6600 video card? If I get a mobo with integrated graphics and "crossfire" support, if I put the 6600 in it will it have any benefit?

And lastly, for light gamers, are today's integrated graphics sufficient, or should I stay on the path of a separate VC?

Thanks!

 

[Barfo]

Originally posted by: rivethead
And lastly, for light gamers, are today's integrated graphics sufficient, or should I stay on the path of a separate VC?

You're better off getting a cheap video card, integrated graphics will allow you to run 2-3 year old games with modest quality settings, at most.

 

[lopri]

Originally posted by: rivethead
So my question is: is there any reason to keep the 6600 video card? If I get a mobo with integrated graphics and "crossfire" support, if I put the 6600 in it will it have any benefit?

Nope. Hybrid SLI/CrossFire, if at all, works only with select few of later generation cards.

 

[Denithor]

6600 should be a bit better than any integrated options on the market today.

You won't be able to use it for Crossfire as the 6600 is an nVidia card and Crossfire requires a pair of identical ATI cards.

 

[deimos3428]

Originally posted by: rivethead
And lastly, for light gamers, are today's integrated graphics sufficient, or should I stay on the path of a separate VC?

Depends on what you mean by "light" gaming. I can run Team Fortress 2 on medium-high settings at 1368x768 on a 790GX (HD3300) IGP just fine. Anything sufficiently more complicated would require a discrete card.

If you're unsure whether you'll need a video card or not, try it with the IGP first. You can always add one later.