ati hd 4200 on board gpu

[laezyre]

I am considering buying the gigabyte MA785GA-UD3H mobo for my in laws who do no gaming. How does it handle non-gaming programs including movies?

Also, I've never used on board graphics before. Is there any jumper or setting I need to change to make sure the system uses the on board gpu and doesn't look for a video card?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Malak]

Anything non-gaming will run fine on any onboard video chipset. Movies aren't hardware intensive, they will perform exactly the same on any onboard video. The plus for 4200 is the HDMI out. And no you don't touch jumpers, that's so 1979. Windows uses whatever plugged in and available.

 

[laezyre]

Thanks for the quick reply. If I decide to add a video card later, will the OS default to the video card over the on board gpu?

Being a gamer, I have never entertained the idea of on board graphics, hence the newb question. I was, however, quite the gamer back in 1979.

 

[Malak]

Well onboard graphics were just fine up until 1998. And yeah if you plug a video card in later, the OS will switch. It detects which port is being used.

 

[lopri]

Video processing can be very taxing on CPU/GPU, and no not all IGPs are created equal. Certain Intel IGPs can't even keep up with Windows Aero, let alone 1080p. Even among capable IGPs, the quality of screen vary.

Said that, 785G is probably the best among the IGPs, and outside of gaming it will provide almost the same experience of discrete GPUs.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Malak
Anything non-gaming will run fine on any onboard video chipset. Movies aren't hardware intensive, they will perform exactly the same on any onboard video.

This is not true. Try running even a 720p video on an Intel GMA 950 IGP. A strong CPU will be taxed playing HD videos on those IGPs because the IGP isn't doing squat.

The 4200 is probably the best IGP available though.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Originally posted by: laezyre
Thanks for the quick reply. If I decide to add a video card later, will the OS default to the video card over the on board gpu?

Being a gamer, I have never entertained the idea of on board graphics, hence the newb question. I was, however, quite the gamer back in 1979.

You may have to change some options in the BIOS to get the computer to boot with the dedicated card as the primary card. But once you do, that will be the default card at all times.