Using Quick Sync & Discrete Graphics

[SRJ2012]

Hello everyone! Merry Christmas! (and other holidays, of course). Long time lurker, first time poster.

So I friend my motherboard yesterday (an old i5 system), and am on a VERY strict budget to build a new computer (I'm a teacher). So here's what I'm thinking. The machine is for light gaming at 1080p (I have kids, don't have nearly as much time to game as I would like), and mostly for media encoding and serving as a Plex server for the house.

Core i3-3220 (yes, I realize a step down from i5, but I can't afford the 3570k)
Wintec 8GB Ram
Radeon 7850
Windows 7 (Exists on current Hard Drive)
Samsung 840 240GB SSD (Will become new system Drive - have a 2TB drive I keep all my media on)

Already have: Blu-Ray drive, OCZ 500Watt Modular power supply, Antec 300 case

What I'd like to do is use the discrete GPU for gaming, and the processor for Quick Sync with MediaEspresso for all my Blu-Ray encoding needs. So what motherboard would allow me to do that? Can I use a B75 with Virtu MVP, or do I need a Z77 with Virtu MVP to accomplish this? I have two monitors - would you hook the main monitor to the iGPU and the secondary monitor to the dGPU, or the other way around? Just looking to get the most bang for my buck, obviously.

Unrelated question - when I hook the HDD to the new motherboard, I assume Windows will go nuts (bought an OEM copy). Will Windows just grant me a new license number if I explain the previous MB fried and I'm transferring the HDD to a new computer? I think Windows might go a little less nuts if I stick with the same MB manufacturer as my old MB (Gigabyte), or am I nuts on that thought?

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[JimS]

I went from Conroe to i5 and all I had to do was reactivate online. I don't remember whether I'm using an OEM W7 though. (Really, it's a legitimate copy, I just really don't remember what the circumstances of buying it were. I *think* it was an upgrade version, but I'm not certain.)

 

[jkauff]

Regarding the first question, adding a discrete GPU will disable the onboard GPU. That's the way Intel designed it. Virtu MVP will let you use both GPUs, but only for gaming. For MediaEspresso, you'll need to use the GPU compute drivers that come with your video card. For nVidia, it's CUDA. For AMD, it's Aviva. The general feeling seems to be that their encoding quality is not as good as QuickSync, and you're probably better off just using good old slow CPU software encoding. This may all change as support for OpenCL gets better and the GPU manufacturers learn how to tweak it properly. The newer lines of video cards will have the best OpenCL support out of the box, and should still be supported as driver updates become available. You'd better check out the OpenCL support in MediaEspresso, too.

As to your second question, MS will not support OEM versions of Windows. If you have a retail copy, you can call the activation phone number and try to convince them that your old computer is totally dead and you're only going to run your copy of Windows on the new machine. If you have an OEM version, your best bet is to buy a copy of Acronis True Image with the Plus Pack (on sale right now, BTW). This will allow you to create an image of your current system partitions and restore to different hardware (it fakes out the HAL somehow). Less expensive than buying a second copy of Windows, and True Image is better than Windows Backup anyway, so you'll probably find it worth the price.

 

[SRJ2012]

Thank you for the help so far. Now, I understood that Virtu MVP can actually turn off the discrete graphics through a menu choice. Wouldn't this give access to the Intel graphics core for Quick Sync use?

 

[jkauff]

Thank you for the help so far. Now, I understood that Virtu MVP can actually turn off the discrete graphics through a menu choice. Wouldn't this give access to the Intel graphics core for Quick Sync use?

Just today, I read that the latest version of Virtu MVP will work with Quick Sync without turning off the discrete GPU. The Intel docs say the iGPU gets disabled if you have a discrete GPU installed, but maybe the Virtu folks have figured out a workaround. I'd be interested to know if it works out for you.

 

[=Wendy=]

With the latest version of Virtu MVP you can indeed use Quick Sync and discrete graphics. You can also use Virtu with B75, at least you can with Asus boards, and they supply a license.

Regarding the CPU.
If you can afford an extra $15 then the i3 3225 may be a better choice. i3 3220 has HD2500 graphics whilst the i3 3225 has HD4000 graphics, so faster Quick Sync with the i3 3225.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Regarding the CPU.
If you can afford an extra $15 then the i3 3225 may be a better choice. i3 3220 has HD2500 graphics whilst the i3 3225 has HD4000 graphics, so faster Quick Sync with the i3 3225.

I thought that the QuickSync was dedicated hardware in the CPU/video processor, and that the number of EUs in the IGP didn't affect it. Thus it shouldn't matter.

Are there benchmarks that prove otherwise?

Edit: I guess it does use the EUs after all.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/8