We have reached a point where the integrated graphics cards in the CPUs have easily replaced the entry-level discrete GPUs from NVIDIA and AMD.
While both the top CPU brands, i.e., Intel and AMD, have made strides with their iGPUs, AMD particularly has made a tremendous mark in this regard.
With its Radeon Vega integrated graphics, AMD has outstanding performance in the lower Gaming PC bracket. And play light games such as Minecraft, League of Legends, DOTA, and even some AAA titles at low graphics. You will find the performance of the newer integrated graphics cards quite satisfactory.
This article is dedicated as a build guide for gaming PC without graphics cards. Technically, we will talk about building guilds that do not have a standalone video card but feature an integrated graphics card.
The following questions should clarify some concepts and misconceptions regarding the theme of this article. We exceedingly suggest merely studying through them as a groundwork.
Dedicated or discrete graphics cards/video cards are standalone devices that plug into the PCIe slots of your motherboard.
On the other hand, integrated graphics processing units, or GPUs, are built into the CPUs. They are not standalone devices.
The primary function of both is the same: they add video and graphical display ability to your PC.
However, enthusiasts with large budgets often opt for dedicated GPUs for their gaming rigs as they are more powerful and can thus render intense graphics while maintaining good frame rates.
On the flip side, if you have budget constraints and want to minimize your costs, then a PC build with no dedicated graphics card and an iGPU instead is recommended.
Do Pcs Need A Graphics Card
Yes, if you want to connect a display to your PC and render graphical data, then YES, you need a graphics card.
On the off possibility that you’re examining this right by and by on your PC screen, at that point, you’ve got a design card.
The real question is, do you need a DEDICATED GPU or not? The answer to this question is No!
If your CPU has an integrated graphics card and your motherboard has video output ports, then you do not need to have a dedicated graphics card!
Can You Play Games Without A Graphics Card
Again, there are some misconceptions about integrated and dedicated graphics cards.
If you do not have a dedicated graphics card, you can still play games IF your CPU has a good enough integrated graphics card.
However, it is worth noting that the integrated graphics cards built into CPUs are generally much weaker than dedicated graphics cards.
Fortunately, some of the recent GPUs, particularly those from the AMD Radeon Vega series, can easily play AAA and popular online games at low-high graphic settings – depending on the game.
Do Motherboard Have Onboard Graphics Processing
No, motherboards do not have an onboard graphics processing chip.
The video ports on a motherboard are powered by the integrated graphics card found on the CPU.
In other words, if you do not have a CPU with an IGPU, the motherboard video output ports WILL NOT WORK!
Who Would Be Interested In Getting A Gaming Pc Without Graphics Card
Again, when we talk about a PC without a graphics card, we are essentially talking about a PC with an integrated GPU instead of a dedicated GPU.
So the people interested in this kind of gaming PC would be those who:
- Have a limited budget
- Play very light games
- I do not want to play games with extraordinarily high graphics (i.e., 4k)
- I do not indulge much in AAA titles; more interested in online multiplayer games
Let us now get into the build guide for gaming PC with integrated graphics cards.
Build Guide For Gaming Pcs Without Graphics Card
Let us now get into the nitty-gritty details of a gaming PC built without a graphics card.
It should be pointed out that if you are pursuing building an enthusiast-grade gaming rig, then that is not possible without a discrete GPU.
A gaming desktop PC with an integrated GPU is intended for budget builds mostly.
- Campus With Integrated Graphics
A gaming desktop PC with an integrated GPU is intended for budget builds mostly.
Campus With Integrated Graphics
Understanding The CPU Models With IGPU
Both Intel and AMD have many CPU models with integrated graphics cards.
Intel CPUs With IGPU
In the case of Intel CPUs, almost all of their desktop-based commercial processors come with an integrated graphics card.
Only the ones with the ‘F’ suffix do not come with an integrated graphics card. Examples include Intel Core i9-9900KF or the Intel Core i7-11700KF.
Some popular integrated Intel GPUs include Intel UHD 630 found in 8th-10th Gen processors and Intel UHD 750 found on the newer 11th Gen processors.
AMD CPUs With IGPU
Unlike Intel, only a select few CPUs from AMD offer an integrated graphics card. These are popularly known as APUs, short for the accelerated processing unit. Accelerated processing units are AMD CPUs with a Vega graphics card built-in.
AMD processors with an integrated graphics card have the ‘G’ suffix in their names, such as the AMD Athlon 3000G or the AMD Ryzen 5 3400G.
AMD APUs feature the powerful Radeon Vega integrated graphics cards, i.e., Vega 3, Vega 6, Vega 8, and Vega 11.
It is common knowledge that the AMD APUs perform better than Intel CPUs regarding graphics processing.
Therefore, if you are building an economical gaming PC without a graphics card, we recommend that you go for AMD APUs.
You will learn more about their prowess in the benchmarks below.
Benchmarking Campus With Integrated Graphics Card
In the following text, we will benchmark the CPU Performance in terms of single-core and multi-core and graphics performance:
List Of Popular CPUs With Integrated Graphics In 2021
The following are the popular and latest CPUs with their integrated graphics.
You must select the right processor with the right graphics. Sometimes, a CPU may have excellent performance but lag in its graphics prowess.
- Passmark Source: cpubenchmark.net
- Note that most of the AMD APUs from the 4000 Renoir series are OEM Only and can only be found on Pre-built PCs.
- The mentioned prices are only the release or the MSRP price, not the actual listing price. Due to the CPU and GPU shortage and availability, the prices of these components fluctuate heavily.
Most Newer AMD APUs are OEM Only (Unfortunately)
Most of the AMD APUs from the 4000 and the 5000 series is OEM only. They can only be found on pre-built PCs by brands like Dell or HP.
The only APUs that you can grab off the shelf and build a PC out of easily is the 3000 series APUs like the Ryzen 3 3200G and the Ryzen 5 3400G.
You CAN grab 4000G Pro series APUs like the Ryzen 5 4650G off the shelf for building a custom PC, but they are hard to find and are generally quite expensive. On top of that, they are not boxed and do not come with a CPU cooler as well.
Single-Core Performance
Here is the single-core performance of the popular CPUs with iGPU mentioned above. The scores are based on the Cinebench R20 Benchmark.
The single-core performance of a processor is an important measure of its prowess. Most software and games still utilize a single core for most of their tasks.
Whether you are sculpting in Blender, designing in AutoCAD, or playing a game, any single-thread heavy task benefits from a CPU with a better single-core performance.
Single-Core performance is very important, particularly for those software, games, and tasks that do not scale well with multiple cores.
You will notice that most online multiplayer games like League of Legends, DOTA, Fortnite, etc., often rely on one or two cores mostly. This is done to cater to a wider demographics of gamers worldwide and appeal to those with a lower budget or older PCs.
Hence again, for most online titles and many AAA titles, single-core performance > multi-core performance.
Does Pc Gaming Use Multiple Cores
In terms of PC gaming, simulation games and strategy games like Cities: Skyline or Ashes of Singularity are games that heavily use multiple cores.
Lighter and most online games such as Minecraft, League of Legends, and CS: do not make use of a lot of cores.
For instance, Minecraft uses 2-3 cores at max. Having a CPU with more cores will not Benefit The Game. It COULD, however, benefit your overall system performance, particularly if you have other software and applications running in the background.
If you are a gamer streamer, for instance, on a platform like Twitch or YouTube, you will need many cores. Video encoding, which is the process that takes place while streaming, is something that can eat through your core count. The more cores you have, the smoother you will be your streams.
Integrated Graphics Gaming Performance
If you are building a gaming PC without a graphics card, you need to pay special attention to how the various iGPUs perform.
This is the most important section for you as a gamer. Of course, iGPUs are not at powerful as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX, GeForce RTX, or the AMD RX 5000 or 6000 series discrete graphics card, but for a light gaming desktop PC, these should more than suffice.
Again, if you attempt to build a high-performance gaming rig out of an IGPU, you will be disappointed. Be that as it may, if you’re a casual gamer or play PC recreations with low GPU demands, typically the proper construction.
Notes:
The AMD Vega 3, 6, 8, and 11 G3DMark scores are from AMD 2000 Series APU released in 2018. Hence they do not reflect the scores of 3000, 4000, and 5000 series iGPU of the same name.
G3DMark Source: videocardbenchmark.net
The prices mentioned above are the release price or the MSRP. Due to the CPU and GPU shortage, the listing price may be higher (or lower if you are lucky).
Here, some of the discrete GPUs have lower performance than the integrated GPUs found on AMD CPUs.
Most of the newer IGPUs have practically rendered the entry-level dedicated graphics cards useless.
Difference Between Radeon Vega Graphics In 3000, 4000, And 5000 Series AMD Apus
AMD uses the same name for its GPU in its successive CPU series. But the performance difference can be drastic.
For instance, AMD offers RX Vega 8 graphics in its 3000 series Ryzen 3 3200G and its 4000 series AMD Ryzen 7 4700G CPUs.
However, the difference in both is huge.
For instance, the RX Vega 8 in the Ryzen 3 3200G operates at 1250 MHz and has a processing power of 1280 GFLOPS. However, RX Vega 8 in the Ryzen 7 4700G operates at a whopping 2100 MHz with a processing power of 2150 GFLOPS!
Therefore, do not get confused by the APUs having the same Vega Series iGPU name. Know that each successive APU series improves drastically on the performance of the GPU despite having the same name and model number.
Conclusion
As you’ll see, it’s more than conceivable to run a PC without an illustrations card – if you don’t need one.
Suppose you’re not coming to be gaming or doing a couple of sorts of graphical design/video work.
Why blow hundreds of dollars on something you’ll never utilize – aka a dedicated GPU? There’s fair no point! You might as well fair skip that altogether and purchase more Slam + a more grounded CPU with coordinates graphics instead!
So, if you’re attempting to piece together an unused “homework/work” computer, rest guaranteed to know you do not ought to blow money on parts you won’t be requiring.
Advanced IGPUs are more than able to take care of all fundamental errands, and indeed on the off chance that you discover that it’s not very capable sufficient for what you would, like including a dedicated GPU can be done at whatever point you need!
