Sandybridge and graphics question(s)

[philwil]

Just when I thought it was safe to buy a new pc, along comes Sandybridge!

I'd pretty much decided my spec, with a view to buying maybe in April. But now I'm wondering whether to go for Sandybridge.

So I'm questioning whether the integrated graphics unit is powerful enough for gaming and applications like Photoshop, or whether it's advisable to add a separate card? Is it actually possible to add another card to a Sandybridge mb?

And is it worth it, or would another CPU be preferable with GPU added?

And, from what I can see, Sandybridge compatible MBs don't support USB 3.0. Is that so?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[JSG10]

If you're waiting until April as it is then yes, definitely get SB All the chipset problems should have been resolved by then.

Integrated graphics is never enough for gaming at a more intense level, you'll definitely be wanting a dedicated GPU if you're into gaming.

Yes its possible to add a card to the mobo.

Yes SB is worth it, they're actually very reasonably priced, I was quite suprised.

USB3.0 is a little gimicky at the moment I find as there aren't many external appliances that can actually fully utilise it. If you've got external HDDs they won't be compatible with 3.0 and will just use a 3.0 port at the same speed as 2.0.

 

[Anthony.Ralph]

[..]

So I'm questioning whether the integrated graphics unit is powerful enough for gaming and applications like Photoshop,

[..]

You will need to get a separate graphics card for Photoshop. It doesn't need to be a super-duper gaming card. I have a PC on order at the moment and went with an ATI HD5570 with 1GB on-board and this will be very much a 'use Photoshop' machine. In fact my current PC has an old ATI X1950 512MB card and Photoshop goes well with it, including the snazzy GPU features.

I will leave others to discuss gaming requirements as this is an area I know little about

Anthony.

 

[philwil]

Thanks for the responses.

I thought I was pretty au fait with computer tech in a general, non-pro sense, but this latest development has got me slightly puzzled. Reviews of SB are pretty dazzling across the board, so I am very tempted. If I do go for SB plus separate GPU, do the integrated GPU and the separate one work together i.e giving me the power of both, or does the separate card negate the power of the onboard graphics? And what would be the best MB, given that I'm not likely to need more than the one additional GPU?

 

[Meds]

When you order a dedicated graphics card the integrated graphics card will automatically disabled, some motherboards do combine the two but these are quite rare. You'll be fine with the ASUS P8H67-M LX Motherboard to be honest, it should meet all of your requirements