Do you know what is a Graphics Card? And again, do you know what are Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics? No worries, if you don’t know about them. Get ready to come with me on this journey where I will answer the eponymous question of Can I use Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics Together? So, let’s get a start …
What’s a Graphics Card?
A graphics card allows you to play all sorts of video games and you can also do high-power-consuming things. The video memory in your computer allows you to render different sorts of graphics and other videos on your computer. Thus, when we intend to work heavily or run heavy software and other power-and-memory heavy games, we require a heavy and powerful graphics card.
There are two sorts of Graphics Card that are present for us to use. One is the Integrated Graphics Card and the other is the Dedicated Graphics Card. So, let us proceed to see each one of them one by one.
Intergrated Graphics
First up, we have the Integrated Graphics Card. It refers to a computer where the graphical processing unit(GPU) is similarly build on the same die as the Central Processing Unit(CPU). Coming with a multitude of benefits like being smaller, more energy-efficient, and quite less costly as compared to the Dedicated Graphics.
We use Integrated Graphics for casual gaming, high-quality ultra mode 4K video watching. It is also known as shared Graphics because it shares much of its memory with the system memory.
Nowadays, most computers come with an integrated GPU because of the craze for compact size devices.
Dedicated Graphics Card
It is a simple piece of hardware to manage the Graphics or the graphical performance of a computer device. We also come to know it as video cards or even go by the name discrete graphics.
Dedicated Graphics feature a GPU, a fan to keep it cool, and some RAM. It is quite powerful but doesn’t have shared memory like the Integrated Graphics. Also, it is quite easy to upgrade but is a bit costlier, larger, and gets heated comparatively faster than the Integrated Graphics Card.
One important question though that strikes the mind of the users is that is it possible to use these cards together. That is to say, Can I use Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics together.
Which is the best?
To ascertain which graphics is the best, you need to think of the situation. Because for serious gaming and VR, professional work with graphics software, including animation, CAD, and video editing — you will have to use Dedicated Graphics. Also, a dedicated GPU is generally used for mining bitcoin.
You can use Integrated Graphics for casual gaming or for working with simple software programs. The advantages of integrated graphics—like device size and better battery life—are likely to outweigh the advantages of discrete graphics.
Can I use Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics together
An important question though that strikes the mind of the users is that is it possible to use these cards together. That is to say, Can I use Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics together. A practical answer to this is “YES”. But before we can surely confirm this. We need to first check and confirm that both the cards are working just fine. To do so, we need to Go to Start Menu > Run > Type “dxdiag” > Press Enter.
A new diagnostics screen opens up. Click on “Display” to check whether both the graphics are working properly together.
Here’s a post on Python Programming Graphics !!!
How to ?
If you own an AMD APU integrated graphics card and an entry-level dedicated GPU from AMD; then you can use them together by using the hybrid crossfire mode to enhance performance. However, this feature is restrictive to AMD only.
Actually, it is generally not allowed to use both GPU’s together. It is because
the dedicated GPU that is, a comparatively much faster unit, will not be a compatible delivering performance to a slower card and hence hit several bottlenecks.
Now, coming to the main part, if you are firm on using the two GPU’s together; Then, you need to first check and confirm that both these devices support your system. Like, for using GPUs of an identical brand, you’ve got the SLI technology for Nvidia, and Hybrid-Crossfire for AMD as mentioned earlier.
Each card allows you to render alternating frames, but both should be compatible with one another. If you do not have a compatible card that works, the bridge connection is going to break. Therefore, what may seem a good thought is not so good thinking. Because the performances when using both the GPU’s together is not to the expected level, to that of using two Dedicated Graphics together. Hence, it’s not comparatively clever thinking to combine the two for use.
SUMMARIZING — Can I use Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics together
In this post, we have seen what are Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics. And, then, we rolled over to the journey where I have answered the eponymous question of Can I use Integrated Graphics and Dedicated Graphics Together? It is quite fascinating how often we come across this question. Some of the things we have seen include the type of work we have to do. But, by and large, after going through this post, you surely will have good knowledge about graphics.
In case you have any doubts then, you can feel free to post it in the comments section and I will be eager to answer your queries. Till then, See you next time !! 🙂