Dedicated Graphics Card vs Integrated Graphics: Which One Do I Need? A Guide to Solve Your Choice Dilemma
When you're ready to buy a new computer or upgrade your old device, the dilemma of choosing between a "dedicated graphics card " and "integrated graphics" is something almost everyone faces. Grasping the essential differences between the two is the first step toward making the right decision. Discrete Graphics Card (DGC), commonly called a discrete GPU, is a dedicated hardware board featuring its own GPU chip, dedicated video memory, and cooling system. It acts like a a "specialized external unit" within your computer, operating independently of system memory to handle graphics processing tasks. Major brands in the current market include NVIDIA (GeForce RTX series), AMD (Radeon RX series), and Intel (Arc series). Integrated Graphics, often abbreviated as IG, refers to the graphics processing unit integrated within the processor (CPU). It lacks dedicated video memory and shares the system's RAM, functioning as the CPU's "built-in assis...