Question Is a GT 1030 2GB GPU better than integrated graphics?

[Hans Gruber]

Would a system be better off with integrated graphics on a 7th series Intel CPU vs. GT 1030? Or does the GT 1030 provide a meaningful improvement over integrated graphics.

 

[aigomorla]

would depend on how much ram the overall system has and how much you allocated to the igp.
Because if your ram limited, then yes, conserving your ram and bypassing the igp would give you a meaningful improvement.

If your not short on ram, id say anything over 8gb, then its probably not worth the hassle as a 1030 is deep in the ditch on a performance scale.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I have a GT 1030 sitting around. I think I will use it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If it were me, I'd throw it in the rig. If only to allow for HDMI 2.0 UHD 4K desktop display and video decoding.

 

[Hans Gruber]

So I will be swapping out a fairly rare Pentium G4620 (dual core w/hyperthreading) for a i5 7500 and then I will throw in a GT 1030 on top. I will be putting in either 16GB DDR4 3200mhz ram or 3600mhz ram. I hope this makes a noticeable improvement over what was in there. I am also going to put in a M.2 NVMe drive. Probably a 500gb Evo 970plus drive. Right now the computer is running a 240GB SSD SATA as the boot drive. I will move that drive to a backup/auxiliary drive.

 

[VirtualLarry]

What mobo and chipset? Unless it's a Z overclocking board, you're likely not going to get higher than DDR-2666 support.
NVMe is good, as long as you're running Win10/11 and not Win7.

 

[Hans Gruber]

This is the motherboard.

ASRock > B250 Pro4

ASRock Super Alloy; Supports 7th and 6th Generation Intel Core™ i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium / Celeron Processors (Socket 1151)<div class=Remark><span style=color:red;>*</span>8th Gen Intel Core™ desktop processors are supported with Intel 300 Series chipset motherboards only; Supports DDR4 2400...

www.asrock.com

 

[Hans Gruber]

This board may only max out @ 2400mhz. Not a big deal. I have plenty of ram kits. I think it's already loaded up with 16GB of DDR4 16GB over 4 slots. That should make it dual rank memory.

 

[coercitiv]

My rule of thumb is the dGPU usually helps with browsing smoothness. Whether it's placebo induced by experience with some older systems where dGPU really matters or it helps every time, I can't tell. If you were building a small factor system I would say to leave the dGPU out, but in this case it's probably a gain, even if small.

The real win would be a card with AV1 support, but that means Alchemist, RDNA2 or Ampere, so not really on the menu for now. (although, if you ever spot a cheap Alchemist...)

 

[Mopetar]

I don't think it'll matter much in terms of performance, but if you were trying to run multiple monitors or something like that you might have a better time with the discrete card depending on the setup.

I use an old Pascal-based Quadro card on my work machine, though I don't know if it's the same die as the 1030 uses. I haven't had any issues with it but it's not doing anything beyond driving all of my displays.

 

[MoogleW]

GT1030 is far faster than 7th gen iGPU.

 

[Shmee]

What will the system be used for? If for basic gaming, (would have to be very basic) the 1030 will be faster, and has better driver/software support by far. If you just need a basic system for web browsing/basic office work/some video, you may not need the GPU, and would likely save power if sticking with the integrated graphics.

 

[Hans Gruber]

What will the system be used for? If for basic gaming, (would have to be very basic) the 1030 will be faster, and has better driver/software support by far. If you just need a basic system for web browsing/basic office work/some video, you may not need the GPU, and would likely save power if sticking with the integrated graphics.

I still have a Radeon HD7950. 10 years old and can run CS:GO @144fps with a Dell 24" 144hz (TN panel) gaming monitor. I pulled that out of another system to see what it could do with the 7600k that I picked up. That simple CPU swap out turned into a significant upgrade. New 212+ Cooler Master LED and a new 550w EVGA G3 gold PSU. It's got an S340 NZXT case and a ASROCK B250 4Pro motherboard.

My old garage PC is a Dell i5 2400 Optiplex. The i5 2400 rig is still fully functional. It will be a backup relegated to the other side of the garage.

The only reason I am screwing around with Kaby Lake CPU's. I inherited a PC that had a Pentium G4560 in it. So I upgraded the computer to a 7600k.

The GT 1030 is going into another PC that currently has integrated graphics only. The new garage PC will get my 1660Super. I am just screwing around with the HD7950 for a few days.

 

[Leeea]

depends on the integrated graphics.

Be curious how it stacks up against something like a 5600g.


But against 7th series Intel iGPU, I think it would be a massive upgrade.

Intel iGPU doesn't start getting ok until 10 series, and even then it is kinda meh.


I believe it would be an improvement in every aspect of your computer usage. Even scrolling webpages. Youtube playback. UI smoothness and response time. Everything.


Part of it is your moving graphics calls off your main memory bus on an old system that is already resource constrained. Part of it is 7th intel iGPU is pathetic.

Intel HD Graphics 630 Benchmarks & Review - Tech Centurion

Full review and comparison of Intel HD Graphics 630 based on benchmark scores and real-world gaming performance of popular PC games.

www.techcenturion.com

that review is aimed at games, but keep in mind Microsoft and others have moved rendering elements into operating systems, productivity software, and web browsers in the form of hardware acceleration.

 

[igor_kavinski]

This board may only max out @ 2400mhz.

You could tweak the timings to get the lowest possible RAM latency, if you are willing to spend a few hours or even days on it, testing the stability and trying to push it to the edge for that extra 5% more snappiness

 

[ibex333]

A GT 1030 will be notably "faster" than just about ANY integrated GPU(Minus maybe Vega 11), especially when overclocked. And GT 1030 overclocks exceptionally well, unlike it's competitor, the RX 550. Interestingly, the RX 550 doesn't even need that overclock to match a GT 1030 OC especially in games that support the Vulkan API.

Some people may argue that iGPU on intel 13 Gen is better. Maybe in a few modern titles. But overall, GT 1030 will wipe the floor with it, especially in older titles because nVidia support, drivers, and game integration is so much better than intel can hope for.

Overall, when possible/available I'd recommend an RX550 over GT 1030 when on a super tight budget. I'm not mentioning RX6400 and A2000 because those are not budget cards.

 

[Shmee]

If he is considering another card to go with it, (which I don't think so, I think he is just planning on using what he has already) maybe pick up a used RX 580 or something, maybe even a GTX 1070, RX 5700(XT), 2060S/2070. Should be plenty cheap, and go well with the Kaby Lake CPU.

But if just using what is already on hand, I would stick with the 7950 or GT 1030.

 

[Hans Gruber]

You could tweak the timings to get the lowest possible RAM latency, if you are willing to spend a few hours or even days on it, testing the stability and trying to push it to the edge for that extra 5% more snappiness

I already did it. I was going to create another thread for the ram timings. Currently the Teamgroup memory kit is @ 12-14-14 @2400mhz 1.35v. I was going to ask what the lowest Cas setting people have got on DDR4 2400mhz. I was considering bumping the BCLK from 100.

The memory kit is a DDR4 3000mhz rated at 16-18-18. I am surprised that it runs fine at Cas12 timing.

 

[BurnItDwn]

There are 2 different GT1030 cards out in the wild.
GDDR5 version is slow, but has semi-decent memory bandwidth and performs surprisingly well for such a low end card. Can handle older titles at 1080p, though usually will run better at 720p resolution. Its an honest low end/entry level GPU for its era.


The SDDR4 version is very crippled with only 1/3 the memory bandwidth and performs extremely bad in pretty much all situations. Might be adequate for 720p performance. Likely an improvement over the Igpu, but, not a big one.


GamersNexus has some useful benchmarks, but there are other reviews out there if you dont like these guys.

GT 1030 DDR4 vs. GDDR5 Benchmark: A Disgrace of a Graphics Card | GamersNexus

stub This is something we haven’t seen before. NVidia has taken a relatively successful card, the GT 1030, and has implanted DDR4 in place of GDDR5. It’s actually getting system memory on it, which is a tremendous downgrade. The memory bandwidth reduction is several-fold, dropping from 48GB/s to...

www.gamersnexus.net

 

[Iron Woode]

Would a system be better off with integrated graphics on a 7th series Intel CPU vs. GT 1030? Or does the GT 1030 provide a meaningful improvement over integrated graphics.

in general, yes, the GT 1030 is superior to integrated graphics.