Sapphire Radeon R9 285 vs. onboard graphics

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liquidsense

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Hi, I have an extreme noob question. And, I have a feeling the answer is obvious, but I have no idea how to figure it out short of asking you fine folks.

I'm still using my first build, which contains the following relevant parts:

  • GPU: SAPPHIRE 100374OCL Radeon R9 285 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5
    CPU: Intel i7-4790k
    Motherboard: ASRock ATX FATAL1TY Z97 KILLER
I recently decided to cut the cable-tv cord and try using various streaming services, including Youtube TV. When watching Youtube TV on my computer, it couldn't get HD to play and, after researching it, I learned it's because my GPU doesn't have HDCP support. So, I plugged my monitor (via HDMI cable) into the onboard HDMI port on the motherboard, and everything has been dandy.

My question: If the most graphics intensive things I will be doing on my computer is basic video editing (Adobe Premier Elements 15) and watching/streaming 4K video, is there any reason I need to even utilize my GPU? In other words, if I'm not gaming or streaming myself, is there a use case for me for the GPU?

Follow-up question: Can I plug my monitor into both the onboard graphics (via HDMI) and into the GPU (via displayport) and then switch on the fly based on my needs?
 
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ShadyHamster

ShadyHamster

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You can definitely plug your monitor into both the onboard and the graphics card then switch using the monitors OSD or physical button if it has one.
You will need to go into the bios and force enabled the onboard graphics as this usually gets auto disabled when you have a dedicated graphics card connected, look for something like 'igpu multi-monitor' or 'onboard mulit-monitor', on my Asus motherboards it's located under Advanced\System Agent Config\Graphics Config.
You may or may not have to play around with the multi monitor options in windows once you have it all connected to get it setup how you want it.
 
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Rogue Leader

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Thats not true at all. years ago Intel upgraded the IGP drivers to allow systems with the right HDMI or DP ports on the motherboard to output 4k/60hz. It will play 4k videos smoothly no problem at all. It does not take much to run 4k video.

OP if you're nto gaming or streaming dump the card and use the onboard graphics. The problem stems from that card only having an HDMI 1.3 port on it.

As for running both you can do that as well, its goofy and you will likely need to enable disable displays in display options, but it will work.
 
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Rogue Leader

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You wrote your answer pretty definitively, and had no one else answered he would be sitting there with a GPU he doesn't need for what he is doing in his system. He neither needs the GPU for editing or playing videos, the fact you said "may" doesn't absolve that.
 
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liquidsense

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Thank you very much for the info. A quick question, just for the sake of clarity: When you say the problem stems from the card only have HDMI 1.3, are you saying that HDMI 1.3 is the reason why I can't play things like Youtube TV in HD? I admittedly was speculating that my issue arose from HDCP issues because I couldn't find anything on the web that suggested that this card had HDCP support (though I also couldn't find anything that affirmatively said it didn't).

 
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Rogue Leader

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Correct HDMI 1.3 does not have HDCP support, you need HDMI 2.0 for that. Nvidia cards of the same generation had HDMI 2.0, all new AMD Radeon RX 4xx and 5xx and Vega cards have it, and of course current Nvidia cards have it.
 
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liquidsense

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So, a quick update: I installed the latest beta-driver for my card (a non-WHQL driver) and it allows me to play HD content through Youtube TV....but poorly. My screen blinks for a fraction of a second every 30 seconds or so whenever I'm streaming HD content through Youtube TV. It is also causing the same blinking when streaming through Xfinity Live TV (I was always able to play HD content through Xfinity even before the driver update. No clue why Youtube TV wouldn't work but Xfinity TV would).

So, I tried reverting back to the latest non-beta-driver for my card (an WHQL driver), and, as you would expect, HD content through Youtube TV doesn't work. Oddly, HD content works fine on Xfinity Live TV, and the blinking issue goes away. I don't understand why any of this would happen, but I'll live with it.

 
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