Core i5 with integrated GPU

You will need a mobo based on the H55 chipset (not P55) and a compatible i3 or i5 cpu (i5 750 is only compatible with P55 chipset).

It looks like virtually all of the H55 chipset are on Micro ATX boards. I was looking at the ATX board. So what exactly is the GPU in the CPU used for then? Will it still serve a purpose of married to a P55 chipset on a board with a PCIexpress video card plugged into it?

The Core i5 700's don't have an integrated GPU. Only the Core i5 600's and the Core i5 400's & 500's Mobiles have an integrated GPU.

The integrated GPU on the Core i5 is just like integrated graphics on a motherboard. If you use a dedicated videocard from ATI or Nvidia then you no longer need the intergrated graphics on the Core i5. You can just turn it off.

The cpu's onboard gpu can only be accessed when using an H55/H57 mobo. This review can explain more.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-clarkdale-cor...

So is the i5 onboard GPU junk? Is it worth getting the H55/57 mobo? It looks like those are lower end mobo's.

Its not as good as ATI's onboard offerings, but the top i5 gpu is better than the Intel 4500 (which wasn't very good to begin with).

If you want an alternative, you could give us a budget and what you want to do with your pc.

Is it betther than the PCIe card I already have? Nvidia GeForce 7300 LE

No. You'd be better with the 7300.

Wow really? The GeForce is a 4 year old video card now.

I take that back; I was thinking of the GS.

The 7300 LE is about the same as the intel onboard (considering power consumption, you'd be better off using the onboard).

So I found this H57 chipset Assus Mobo. It's rather expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

I forgot to ask, does the integrated GPU in the Core i5 steal memory from the SDRAM? If so how much?

Also, I see the i5 661 has a 900mhz GPU while the i5 660 only have a 733mhz GPU. The price difference is only $15. There is a 15 watt TDP difference as well. That seems like a lot of extra watts for only a little GPU improvement.

Does anyone know if Intel plans to introduce a Quad core version of the i5 Clarksfield with integrated GPU?

The integrated GPU will take some system ram, and I believe you should be able to set that amount in the BIOS.

I saw the price difference as $3 on newegg; for $3, I'd take the better gpu (the included heatsink\fan should be able to compensate)http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...

I don't know about your last question (quad core w\gpu), but if they do, I don't think it would be for a while (my gut feeling is they won't, though, at least not until 32nm is mature--possibly a new architecture at this point--but take this theory with a grain of salt).

OK so if I go with integrated GPU in the CPU I will select the Intel Core i5 661 with the 900 mhz GPU.

Not only am I trying to save on cost but I'm trying to make this a low heat/low power budget PC. I've researched the video cards and if I did buy one it would probably be the Radeon HD 4650 chipset. It's rated the best bang for the buck ~$50 by Tom's for the last year. Plus you can still get in a fanless version which I'd prefer. Specs are as follows:

Memory Bus: 128-bit
Core Speed MHz: 600
Memory Speed MHz: 400 (800 effective)

I don't exactly know what all those specs mean and how it stacks up to the 900mhz GPU in the Core i5.

Not all manufacturers will list there power usagae but I find most are 50 watts or above. That's considerably more energy use than the additional 15 watts attributable to the 900mhz GPU in the Core i5 661.

I'm not doing any gaming. Mostly video encoding and rendering. Can anyone tell me how the Core i5 GPU stacks up against the Radeon HD 4650? Is it night and day? Would I even notice given my application?

the new intel IGP might be as powerful as HD3200/3300/4200 IGP
the 4650 would demolish it

and on a cost standpoint, i would recommend the Athlon II X4 over all of the i5's since they have a starting price of $100 and is a quad core

Hi, as far as I understand it once I have dedicated VGA the integrated one is useless. I was thinking if something like NVidia Optimus can't be activated with Intel?