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Mini-ITX & Graphics Card Advice Needed

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Hi!

I'm going to build a Mini-ITX system, and need some advice on the graphics performance of the CPU & GPU.

The system will primarily be a media center, but I'd occasionally like to play some games on it (e.g. Deus Ex: Human Revolution).

I know that 1st person shooters are not going to be running anywhere near their full graphics potential on a Mini-ITX system, but I want to build a system that gives me the maximum gaming performance it's capable of.

I am going to use an Intel Core i5 2500, but I am debating whether it is worth getting a separate graphics card, or just use the stock onboard graphics chipset on the motherboard.

The Mini-ITX system is in a low profile mini case, and can only be fitted with a maximum 160W PSU leaving my GPU options very limited. I was thinking of getting a GeForce GT210 1GB Low Profile graphics card (http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=VGAEVG1313&name=EVGA-GT210-1GB-DDR3-PCI-E-2.0-16X-Video-Card-Fanle). This is an entry level GPU, and so I would not expect it to be highly rated for gaming.

Will I see any benefit in using such an entry level graphics card over the stock onboard graphics card when using the Core i5 CPU?
Will the Intel CPU boost the performance of the onboard graphics and/or the low profile graphics card?

Or can you suggest another configuration that would better suit my needs? My budget is around $800NZD for the base system.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

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Graphics card Master

Too bad you can't use a graphics card suitable for that monster processor. But, yes, a discrete card will make all the difference in the world if you want to game. The onboard Intel HD Graphics 2000 of the i5 2500 is adequate for most tasks, but not for gaming. (Btw, the GPU is built in the processor, not a chip on the motherboard) And happily, you can do much better with a low profile choice than the GT 210. I would recommend the HD 5570 low profile card. I don't know if you can find it locally, but here is a link to it in the US.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

It has much better specs than the GT 210:
http://www.hwcompare.com/195/geforce-gt-210-vs-radeon-h...
... and is still suitable for a small PSU like your HTPC has. If your media center display is a 1080p HDTV, you will have to back off on the eye candy somewhat, though. But the GT 210 would be much, much worse. And the onboard graphics would be un-playable.

Hey clutchc,

That's really useful - thanks!

The HD 5570 is indeed available locally (hurrah!). The 'monster processor' will mainly be used for producing music and video production, so a decent graphics card is really just a luxury.

One last question - do you think the 160W power supply will handle all the following:

- Mini-ITX motherboard with Intel i5
- HD 5570 graphics card
- 3.5" 2TB Hard Drive
- Blu-Ray/DVD Burner
- 8GB DDR3 RAM

And still have enough juice left over to drive some USB devices (e.g. an SD Card reader)?
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