Can you turn off the Nvidia/AMD graphics card in a desktop PC like a laptop?

[Graeme22]

On the laptop, the graphics card only operates when needed eg when running a game which saves power consumption.

Is it the same for desktop PCs? I have searched but think the answer is no. I only want the graphics card to be on when I'm playing games. I want it to consume no power the rest of the time

 

[jaguarskx]

Nope. Not that I am aware of. Switchable graphics technology so far only exists for laptops. Generally speaking, modern day graphic cards are pretty power efficient when idling. Most mid range graphic cards can draw 10w or less when idling (i.e. not even watching a video), most high performance cards can draw less than 20w when idling. There are a couple of cards that can be considered "power hungry" when idling; meaning more than 30w. That's the nVidia GTX 580, Radeon HD 6990 and by far the GTX 590 (measured at 49w).

Click below link for the various power states of many (but not all) recent generation graph cores.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7990/23.html

 

[Graeme22]

thanks jaguar. Leave me asking the question, Whats the point in having integrated graphics then on a desktop PC with a dedicated GPU?

I'm gonna buy a laptop and use it as a desktop, desktops use too much power

 

[Turboman750]

Research Lucid virtu MVP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvoMWXPzTlg&feature=player_embedded#!

 

[cookybiscuit]

thanks jaguar. Leave me asking the question, Whats the point in having integrated graphics then on a desktop PC with a dedicated GPU?

I'm gonna buy a laptop and use it as a desktop, desktops use too much power

There is no point, its just for if you don't have a dedicated GPU.

Desktops don't use that much power at all, even a top end gaming rig will only pull about 60-90w, lightbulbs use a similar amount.

 

[Graeme22]

Are you mad, 60W is a lot.

Ivy bridge will Idle at around 7W. Thats a 50W different. 10 hours per day. 500W per day, equals around £20 per year extra.

 

[jaguarskx]

Not everyone needs a graphics card in a PC. Therefore, Intel's CPUs and AMD's APUs are perfect choices for those people since it reduces overall cost.

For example, my next HTPC will not have a graphics card. It will simply rely on the iGPU since I do not plan on playing games on it.