So I have built this new DAW computer and it seems to be fine just using the onboard graphics without any card.  Am I missing something not using a dedicated graphics card?  Is my CPU having to work extra hard due to this?
 
Antec P183 case w/Nexus 630w PS
Gigabyte GA-Z77X and Intel i7-3770K 3.5 GHz quad
Cooler Master TPC-812
16GB Corsair DDR3-1600MHz
1 Seagate 1TB SATA 6Gb/s
1 Seagate 500G SATA 6Gb/s
Windows 7 Pro 64
Sonar X1d Producer Expanded
 
I just completed an 83 track/16 bus project with no glitches and at low latency.  The CPU monitor shows 10-20% at max.

Gigabyte GA-Z77X

Surprisingly vague in the specifications page about exactly how the on board graphics works. The "overview" page says it is Intel, so presumably on the CPU/GPU,  but it is big on saying you can switch to an PCIe graphics card. A graphics card would have its own memory, and presumably the on board is using some of your system memory that is otherwise unavailable to your programs, but with 16 gig overall, and the limited demands for video from Sonar that is probably not going to be a major concern. See if it works. If not, you can buy a low end PCIe graphics card and disable the on board.

If you are spending all that money building a system for a DAW - I would recommend spending a little extra for a dedicated video card. Using on board video will use your system memory and the CPU. A dedicated video card has its own CPU. Now if you are buying a laptop with on board video, there's not much that you can do but for a desktop, a dedicated fanless video card should make an improvement.

They can be bought for fairly cheap.  It works great now but will likely spring for one just to offload some processing as you suggest.  Thanks.

They can be bought for fairly cheap

And for a DAW a pretty cheap one will work. Can you say $10.00?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127674&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL070512&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL070512-_-EMC-070512-Index-_-DesktopGraphicsVideoCards-_-14127674-L07

I would recommend a separate graphics card with a decent amount of memory...but no need to go all the way to get a gaming card.

I got my current graphics card for like $20 on Craigslist from a gamer who wanted to upgrade to one of those heavy duty graphics cards.


Tip: Talk to your gamer friends (or sons of your friends). They might have their old graphics card sitting in an antistatic bag that's more than what you need for DAW use. They might even just give it away to you.

I'm using the built in Intel HD4000 graphics in my new build - i7 3770.  I don't play games and Sonar X1 is working OK.  I did the first recording session with the new system this past Thursday and no problems.

My Windows experience graphics are 6.6 (both parameters).  In my old system I had an ATI Radeon HD4850 and it was 5.9.  I tried an NVIDIA GTS450 OC and it was 5.8.

elsongs

 I would recommend a separate graphics card with a decent amount of memory...

I disagree.  I have 4 monitors hooked up to 2 128MB graphics cards, i.e. 64MB per monitor and everything runs smoothly.  The computer is only used for audio though (and Sonar in particular).  If I was doing video too, then this would certainly be insufficient.

Kev999

elsongs

I would recommend a separate graphics card with a decent amount of memory...

I disagree.  I have 4 monitors hooked up to 2 128MB graphics cards, i.e. 64MB per monitor and everything runs smoothly.  The computer is only used for audio though (and Sonar in particular).  If I was doing video too, then this would certainly be insufficient.

Uh, why are you disagreeing? You just validated what I said. 128MB qualifies as "decent."

elsongs

Kev999

elsongs

I would recommend a separate graphics card with a decent amount of memory...

I disagree.  I have 4 monitors hooked up to 2 128MB graphics cards, i.e. 64MB per monitor and everything runs smoothly.  The computer is only used for audio though (and Sonar in particular).  If I was doing video too, then this would certainly be insufficient.

 Uh, why are you disagreeing? You just validated what I said. 128MB qualifies as "decent."

My cards are a few years old.  128MB would be considered low by today's standards.  Currently even the cheapest ones have 512MB as a minimum and 1GB is more typical.