# Best video card for PC build



## synthetic (Nov 27, 2015)

I'm building a new VEP slave. I'm going to use the video card once, to set the BIOS on first setup. Then I'll use it with Remote Desktop for the rest of its life (unless something goes wrong.) So I'd like a video card with solid drivers (that won't bog down the system) but I don't need anything powerful. In fact I'd prefer something not powerful to keep the heat minimum. 

So what video card brand/model is recommended for a slave PC build?


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## tack (Nov 27, 2015)

I take it you're asking because the cpu+motherboard you're looking at doesn't provide onboard video? If you're getting an i7, for example, it will almost certainly have onboard video and you can use that.


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## Allegro (Nov 27, 2015)

Nvidia GT 740. Runs efficiently. Triple monitor support. 64W TDP. Even better, if you want a dead silent card, there is a version offered by ASUS
https://www.asus.com/sa-en/Graphics-Cards/GT740DCSL2GD3/
^ The price of this version is a bit much compared to the performance it offers but some of us are willing to spend some extra for a quiet setup so yeah.


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## Gerhard Westphalen (Nov 27, 2015)

Allegro said:


> Nvidia GT 740. Runs efficiently. Triple monitor support. 64W TDP. Even better, if you want a dead silent card, there is a version offered by ASUS
> https://www.asus.com/sa-en/Graphics-Cards/GT740DCSL2GD3/
> ^ The price of this version is a bit much compared to the performance it offers but some of us are willing to spend some extra for a quiet setup so yeah.



I have the silent Asus 750. I used it with 3 monitors but depending on how I had them connected, I would get blue screens or the computer wouldn't boot so it is a bit finicky. I've also had the system freeze a couple of times which I think was because of the card. 

If you don't need high resolutions (4k) or more than 2 monitors I'd recommend one of the really cheap silent cards like the HD 5450. I have 2 of those which I used for a long time without any issues. Only $50.


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## Pietro (Nov 28, 2015)

Having two super cheap nVidias 210 (to get 4 outputs cheaply) I would advice to get the best silent GPU you can. Those 210s won't handle 60fps fullscreen 1440p video and drop frames (for example on Youtube). They definitely cannot handle this, let alone 4K 60fps.

Get the best you can, the newest GPU that is still silent and you will be totally set (as long as you don't play games).

- Piotr


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## synthetic (Nov 30, 2015)

tack said:


> I take it you're asking because the cpu+motherboard you're looking at doesn't provide onboard video? If you're getting an i7, for example, it will almost certainly have onboard video and you can use that.



Well there's another question. Is it better to use a CPU with on-board video, to avoid "traffic" on the motherboard controllers, or better to offload the processing to a dedicated GPU? Of course there won't be much to process, just a VEP window with no monitor attached. 

I don't care about noise as these are kept in a machine room.


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## synthetic (Nov 30, 2015)

Pietro said:


> Those 210s won't handle 60fps fullscreen 1440p video and drop frames (for example on Youtube). They definitely cannot handle this, let alone 4K 60fps.



I'm not even going to switch on a monitor 99% of the time. I just want the card with the least processor/motherboard overhead. Since video cards apparently account for much of the overhead in a PC system, I want one that will stay out of the way. I don't care if it's 640x480 black and green video. I'm only going to use it long enough to check "allow remote desktop."


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## tack (Nov 30, 2015)

synthetic said:


> Is it better to use a CPU with on-board video, to avoid "traffic" on the motherboard controllers, or better to offload the processing to a dedicated GPU?


I suppose you mean a discrete GPU, because the CPUs in question actually do have dedicate GPUs, they are just colocated on the same dye as the CPU.

I think it's pretty safe to say the physical architectural differences will not matter at all for your use-case. I strongly suspect the key thing here will be video drivers, and I can tell you that NVIDIA shows up a lot on my LatencyMon reports.

For your purposes, running what's effectively a headless slave machine, I would definitely go with integrated graphics if you have the option.


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## rgames (Nov 30, 2015)

I'd definitely recommend a discrete GPU. An integrated GPU is going to share memory and bandwidth with the CPU. Depending on how you work that might make a difference and you can get a cheap graphics card for $25, so you might as well.

Mine is some NVIDIA fanless card. It was about $25. Even if it's in a machine room the fanless card is good because it's designed to run cooler. And killing noise at the source always helps. In truth it probably doesn't make much difference but what the heck.


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## synthetic (Dec 1, 2015)

tack said:


> NVIDIA shows up a lot on my LatencyMon reports.



Thanks for the tip about LatencyMon. Although "NVIDIA shows up a lot" makes me think that NVIDIA drivers are a problem? Or are "LatencyMon Reports" something that you subscribe to?


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## synthetic (Dec 1, 2015)

tack said:


> I would definitely go with integrated graphics





rgames said:


> I'd definitely recommend a discrete GPU.



Thanks to you both!


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## ptsmith (Dec 1, 2015)

Switching to Windows generic video drivers (as recommended in rgames video) significantly reduced the reported GPU load in LatencyMon.


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## tack (Dec 1, 2015)

synthetic said:


> Thanks for the tip about LatencyMon. Although "NVIDIA shows up a lot" makes me think that NVIDIA drivers are a problem? Or are "LatencyMon Reports" something that you subscribe to?


Yeah, the NVIDIA drivers are drivers are notorious (well, "internet famous" as it were) for being dubious with respect to system latency. This does seem to depend on the chipset too, so the lower end GPUs may be less of an issue.

I don't subscribe as such, I just periodically run LatencyMon and see what the latency flavor-of-the-day is.



synthetic said:


> Thanks to you both!


Ask two musicians a question, and you'll get three answers.


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## willf_music (Dec 2, 2015)

synthetic said:


> I'm building a new VEP slave. I'm going to use the video card once, to set the BIOS on first setup. Then I'll use it with Remote Desktop for the rest of its life (unless something goes wrong.) So I'd like a video card with solid drivers (that won't bog down the system) but I don't need anything powerful. In fact I'd prefer something not powerful to keep the heat minimum.
> 
> So what video card brand/model is recommended for a slave PC build?


If you want a card just for a slave I would go with a passively cooled card IF your airflow is good. This card does have good cooling.
I have swapped in a number of builds for this exact purpose. 

[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA30R2NZ4752]


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## chrysshawk (Dec 2, 2015)

Being in the same situation with unacceptable DPC latency with my GeForce GTX 660 card, I am switching back to Radeon which always have seemed to improve both my DPC latency and also my Cubase stability. I don't know if I've just been particularly unlucky in the past with GeForce, but then again- why take the risk. A latency spiking towards 600-700us is not uncommon with the above card. 
Will be picking up the MSI Radeon R7 360 today, install tomorrow. Can report back on the latency, but hoping/expecting <50us.


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## Mystic (Dec 3, 2015)

The PC I just built has the ability to run 3 monitors at 4K (ASRock Extreme 7+) so onboard is how I'm going to go for now. I may add another videocard later if I decide to add more monitors.

It's a real trade off. On one hand, you'll use a minimal amount of resource usage to the processor due to running onboard (let's face it, it won't be too much unless you start gaming on it) or you can add a video card which may add a fan if you can't find one with a heatsink to fit your needs and then there are drivers and software which will use processor resources themselves.

If onboard does what you need it to do, stick with it.


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