Building, or buying, a new PC is very exciting. If you order all your components individually, however, there can take some time for all the components to arrive.
This is of course only one example, there are more instances where you want to test out your computer without an essential part, to see if you have configured the computer in the correct manner. So, can you test your PC without a GPU?
Yes, you can test your PC without an external GPU. This is if your CPU has an integrated GPU (iGPU). This way, Windows can boot with the integrated graphics cards. Some CPUs have iGPUs and others don’t. An easy way to control this is to Google your specific CPU and check whether or not it has one.
Now that you’re aware of the basics, read more to find out how to test your computer with a dedicated GPU, plus much more.
Can I Test My PC Without a GPU?
As I mentioned earlier, whether or not you can test your PC depends on two things. One, if you want to boot the computer to Windows or just see if all the parts work. Two, does your processor have an integrated graphics card?
For example, you can check whether or not your PSU works without an integrated graphics card. Start the computer, and see if the fans start spinning and if any LED lights go on.
If they do, your PSU works, which is necessary. If you really want to boot into Windows without a dedicated GPU at hand, try getting in touch with friends about borrowing an unused GPU. Many people have GPUs around that they aren’t using.
If you have an integrated graphics card, you need to connect whatever display cable you’re using to the motherboard at the back of your computer.
In most cases, the motherboard port for HDMI is located at the top half of the computer, while the GPU slot is located at the bottom half.
Another thing to note is that you can try the functionality of your PC without a dedicated graphics card by using the beep codes from your motherboard. Now, different motherboards have different beep codes, so you need to Google what codes mean on your specific motherboard.
Your motherboard will off beeps when you start your computer in the form of long beeps, short beeps, different frequencies of beeps, et cetera.
These beep sequences can all mean different things, so it’s important that you have the code information if you want to know if everything’s alright with your PC.
What Can Go Wrong If You Run a Computer Without a GPU?
Nothing should really go wrong as a consequence of you trying to test the PC without a dedicated GPU. If something happens, it will be because of some other fault with the PC, not because of the fact that you’re not using a GPU.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s completely fine to test your PC without a dedicated GPU. The worst case scenario is that your computer won’t boot to Windows and you get some information about why, that’s all.
What Can You Do On a Computer Without a GPU?
If you have successfully booted into Windows with an iGPU, you might wonder what you can do with it and what its capabilities are. Well, you can do a lot of things.
For example, you can do every computing task that you would do if you had a dedicated GPU – writing, opening and sending files, watching videos, and so forth.
These are activities that do not require a dedicated GPU because they aren’t very demanding for your computer.
If you want to play games on your computer, however, a dedicated GPU is very beneficial. You can still play games on a PC with an iGPU, but the games that will run well are older games, or games that do not require a lot of GPU power.
It’s not that you can’t boot games that are modern, they will just run very poorly. Your FPS will, in most cases, be very low which will make the experience suffer.
So, let’s summarize. If you want to play modern games on your computer, invest in a dedicated GPU. If you want to do general computing and watch videos on your computer, an integrated graphics card is absolutely fine, save yourself some money.
How Do Integrated Graphics Work?
A dedicated GPU is a component of its own, and it has a dedicated VRAM that isn’t shared with the processor. Pair this with the fact that it doesn’t share power with the CPU, and you have a component that can provide high performance compared to an iGPU (integrated graphics processing unit).
Integrated graphics, or iGPU, are graphics processing units integrated into the processor of your PC. It does not have its own memory, rather it shares it with the processor.
This, paired with the fact that it shares power with the processor, means that it can’t consume as much power and provide the same performance as a dedicated GPU.
Is an iGPU Better Than an External GPU?
There are a number of ways to look at this. The first major thing is cost. If you have a processor with integrated graphics support, then you don’t need to buy a dedicated GPU, which will save you a lot of money.
If your activities on the computer do not involve tasks that require a lot of performance, you don’t need a dedicated GPU, and in that way, the integrated graphics will be better.
However, dedicated graphics cards are good for other things other than gaming. Make sure to check if you will need a dedicated GPU for the activities you will be doing on your computer.
Also, some integrated graphics cards are better than others. Make sure you do your research before investing in an expensive GPU. A lot of integrated graphics cards these days pack a lot of power for their size.
Let’s get down to brass tacks – If you want to save money while still being able to do a lot on your computer, stick with an integrated graphics card. If you want to be able to play games, and run somewhat demanding software, I would recommend a dedicated GPU.