Effect of dedicated vs integrated graphics card?

[joelshort]

I'm going to show my ignorance here...Does the computer graphics card have any effect on the processing speed of PI?  Specifically, will a dedicated Nvidia GeForce 2GB graphics card have any advantage over integrated Intel graphics for PI processing?

[pfile]

i don't think so - PI does not do any 3D graphics and doesn't use the GPU for calculations... maybe there is some benefit of a decent card vs. a very low-end card just in generic display performance, but it's not like adding cores or clock speed to the GPU is going to have any effect on PI performance.

rob

edit: i should say however that there have been longstanding Qt issues with the integrated intel GPUs (and their drivers) and so having a discrete card is probably better for a hassle-free PI experience, but you don't need a monster card.

[joelshort]

i don't think so - PI does not do any 3D graphics and doesn't use the GPU for calculations... maybe there is some benefit of a decent card vs. a very low-end card just in generic display performance, but it's not like adding cores or clock speed to the GPU is going to have any effect on PI performance.

rob

That's what I assumed but I don't know.  As my high school science teacher said, "the only dumb question is the one you don't ask."