In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips kony <spam@spam.com> wrote in part:
> Even a low end 25W video card is easily double the performance
> of integrated video. Yes a high powered gaming video card can
> consume 75W, but remember that even those that consume a lot,
> consume significantly less when not gaming.

Sure, but remember these numbers are for the card alone, and
have to be multiplied by a factor reflecting the PSU inefficiency.

It may be that a low end vidcard has better video performance
than integrated graphics. That might matter for gaming and
3D activities where the GPU functions shine. But it makes no
detectable difference at 2D like desktop or websurfing.

I used to be very concerned about integrated graphics spoiling
desktop performance by stealing bandwidth. Then I tested my
new Xmas present: 2.44 GB/s increases to 2.50 with a separate
vidcard. Round-trip latency goes from 82 to 81ns. I'm very
underwhelmed and doubt I'll buy a vidcard for it.

The point is: times change! 1024x768x32bpp@60Hz is 189 MB/s.
That was a lot on older chipsets like PC100 that could only
burst 400 MB/s. Modern dual channel DDR2 is more like 6.4 GB/s,
and hardly notices the hit that once was crushing.

-- Robert