Integrated Graphics Chip for this Non-Gamer?

[MLife]

IÂ’m a Non-Gamer building my first computer, and IÂ’m trying to decide between the Intel D865PERL and D865GBF, which seems to be the same board with an integrated graphics chip included for only a few dollars more. IÂ’m mostly going to be using the computer for music production (Cubase, Fruity Loops, etc), editing and organizing digital pictures and web browsing, although I might do some really basic editing of home movies in the future. Would the integrated chip be enough for the things IÂ’m planing on doing, or would I see a performance boost if I went with the D865PERL and a cheap AGP card (like maybe a nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440-8X 64MB DDR, or Radeon 9000 Pro)?

If any one is willing to educate me on the role of a graphics card in non-gaming situations, IÂ’d certainly appreciate that as well. I know graphics cards are essential for 3D computer generated graphics used in games, but I donÂ’t really understand their role or how heavily they are used in displaying web pages, streaming videao, displaying digital pictures etc; and I donÂ’t understand how much relying on an integrated chip to perform these functions taxes a system. Does sharing 64MB out of 1GB of system ram with the graphics chip make any difference in performance? Does a graphics chip do anything else that could slow down the computer besides stealing a little system RAM?

Here are the components that IÂ’ve already settled on for this build:
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.0E GHz 800MHz FSB
1GB Corsair DDR 400 Value Ram (CAS 2.5)
2 Western Digital Hard Drives (80 GB and 120 GB)

 

[beedubaya]

Get a GeForce FX 5200 card. They are very cheap these days and can even handle Doom 3 on medium settings. Don't get an Intel Integrated graphics card, because most games don't support them. You say you are not a gamer, but you still want to have that option just in case you decide to try it out

 

[sethduncan]

It's true that integrated cards don't work well for most games, however if you're sure you're not going to be gaming for now, go ahead and get the 865gbf. It's the board I've used for awhile now, and it's a good stable board, and I've had no problems with it. Anyways, if you decide to game later, you can always add a card in.

The onboard sound isn't bad on this board either, but i chose to use the SBLive! Platinum because of it's front panel.

You'll be fine with the onboard video for now though.

 

[Cappy]

Get a AGP based Motherboard you`ll be glad you did