MB, Chipsets, CPUs...Can you help me understand?

[SJMaye]

I have been using an Intel i7-860 for years with an ATX MB with P55 chipset and a graphics card. I would like to make a small HTPC with an ITX motherboard with integrated graphics, but I am not really clear what will and will not work. I have been looking at this motherboard with an H55 chipset. It appears to have onboard video, but it only states "Intel HD Graphics ready". In my experience this normally means I need something else to enable graphics.

I have two questions:

1. Will the combination of this motherboard and my i7-860 CPU produce video without need for a discrete graphics card or other component?
2. If so, would the graphics be good enough for HTPC use?

 

[HAVOC]

You will need to pick up a CPU that has Intel integrated graphics.

 

[SJMaye]

You will need to pick up a CPU that has Intel integrated graphics.

So, regardless of motherboard or chipset I cannot get on-board video working using my i7-860 CPU?

 

[Mellon Head]

I think that's correct. You need the on-chip GPU capability to take advantage of that board. That's something your i7-860 doesn't have.

You could buy a small graphics card to use with your HTPC and use your current CPU. They make small form factor graphics cards to fit in small cases, specifically for HTPC use. The Radeon HD 5450 comes to mind for this purpose. Small card, low power, and has an HDMI output for under $50:

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card ( 100292DDR3L) - Newegg.ca

 

[SJMaye]

I think that's correct. You need the on-chip GPU capability to take advantage of that board. That's something your i7-860 doesn't have.

You could buy a small graphics card to use with your HTPC and use your current CPU. They make small form factor graphics cards to fit in small cases, specifically for HTPC use. The Radeon HD 5450 comes to mind for this purpose. Small card, low power, and has an HDMI output for under $50:

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card ( 100292DDR3L) - Newegg.ca

Thank you Mellon Head. I will have a look.

 

[SJMaye]

I think that's correct. You need the on-chip GPU capability to take advantage of that board. That's something your i7-860 doesn't have.

Mellonhead or others. A followup question. It dawned on me that my first Dell computer from around 1998 had on-board video. Are you saying the CPU from way back then had graphics capabilities built in to the CPU?

I thought CPUs with integrated graphics were a rather new development.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Going from memory:

Certain old MOTHERBOARDS had built-in video that was unrelated to the CPU. In that era, Intel CPUs did NOT have built-in video. If you had integrated video, it came from the motherboard only.

But in the last 5 years, many (most) Intel consumer CPUs DO have built-in video. In those cases, you do NOT need a motherboard with any built-in video capability. Matter of fact, I don't think there are any recent motherboards with that capability.