Video Card Question for New PC Build

Jerald7

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I'm building a new computer and need some video card advice. I have the following components (listed below) for my new build. I need advice on getting the best video card for my needs. I am NOT a gamer. I currently have (3) monitors on my main PC, and this new build will replace it. I will need three monitors on this new build also. My monitors all have DVI, VGA & HDMI jacks. My new mobo has (2) HDMI jacks and (1) Display Port, (no vga or DVI jacks). The Intel Processor Graphics in the Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz processor - description says – “It supports up to three independent displays: HDMI, DVI, Display Port, VGA (via Lynx Point).” Can I connect two monitors up to the two HDMI jacks and the third monitor to the Display Port of the mobo? Or would it be better to install a video card?

This PC will be primarily used for office work and some PhotoShop CS5 and Lightroom photo editing (but nothing too serious). I do have a ASUS EAH6850 1GB video card in my current PC that I could take out and put in this new PC, but that card is 3 years old (but works great), don't know about compatibility.

Thanks for any advice you could give.

Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K
Mobo: MSI Z87 MPOWER LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Extreme OC Flagship High Performance Triple CFX/ SLI Platform Intel Motherboard
Power Supply: CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready
Memory (16 GB): Crucial Ballistix 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLT8G3D1608DT1TX0
Case: Rosewill THOR V2 Gaming ATX Full Tower Computer Case
SSD: SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256N/AM 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
DVD drive: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Internal 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model ihas324-07
Monitors: (2) ASUS 27" (1) ASUS 24"
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Build
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz
Motherboard
MSI Z87 MPOWER LGA 1150 Intell Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 A
Memory
Crucial Ballistix 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3
Graphics Card(s)
Intel HD Graphics
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS 26", ASUS 26," ASUS 24"
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 830 256GB SATA III SSD
Western Digital Caviar Black WD2001FASS 2TB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB
PSU
Corsair TX Series CMPSU-750TX 750W
Case
Rosewill THOR V2 Gaming
Keyboard
Logitech K350
Mouse
Logitech M705
Internet Speed
18 MBps
If that Haswell claims true 3 monitor support and has just those 3 jacks then I say:

Yeah you should be OK with the on-board video on that Haswell, get an ACTIVE display port cable (just make sure you are DP or mini-DP for that 3rd jack!) to whichever jack is compatible with the new monitors, DVI or HDMI is fine. [keyword active, they are more $, a normal passive one will not work right]

That 6850 is fine for 7 but unknown ports, I would see if the on-die CPU video is good enough before going there.

I am hopeful that on-die (mixed in right with the CPU) GPUs are pretty good.
 

My Computer My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Built Custom
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate Retail Box (64-bit installed) + Service Pack 1
CPU
AMD FX-8350 CPU v1.15 (or 1.0F) BIOS was required!
Motherboard
MSI 890FXA-GD70
Memory
8G CAS-7 G-Skill DDR3 @1333 (2 fours) [mobo nonOC max rec'd]
Graphics Card(s)
Radeon HD 7950 [3 gigs of GDDR5] MSI Twin Frozr model
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition Audio (onboard mobo, ALC-889 chip)
Monitor(s) Displays
2 WS LED Monitors: One LG One Viewsonic
Screen Resolution
1920 by 1080
Hard Drives
SSD for OS: Samsung 840 Pro
SSD for VM and utilities: Adata SX900
7200 RPM SATA HDs for the rest: Hitachi and Seagate
PSU
Corsair TX850 - 850W max, in service since August 2010.
Case
Thermaltake Armor A90
Cooling
Thermaltake Spin Q CPU Cooler, in service since August 2010
Keyboard
Logitech G11
Mouse
Logitech M310 Wireless
Internet Speed
100 Megabit broadband supposedly upgraded from 50 (Cable)
Antivirus
Bitdefender Internet Security 2014 suite
Browser
Pale Moon 64-bit main, also IceDragon, Opera, and Maxthon.
Other Info
CompTIA A+ certified (220-800 series) in July 2013.
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