An on-board graphics into use in my ATC-705?

Hi all,

My main use of this desktop is photo editing and archiving, and, specially, archiving is a heavy load application, when dealing with database during imports and rescans of photos. I already use 2.5" SSDs (SATA3) in OS and database, separately, but when following performance curves during an import or rescan, I can see that SSD is still the bottle neck. So, I started to grasp my head and came to an idea: what about installing a NVMe-ssd to speed up things. There is only one PCIe x16 on the mobo and currently there is a GTX 750 card. Now, if I give up from GTX 750, my questions are:

1) from specs I have read that there is an on-board graphic controller HD Graphics 4600. I tryed to check this and found couple of connectors (one like HDMI and one like a D-connector) covered by plastic covers which seem to be connected with the mobo. Now, if I remove covers and connect cables, could I get std. display running (or is there e.g. some risk of damage, why they are covered)?

2) If it is technically ok, would the performance of display be adequate (i.e. I need no high speed but preferably accurate colors and spatial resolution)? I use now a monitor with 2560 x 1440 resolution.

Accepted answers

billsey

I don't anticipate there being any problems with your setup. You might have to enable the onboard graphics once the card is removed , but usually it happens by magic. you should be able to do that resolution with the onboard video but won't be able to keep up with many of the games. It doesn't sound like that is a problem for you.

All comments

billsey

I don't anticipate there being any problems with your setup. You might have to enable the onboard graphics once the card is removed , but usually it happens by magic. you should be able to do that resolution with the onboard video but won't be able to keep up with many of the games. It doesn't sound like that is a problem for you.

MarkkuS

Hi billsey, thanks for your response. Yes, I also believe it should work without problems. I wanted to get an other opinion. Yes, I do not play games, but edit still photos, so I believe HD graphics should manage with that, at leas I like to giove it a try. I let you know results as soon I have got parts and installed them.

B.r: MarkkuS

billsey

It wouldn't hurt to do the graphics switch separate from the SSD upgrade, and you wouldn't have to wait. If you run into an issue it'd be easrier to diagnose if you were doing things one step at a time.

MarkkuS

Hi billsey,

You are right and I just got the change of graphics done and tested: it works perfectly. I do not see any differences in performance with my applications (iMatch (DAM-software), Capture One (raw conversion and post processing) and Affinity photo (also post processing with some additional stacking features)).

Now , next question in my mind is whether my mobo will accept booting from NVMe in PCIe-connector. I have not found any mobo specs or whatever. I´ve searched info in the net, thusfar found only some generic tutorials in youtube. From what I see in them I suspect that there might be some bios changes needed, uh...

billsey

Typically the card has to have it's own BIOS embedded before it's going to be bootable, and that type of card has quite a bit of a price premium. You could install the OS on the NVMe drive and leave the boot partition on the current drive, then change UEFI to start from the boot partition but actually boot from the new image. Very similar to dual booting Windows and Linux. Once it's stable booting from the NVMe you can then repurpose the old C: partition on the old drive, as long as you leave the UEFI boot stuff alone.

MarkkuS

Hi billsey. Thanks for your proposal. It sounds easier than what I alreday found in internet. Yes, booting from NVMe in my pc seems to require considerable work in modifying BIOS, and I do not feel myself very confident in it (the chipset on the mobo is H81 and it has no NVMe booting support natively). I do not know yet arrangemets in dual booting either, and one question raises: what are settings to tell booting sequence that Windows is in NVMe althoug boot partition is in HDD, could you show some link which describes this method?

B.r: MarkkuS

billsey

It's possible I'm steering you down the wrong path. Which OS version came originally on the machine? IIRC the TC-705 kind of straddled the BIOS boot / UEFI boot period, and if yours originally shipped with Windows 7 it might have been in the BIOS mode. If so you'll likely want to use a different boot loader, like EasyBCD. That will allow you to redirect boot to the NVMe drive. If it came with Windows 8 or later it would have the UEFI boot and we just need to edit it to boot from an alternate location.

MarkkuS

Hi,

The PC came with Win10, but I am a bit confused as the BIOS graphis look so "old style". However, I have been able to open command into UEFI-settings in Win10, from where system after restart (this button is on same display with UEFI settings-selection) comes back to that oldish type BIOS graphics. To me it looks like only boot order would be possible to change in bios with current setting,s but I do not know bios world very well.

Originally this system had i5-4460, H81 chipset, GTX-750 GPU, win10 installed on an 2.5" SSD and a separate internal 1T HDD for data. Ihave now swapped i5 to i7-4790 and removed GTX 750 in order to release PCIe x16-connector for planned NVMe.

billsey

Try BCDEdit to add a new boot entry for the NVMe drive and see if it comes up as an option. You might have to install the OS on that drive first, or copy the existing partition over.

MarkkuS

Hi,

Thanks for your proposal. I´ve placed orders for the NVMe and, respectively, PCIe-interface, but have not yet received parts. Meanwhile, I try to learn BCDE edit use and needed actions in details.

I also made some research what happens in my pc in current configurations. I realized that main load in disk i/o when running major application (e.g. import command in DAM software) takes place into/from TMP and TEMP folders. Don´t know yet, but already this may allow good boost if those folders would be in NVMe.

I´ll let you know results after installing parts and testing the impact.

billsey

Depending on the rest of your system configuration, and the actual space needed in those temp directories, you might be able to offload the temp folder to a RAM disk.

MarkkuS

Hi all,

Been away for long time. Now, I like to explain all I have done with PCIe interfaces (for SATA and NVme SSD´s) and on board graphics: First of all, I use my TC-705 for photo editing (Capture One and Affinity Photo s/w and archieving with DAM s/w (iMatch). I do not run any game.

So, all efforts target to boost the performance in those applications.

First: I swapped original CPU (i5) to i7-4790, which gave almos 2x boost.

Second: I gave up from a separate GPU board and released a PCIe slot on the mobo for a NVmE controller. As TC-705 mobo does not by default boot from a NVmE, I finally decided to use that SSD for Windows Temporary Files, which gave me additionally some 15% boost in test runs. I found all instructions in the net very unconsistent regarding how to make a NVmE a bootabkle device in TC-705, so I did not try them.

Due to fact that installed CPU is faster (though its wattage is same as that of the original CPU ) I had to improve the cooling, too. To install the new Noctua double grid cooler (NH-D9L) I had first to uninstall the whole mobo. This improvement lowered the long term stress temp from 91C to 80C (Tj max is 100C).

Further I plan to install a second SATA-SSD (the first one now holds OS) to install those above mention applications apart from OS SSD. This probably has minor impact on performance but anyway some positive plus it pobably makes SSDs live longer.