[KatieGrace]

I'm planning on upgrading my computer soon and the specifications of the one I'm looking at says that it has integrated graphics but I can order it with an upgraded graphics card installed. Are intel integrated graphics sufficient to run Photoshop and Illustrator efficently? I don't want to do 3-D type of things, just digital scrapbooking and designing. Any help would be appreciated.

[B&K Mom]

I have no clue, Katie (Mac girl). I'm sure someone else will come along with excellent advice for you.

[BarbaraC1977]

That's a really good question, and I wish I knew the answer. The short answer is that discrete graphics are better for things like games where you need high-speed. However, I think Photoshop is reasonably demanding; it's not clear to me that Illustrator is as much of a resource user. I also worry about heat; one of the computers with integrated graphics at my office lost its motherboard due to heat, and my staff member wasn't doing all that much that was demanding. On that laptop, it would have cost $400 for a new motherboard; we replaced the computer for $600 instead.

There is a LOT of discussion on the internet about this topic, and since the integrated GPU's are getting better and better, it may not matter. Discrete graphics increase power usage when running on battery.

If I were you, I'd do an online chat with Adobe and see if they'll venture an opinion. I doubt they'll do a firm recommendation, but you may be able to get a sense from them.

[April Showers]

The Intel graphics cards are better than they used to be, but I don't use them. We prefer the Nvidia cards.

Tested video cards for Photoshop CS6
Adobe tested the following video cards before the release of Photoshop CS6­. This document lists the video card by series. The minimum amount of RAM supported on video cards for Photoshop CS6 is 256 MB.

Note: Adobe tested laptop and desktop versions of the following cards. Be sure to download the latest driver for your specific model. (Laptop and desktop versions have slightly different names.)

nVidia GeForce 8000, 9000, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 series

nVidia Quadro 400, 600, 2000, 4000 (Mac & Win), CX, 5000, 6000

AMD/ATI Radeon 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000 series

AMD/ATI FirePro 3800, 4800, 5800, 7800, 8800, 9800, 3900, 4900, 5900, 7900

Intel Intel HD Graphics, Intel HD Graphics P3000, Intel HD Graphics P4000

Note: ATI X1000 series and nVidia 7000 series cards are no longer being tested and are not officially supported in Photoshop CS6, but some basic GL functionality can be available for both these cards.

[SandiC.]

All I can tell you is my laptop has the Nvidia GeForce 9400M and it runs CS6 and Illustrator just fine. Its on the list April posted. I can always count on Barbara and April to give great answers to questions like this.

[April Showers]

I put a 1G Nvidia GeForce 400 series on my new desktop and it is plenty fast.

[KatieGrace]

Thanks everyone. I knew this would be the place to get my answers. After checking out Adobe discussions and your recommendations, I decided to have a Nvidia GeForce graphics card added to it. I would rather be safe than take a chance on the integrated graphics being sufficient. It's for a PC and I don't want to replace it for a long time.

[kerryveale]

I have been very happy with my laptop HP Pavilion Entertainment PC with its Nvidia graphics card. Still going strong after three and a half years! (knock on wood!)