Your CPU's integrated graphics can handle more than you think, and most people never turn them on

Published Nov 4, 2026, 7:00 AM EST Hamlin has been in the tech field for over nine years. Since 2017, his work has appeared on MakeUseOf, Android Police, OSXDaily, Beebom, and more. He served as the Senior Editor at Valnet's MakeUseOf for over two years before joining XDA. He uses a high-end gaming rig for desktop use and a MacBook for traveling, but dislikes some of the quirks of macOS. You're more likely to catch him at the gym or on a flight than anywhere else. As someone who uses an RTX 4090, I have almost no reason to even think about the tiny RDNA 2 iGPU inside my 9800X3D. At least, that's what you'd think, considering how inferior iGPUs are compared to discrete GPUs. To some extent, that assumption is right. The 9800X3D's iGPU has just two graphics cores, so it's not even going to cut it for AAA gaming if my RTX 4090 suddenly dies. But just because it can't handle modern titles doesn't necessarily mean it's completely useless. The thing is, gaming performance isn't the only reason to have a GPU in the first place. iGPUs are perfectly capable of handling video playback, encoding, and driving your secondary monitor, and they can even give you a way to troubleshoot your graphics card. The best part? You don't have to choose one or the other. You can keep both enabled and put that overlooked part of your CPU to work without giving up the gaming performance of your expensive GPU. Your motherboard has video outputs for a reason You don't have to ignore them just because you have a discrete GPU If you look at the rear I/O of your motherboard, you'll likely find HDMI, DisplayPort, or even USB-C ports with DisplayPort support that you've probably never bothered using because your graphics card already has all the ports you need. But if your CPU has an iGPU, this is actually one of its most practical use cases. Even if you don't run out of ports on your GPU, you can use your motherboard's video outputs to drive a secondary monitor while keeping your main gaming monitor connected to your GPU. So if you have a multi-monitor setup as I do, there's nothing stopping you from using both GPUs to handle different displays. However, depending on your motherboard, you may have to enable your iGPU in the BIOS first. You can usually find the option somewhere under the Advanced settings. This isn't just useful for offloading a secondary monitor to your iGPU, though. It also gives you a backup display output in case your graphics card suddenly stops sending a signal for whatever reason. That way, you can at least narrow down the problem without needing a spare GPU. And it's not just about putting an image on the screen Your iGPU can handle video encoding, decoding, and even some light gaming One of the most overlooked capabilities of an iGPU is hardware-accelerated video encoding and decoding. Of course, when you already have a graphics card, you don't really have a reason to care. But having another GPU with its own media engine gives you the option to handle certain video workloads separately. For instance, if you have an Intel iGPU, you can use Quick Sync to accelerate video encoding in supported apps like HandBrake or Premiere Pro. Some newer iGPUs even support AV1 encoding now, which Nvidia first introduced with the RTX 40-series GPUs. As for gaming, it really comes down to the iGPU, although standard desktop CPUs like my 9800X3D can only handle lighter games at playable frame rates. Still, I was able to average around 200FPS on Valorant at 1080p on low settings, so it isn't all that bad. If you have something like the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, you can expect better frame rates, but that's still not going to be enough for more demanding titles. That's where an APU like the Ryzen 7 8700G proves its worth, since its integrated Radeon 780M can run games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Red Dead Redemption 2 at playable frame rates. Using both can introduce overhead But simply leaving your iGPU enabled is hardly a dealbreaker There are a couple of downsides to using your iGPU alongside your graphics card, and I think that's worth keeping in mind before you go ahead and enable it. For starters, your iGPU doesn't have dedicated VRAM like your graphics card, so it may reserve some system RAM even when you're not actively using it. Your CPU can also draw a bit more power and run hotter when the iGPU is in use. But the main concern is the potential performance overhead when you're actively using both GPUs. For instance, if your graphics card is rendering a game while your iGPU handles encoding, transferring frames between the two can introduce additional CPU overhead and latency. But there's a difference between enabling your iGPU and actively using it. Just because you have both GPUs enabled doesn't mean they're constantly working together. If you're gaming on your graphics card while the iGPU sits idle, you don't have to worry about any noticeable performance overhead. Sure, if your iGPU is handling another workload, it can consume CPU resources, but that doesn't mean your gaming performance will suffer. You might lose a few frames, but I don't think that's enough of a reason to keep your iGPU disabled altogether. You never know when that iGPU might come in clutch I still remember when I sold my RTX 3090 to upgrade to the RTX 4090, and there was a two-week gap before I got my hands on the new card. Back then, I was using a 5800X3D, which didn't have an iGPU as my 9800X3D does. This meant my PC was practically useless without a dedicated GPU. It's situations like these that make you appreciate having an iGPU, no matter how bad it is for gaming. Whether you're waiting for a new GPU or dealing with a faulty one, sometimes you just need your PC to work, and even a basic iGPU lets you do that.