Is a dedicated GPU necessary for using MRtrix?

1

Hello MRTrixers,

I’m planning to buy a new laptop, and I want to make sure that it will be able to run MRTrix3 at an acceptable performance level. I have to decide between a dedicated Nvidia GPU, or an intel integrated one (Intel UHD Graphics 620).

In the MRTrix3 documentation, it says that an “OpenGL 3.3 compliant graphics card” is needed to use the software’s GUI. I checked the intel card, and it supports OpenGL 4.5, so I’m assuming (and hoping) that it also supports OpenGL 3.3.

Assuming OpenGL compliance is not an issue, would an integrated GPU be able to run MRTrix3 at a reasonable speed? I’m mostly worried about displaying results, as it seams like it requires a lot of power to run smoothly.

Please let me know what you think. And as always, thanks for the help!

Cheers,
Joe

2

This is exactly what I have on my laptop (Intel HD 620), and performance is pretty good. Much better than the lower-end dedicated NVidia and AMD cards on most of the desktops in the department… The main thing is to ensure OpenGL 3.3 support, and decent performance, which any new medium to high-end laptop nowadays will provide – if it’s good enough for casual gaming, it’ll be good enough for MRtrix3.

3

Great! Thanks a lot for the reply. I think I’ll go with the Intel one after all :smiley: