Video Card

[Bob Roberts]

Well, I'm getting ready to purchase a new computer this weekend. I've been shopping around and have decided to get a Dell Inspiron Notebook. I've got everything set up the way I want it, but I still have a question about the video card...........

Here are my options......

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 [Included in Price]
128MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1300 HyperMemory™ [add $49]
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™ [add $99]
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 TurboCache* [add $129]

For those of you computer gurus out there.....do you think the Intel 950 is enough? I'll be running Windows Vista and will occasionally watch Youtube videos and stuff. I'm not a big gamer, but I occasionally play little "time waster" games. What is my best option?

[Griz]

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 [Included in Price]
128MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1300 HyperMemory™ [add $49]
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™ [add $99]
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 TurboCache* [add $129]

?

the 950 will be fine UNLESS you play advanced games or will use it for DVDs. I have had NVIDIA cards, they are top notch.. Dells are highly rated also.. the NVIDIA would also save some battery life,, great for watching DVDs on planes. It will support the latest HD products too. Don't scrimp. If you can afford a little extra, you'll never say I shoulda...

[OKCPhan]

Bob,

I would say the NVIDIA card would be the way to go. I assume it's a laptop (by the GeForce GO). One thing to be aware of is that the NVIDIA Vista drivers are still a little "rough". They still have issues to work out, but they're getting better.

If you're going to run Vista, be SURE and get 1 gig of RAM at a minimum. If you can afford it, 2 gigs would be better. I'm running Vista on a "bleeding edge" (Intel Core 2 Quad, 8800GTX, 680i SLI motherboard) machine I built myself, and Vista will s*** up a boatlaod of the memory in my system in certain situations. It's a beautiful interface, but it is a system hog.

[RinglingRingling]

Max the RAM, whether video or motherboard every time. You won't be sorry

[Burny Charles]

I would recommend at least throwing in the extra $99 to at least have 256. Since its a new machine, you might as well make it above par. Applications keep getting more demanding.

[RinglingRingling]

I would recommend at least throwing in the extra $99 to at least have 256. Since its a new machine, you might as well make it above par. Applications keep getting more demanding.

yes, they do, and it never hurts to stay on the leading edge for that 2 days when you first get a machine home..

[Burny Charles]

I would recommend at least throwing in the extra $99 to at least have 256. Since its a new machine, you might as well make it above par. Applications keep getting more demanding.

yes, they do, and it never hurts to stay on the leading edge for that 2 days when you first get a machine home..

I hear ya, seems like 2 days ago I bought a motherboard so I could have 2 gigs of ram, now that doesnt seem like enough.

[RinglingRingling]

I would recommend at least throwing in the extra $99 to at least have 256. Since its a new machine, you might as well make it above par. Applications keep getting more demanding.

yes, they do, and it never hurts to stay on the leading edge for that 2 days when you first get a machine home..

I hear ya, seems like 2 days ago I bought a motherboard so I could have 2 gigs of ram, now that doesnt seem like enough.

it never is.. a 4 gb SD card was magic a year ago, now you can get 2 gbs like they are after-dinner mints and 8s and 16s are the magic.

[LaTda!]

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 [Included in Price]
128MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1300 HyperMemory™ [add $49]
256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™ [add $99]
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 TurboCache* [add $129]

?

the 950 will be fine UNLESS you play advanced games or will use it for DVDs. I have had NVIDIA cards, they are top notch.. Dells are highly rated also.. the NVIDIA would also save some battery life,, great for watching DVDs on planes. It will support the latest HD products too. Don't scrimp. If you can afford a little extra, you'll never say I shoulda...

well put

I think you'd be pleased with at least the RADEON® X1300 for your particular situation.

I'm currently shopping for a gamers video card & therefore I'd need much more.. but for youtube & dvd's go middle of the road

here's one I'm thinking of * for gaming this isn't top of the line.. I may take the next step up from this even to take advantage of my widescreen HDTV pc monitor

[7lords]

256MB ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory™ [add $99]
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 TurboCache* [add $129]

Get one of these - for what you do, it will last quite a while. Are you sure you want Vista though? Are you sure any current hardware that you might want to use with it (like your printer) have Vista drivers?

[Ceol na Mara]

I hear ya, seems like 2 days ago I bought a motherboard so I could have 2 gigs of ram, now that doesnt seem like enough.

In 1985, we bought our first computer, an IBM PC-AT. Top of the line. This was when IBM had actual stores. I won't even tell you how much we paid for the computer and the printer. We had a choice between a 10mg hard drive (yes, that's mg) or a 20. We went with the 20mg. I still remember the saleswoman telling us, "Oh, that's more than enough! You'll never fill up 20 mg!"

[12vmanRick]

get a Mac avoid the hassles

[SharkOnLand]

The Intel card will eat some of your system memory, besides the fact that they're just craptastic. Spend the extra and get anything but.

[Lastplaneout]

The integrated intels have always been ok for those who do nothing graphic intensive....problem now is Vista...ohhhh how Microsoft has screwed the market yet again. To take full advantage of all the functions of Vista you need to 1.) Upgrade your system RAM and 2.) Bump up that card. If you dont plan to do anything hardcore don't worry about the nVidia card. I used to be a loyal nVidia customer but since I swapped to ATI they have been nothing but awesome products for me. Lately too it seems they have been just above the curve and edging out nVidia in the benchmarks. You will be good with either the ATI X13 or the X14. The only difference between the two is the amount of onboard mem. Same amount of pixel pipelines and shaders, GPU etc...just mem. I would personally go with the 256 if I had to build that particular lappy, but it's ultimately up to you.
This is my conservative opinion....im quite the nerd and always have tio have the newest and most powerful components out there to keep up with my gaming....Just a word to the wise....seriously think about switching to Vista. The way they are pushing it on people should be a crime....I wont switch from XP until im totally sure it's what I want. I have a copy of Vista running on a dual booter where i dabble with the new linux builds and keep playing with Vista....I have yet to be impressed and had too many problems to totally commit.

Sorry about the long write up...but when i get going it's hard to stop...just like share my personal experiences and knowledge with pholks.

ok im done


seriously


I'm finished