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    Curious Case with XPS M1330 GeForce 8400; Advice needed

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by tennisfan20, Mar 3, 2009.

  1. tennisfan20

    tennisfan20 Notebook Geek

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    Hey guys,
    I'm starting to see GPU problems with my laptop. I talked to tech support today and they said I would be allowed to get a replacement motherboard with the X3100 Intel video instead of the 8400. I don't really game so I would rather not have a GeForce. What should I do? Have these "new motherboards" got the NVIDIA fix? Should I just go with the Intel X3100? Will there be a great performance hit with the X3100(just 720p HD/MKV movies, browsing, external monitor)?
    Thanks.
     
    tennisfan20, Mar 3, 2009
    #1
  2. bboy1

    bboy1 Notebook Evangelist

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    My sister has the Inspiron 1525 with the Intel X3100, 1.8ghz, 2gb, 1280x800 res and it runs everyday programs fast like any other new laptop. It's perfectly capable of doing everyday things. It's not as bad as you may think. Sure it can't run games well but if you don't game then I'm sure it'll do the trick perfectly.

    I tried Half Life 2 on it before and it actually runs except it's like unplayable at the framerate lol. I tried the Sam & Max Episode 1 games and it ran it smoothly.

    http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2007/02/sam_and_max_culture_shock/sam1_large.jpg

    I haven't tried outputting to an external monitor but it should be fine. Considering the fact that you can't choose any other graphics option for the Inspiron 1525, I'm sure it'll work fine since there's VGA and HDMI ports in this laptop....and I don't think Dell would have put them in if they couldn't output movies and stuff to an external monitor properly. Movies, browsing, DVDs work perfectly fine.

    The big plus is that you won't be faced with the problems of the 8400 and it's one thing you won't have to worry about. If you don't game then I say go for it.
     
    bboy1, Mar 3, 2009
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  3. Bane-o

    Bane-o Notebook Enthusiast

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    I would sugest that you do not go with the onboard graphics.

    The graphics card is in a computer for one purpose:
    To take the load of processing video off of the main CPU.


    so if you have onboard video, then your main CPU is doing more work than one with a dedicated graphics card. Also another point to bring out is shared resources. if you have onbaord video, then that means that the X3100 is using some of your RAM, which inturn means that there is less memory available for your other programs.

    So yes there would be a performance hit in choosing the X3100.
     
    Bane-o, Mar 4, 2009
    #3
  4. Mr.High-Pinger

    Mr.High-Pinger Notebook Consultant

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    On the other hand, the x3100 should give you less heat and increased batterylife, and a more silent laptop.
     
    Mr.High-Pinger, Mar 4, 2009
    #4