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    Nvidia 550M vs. 555M

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by mwg3c, Apr 18, 2011.

  1. mwg3c

    mwg3c Notebook Guru

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    Hey Guys, quick question...

    I am not really a gamer and kind of a novice when it comes to graphics cards in general, but I do plan on watching Blu-Ray movies, doing some video/photo editing, streaming HD content from Netflix, streaming video over to my HDTV, etc (just no gaming).

    Will I see an increase in performance of these activities with the 555M (or would the only difference I see be with regards to gaming)? Would the battery drain faster with the 555M? Would watching videos online (youtube, etc) be better with the 555M?

    Thanks for your help!
     
    mwg3c, Apr 18, 2011
    #1
  2. ewq3500

    ewq3500 Notebook Enthusiast

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    if u aren't planning on gaming on this laptop ,then its an easy choice ,just go for the gt 550 without any hesitation and safe a 150$ .
     
    ewq3500, Apr 18, 2011
    #2
  3. mwg3c

    mwg3c Notebook Guru

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    Wouldn't I still gain performance on non-gaming related tasks though?
     
    mwg3c, Apr 19, 2011
    #3
  4. Corvette53p

    Corvette53p Notebook Enthusiast

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    Nothing noticeable for the vast majority of tasks. The GT550M is already a very capable card and the only real advantages you would see from the 555M is for gaming.
     
    Corvette53p, Apr 19, 2011
    #4
  5. mwg3c

    mwg3c Notebook Guru

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    Thanks for your help, guys. Would both the 550 and 555 perform the same for Blu-Ray movies, HDTV watching from the tuner, streaming Netflix, etc?
     
    mwg3c, Apr 19, 2011
    #5
  6. daver160

    daver160 Notebook Deity

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    definitely. even a 330M should be able to handle blu-ray movies, and HDTV via TV tuner.
     
    daver160, Apr 19, 2011
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  7. festivemongoose

    festivemongoose Notebook Guru

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    the ONLY benefit you will get for the 555m is for gaming
     
    festivemongoose, Apr 19, 2011
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  8. gpig

    gpig Notebook Deity

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    Yes. You'd probably gain some performance in many photo/video editing applications (when doing particular tasks), but it's probably not worth the difference in price. If it's a major concern perhaps you could look up benchmarking results of the particular application(s) you are using, although it's not always available.
     
    gpig, Apr 19, 2011
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  9. mwg3c

    mwg3c Notebook Guru

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    Thanks for the help guys. I think I will choose the 550M and use the money saved on an SSD (once I find a good one...)
     
    mwg3c, Apr 19, 2011
    #9
  10. Jukkie

    Jukkie Notebook Enthusiast

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    Get an OCZ Vertex 2e, still the best value SSD's around.
     
    Jukkie, Apr 21, 2011
    #10