Integrated vs. dedicated graphics on the 1520/1720

I'm planning to get a 1720 for my wife and a 1520 for me. We do ZERO gaming, zero. Mostly all web stuff. The only photo stuff we do is using Picasa to print out pictures.

a) is the integrated graphics on both of these good enough to run Vista properly and do the stuff we need?

b) would adding one of the video cards make any difference for us?

c) would the video cards eat up battery life and make the laptop hotter (I'm thinking yes on these)

Thanks for any help.

 

a) It will run fine.
b) Sorry, i don't get you.
c) Unlike dedicated cards, integrated cards will not eat into the battery life, and runs pretty cool most of the time (unless running a video intensive task).

 

Hi-I think I understand your dilemma....you think you "should" get the dedicated card b/c it's better, right? But the other poster is correct in all regards. And the compaq I'm using right now has the Intel 950 Graphics Card and is running Vista Premium without a hiccup ( I do recommend you get 2 Mb for Vista Premium as that will effect it more than the graphics card). And I use Picasa and watch youtube videos and even movies without any issues. However, since you are getting two laptops maybe you can get the 17" with the Nvidia card (or vice versa) as you might want to try gaming down the road and it won't "hurt" the system other than slightly decreased battery life. And an argument could be made that if you chose to sell your laptop, the Nvidia card would be seen as an upgrade.....

 

If you don't play any games nor do you run applications that require heavy image/video editing, rendering etc, then an integrated card is most suitable for your needs. Having a dedicated gpu will definately shorten battery life and make your laptop run slightly hotter (not by much though)

 

What if you ONLY play World of Warcraf? I have an integrated card right now, the Ati mobility radeon 9000, and it runs World of Warcraft at lowest settings. When I ask around on this forum, most people say I need a dedicated to play it. But I play it with integrated now, I would think that a better integrated card would be able to play the game even better. I feel kind of pushed buying a dedicated card while I'm not sure if I really need since I'm not much of a gamer, since I play one game only.

 

I think most people (at least myself) would RECOMMEND having a dedicated card to play WoW. Many gamers are pretty picky in terms or graphic resolutions, lag time, etc when playing games. I'm not saying that an integrated card won't work at all (after all, the minimum graphics to play WoW is only 32MB with hardware transform/lighting), but if you're not a super picky gamer and only play WoW, then it shouldn't matter.

 

Thanks for all the help, guys! I appreciate the answers. That's what I was thinking. As long as I can watch some videos, do some simple photo stuff with Picasa, maybe watch a movie and run Vista comfortably (will definitely get the 2MB memory), I'll stick with the integrated graphics since I value the battery life the most. Thanks again!

 

having played WoW for way too long (but i finally quit $700 payout ^_^) you NEED to get the graphics card.

sounds like your pretty into the game (at least I think so/probably are), and once you get to more "crowded" areas your framerate is going to die. dedicated graphics card without a doubt!

not only that but if you play wow on the lowest settings possible, your missing out on a lot of stuff (and your paying $12-15 a month for it!) at least medium graphics settings is the way to go

 

I know you don't NEED a dedicated card to run Vista proprely...but don't play around too much on the hardware. I have Vista now myself and it's memory hungry in every sense of the word. On my 1gb, older HP, it's a bit slow at times.

I would recommend a lower end dedicated card, personally. I think the 8400 would be an excellent card for you. It's a very light dedicated card, but it gives you and your wife an option in the future if you decide to do different stuff on your PC, like upload photos of a vacation or something like that, even playing movies.

I doubt you want to get the Blu Ray drive for movie watching, but if you opt for that, you'll need one of the dedicated cards also.

Either way, I recommend the 8400 for your personal situation, as a nice medium with room for growth. Bare minimum grahpical ability is a great way to obsolete the machine quickly.