On Dell m1330, is Nvidia really necessary...

or could I go with the cheaper and cooler built in graphics? I mainly do surfing, e-mail, heavy on both, with some dreamweaver and some minor photo editing sometimes.

I guess a sub question is would there be and difference in the QUALITY of the screen? I really like the richest fullest most colorful screen I can get.

I am trying to price out one of these bad boys keeping in mind that 2 years is an eternity for me and technology, and I am NEVER going to sit there and stopwatch whether 1.8 or 2.0 on the chip is faster.

This time I would really like to spend as little as possible and still get the hottest coolest laptop around.

Thanks for any insights.

Dave

 

the integrated chip is actually quite good. More than adequate for your needs. Only get the 8400gs if you want to play games (light games). The x3100 will output HD quite well i'd imagine. 1080i is its highest output i think

 

No difference for the screen. It's just different hardwares. For your usage, the Intel will be fine I guess, and you will save some battery.

 

what are the extra costs of the 8400 gs compared to the inbuilt graphics?

if its only like 60 buks or so i'd personally go with the 8400gs as it also makes the notebook much more attractive when you're trying to resale later on

 

Its about £80 so im guessing about $150/160 cant be bothered to check.

I personally wouldnt get a laptop without dedicated graphics as I always seem to want or need it down the line if it isn't there.

 

The 8400 can actually play heavy games quite well...just a bit better than the 7600, far, far better than the 7400

 

Thanks for the insights. I could most likely do without. I just do not play games, and if I start, I have a pretty darn good desktop system, although far from current state of the art graphics, but dedicated for sure.

thanks, looks like I will be able to save a little $$$. Believe me, each option addss up pretty darn quickly Dave

 

My two cents...

If you are going to do anything with images get the nVida it'll be much faster.

Two years from now you'll still be smiling and for $60 thats like a dime a day.

 

hm.. i got it for 25 dollars

 

i think its worth it, it will improve the overall performance of the system, not just with games. but its not necessary either. though choice.

 

I wish they had gone with a more powerfull card and I am not a gamer

 

I have always been a performance freak, so now I am thinking I need to bite the bullet and just get it. I really appreciate responsiveness in any machine I use. thanks again, Dave