graphics card on the 1525

I have posted a few post about the 1525 because I am interested in it..But doing some reading everyone is fussing about the graphics card, now me not knowing nothing about computers don't know what the graphic card actually does...I do NOT game! The only games I play on the computer are puzzle games or something like that..(is this considered gaming?) Below are my FAQ's:::

1)Is it something you have to have to watch movies with?

2)What's wrong with the graphic card that comes with the 1525??

3)Can you not buy a better graphic card and install it yourself???

4)And what is the Blu-Ray stuff? Sorry y'all I know nothing of I don't ask, I'll never know.


General Questions

1) What is your budget? 1000-1500 give or take

2) What size notebook would you prefer? 15.4" (something good for movies)
a. Ultraportable; 12" screen or less
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen ( THIS ONE )
d. Desktop Replacement; 17"+ screen

3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in. USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like? Apple, over priced!

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook? watching movies when on vacation, emailing, normal stuff, I have a desktop
that will be used for my photos and such, this will just be used for minor stuff

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk? vacations, which isnt often

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games? If any it will be a puzzle game , monopoly or something like that

8) How many hours of battery life do you need? not an issue as I won't be on here long periods of time, except when on vacation

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person? I have before

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc. ..XP with all I have heard about Vista

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen? widescreen I think

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer? The best for watching movies

Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
c. UXGA - 1600x1200 - Very small text and graphics icons, you can fit lots of stuff on the screen.

Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.


13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen? The best for movies?

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you? ...No, quality is

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?... as long as it will

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB? ..thinking around 160?

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD drive?... whatever I need for movies and such

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1)Is it something you have to have to watch movies with?

Yes and no. You need a graphics card to display anything, but you don't need a discrete graphics card. With Dell computers, there are a few different cards to choose from:

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 - this one is what you want. It's cheap, and plays even hi-definition video well. It plays older games relatively well, but not newer games.
nVidia GeForce 8400M GS - this plays hi-definition video much smoother than the GMA X3100, and will play newer video games at low settings.
nVidia GeForce 8600M GT - this plays hi-definition really well (I can attest), and plays new games at medium settings and older games at maxed settings.

There are better cards, but they're too big and hot to fit into the laptop you want.

2)What's wrong with the graphic card that comes with the 1525??

For you? Nothing. For people who want to play games at high settings with good framerates, it's just not powerful enough. For you, it's perfect.

3)Can you not buy a better graphic card and install it yourself???

You can, but it's difficult and I wouldn't recommend it. It's also not going to be much cheaper than simply purchasing the upgrade immediately (unlike memory, which is much cheaper and easier to install separately).

4)And what is the Blu-Ray stuff? Sorry y'all I know nothing of I don't ask, I'll never know.

Blu-Ray is a new optical disc format, like CD or DVD. You can pull data off of it faster than CDs or DVDs and you can also put more data onto it. Because of this, it is the format that hi-definition movies are put on. A standard DVD has the movie in a resolution of 854x480, whereas hi-definition movies have a resolution of 1920x1080. This is the advantage of Blu-Ray. Your computer, if you get the 1280x800 screen, will only take advantage of some of this, but consider that most over-the-air hi-definition signals are 720p (1280x720), which the scren would support.

The Dell 1525 would be a good computer for you, but I recommend that you purchase a computer in a store when it is on sale, from a manufacturer such as Toshiba, Acer, or HP. If you can find an HP computer for $599 in the store, it might actually be enough.

I suggest you get at least a Core 2 Duo, and if you can't get the 2GB with the laptop, you can simply purchase it yourself off the internet ( Newegg.com is what I recommend). It's easy enough to install.

 

Hi
If your going to spend $1000 or more may I suggest you take a closer look at all the M1530 XPS Posts

 

There's nothing wrong with the integrated graphics on the 1525. That'll be perfect for you since you won't be doing any graphics demanding games. The reason a lot of people complain here is, because most people here are hard core gamers and they're disappointed that they'll have to go with the XPS series if they want to do any sort of gaming.