inspiron 6000 with integrated or ati?

hey..i'm planning on getting the dell inspiron 6000.. was wondering which would be a better choice? getting the notebook specified earlier with the integrated intel graphics or with the ati card? if either one, can i know why it would be a better choice? thanks in advance.

 

integrated - better battery life
dedicated - better performance (gaming ability)

 

unless you are a serious gamer then there is no need for the dedicated. I just ordered the same laptop and I chose to go integrated because it is good quality and will save battery life. You can still game, but if you are a serious gamer you will not be happy. If you don't game or game very rarely then you will love the integrated.

 

ati x300 with dedicated 9 cell battery gets me 6 hours... I don't know what else you would want to do for more then 6 hours though lol

Dell I6000d
1.86 ghz
1 gig 400mhz ram
80 gig HD
Intel Pro 2915 a/b/g Wireless
15.4 " WXGA
Ati X300 128 mb
Nec Dvd +- RW 6500A

 

The ATI dedicated card is of course better for gaming, but if you're a serious gamer, even it probably won't be enough. With my 6000 with the x300 w/128 meg, plus 1.25 gig system RAM and the 1.6 ghz cpu, I still get only TOLERABLE gaming performance. I still take my 64-bit desktop with a 6800GT to LAN parties. So if you're serious enough to play newer games (Star Wars Republic Commando, Counterstrike: Source, World of Warcraft, etc.) then you've probably already got a desktop gaming machine, and might as well go for the cheaper Intel graphics for your laptop. It all depends on how serious you are with gaming. NOTE: the dedicated card can play flawlessly older games, e.g. Halflife 1 and mods, UT GoTY, the first Splinter Cell game, etc. I would guess that the Intel chip could play these games too, but probably not very well. PM me or email me at wediddoit at gmail dot com if you've got questions.

 

Game-playing ability aside, it is always better to have a separate gpu. (1) The integrated gpu draws upon the system ram to make temporary gpu ram, so it does affect overall performance, whatever software you are using, and (2) hardware-wise, having a separate cpu and gpu means everything going down together is less likely. Nicer just to replace the gpu and not the motherboard too. If you do not have sufficient warranty, then if/when you have hardware failure, the initially cheaper integrated option could actually turn out over time to be a much more expensive option.The only possible real advantages of the integrated gpu is better battery life and (initial) price.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by antskip

 

Yea, I have to agree with that.

I ordered mine with the integrated 128mb shared. I did this because it was cheaper and since I went with the lowest possible system memory dell offered for the Inspiron 6000, 256mb, it took even more money off my total price. Which is why I now have 2gb of RAM sitting on my computer desk awating the arrival of my laptop. So with my integrated running at the full 128mb I am still at 1.87gb of system memory which is PLENTY even for what I am using my laptop for (graphics editing and programming). Even if I plan to do some video editing the integrated will be good enough to do so....considering I use my secondary desktop for some video editing with an integrated s3 savage video with 32mb shared.

So...basically it can be more of an expensive replacement part later on. However I game VERY little if at all and it made more sense financially for me to go with that option.