Will Intel GMA 950 and nVidia 8400GS play HD movies?

I have a 5-minute WMV-HD movie clip with me (1920x1080p, data rate 9828kbps) and my current PC (Intel P4 3Ghz, Windows Vista, 1Gb RAM, ATi X1600XT Graphics) plays it kinda sluggishly (short pauses).

I'm choosing among three laptops:
1. Sony Vaio TZ (Intel GMA 950)
2. Sony Vaio SZ (nVidia GeForce 8400M GS)
3. Dell XPS M1330 (nVidia GeForce 8400M GS)

If the TZ will play it more slugishly, then i'll consider the SZ or M1330 instead, but if it will play it just fine, then i'll stick to the TZ.

Thanks in advance!

 

1080p plays fine on my 8400m screen - i dont have an external HD tv to test, sorry. you'll find its more cpu intensive than an graphics issue
you current pc probably needs an upgrade instead as my guess is your p4 core is quite old. (these days its not about the number of Ghz but rather the performance you get out of each core)

 

Yeah, you're definitely CPU-limited on your current machine. I would worry that the integrated memory GMA950 might not have the memory bandwidth to display 1080p video smoothly and it probably doesn't have the video acceleration features that modern ATI and NVIDIA video chips have so just to be safe I'd pick a notebook with a dedicated memory GPU. Check HP and ASUS notebooks too.

 

Thanks for the swift replies guys!

I really wish there was an option to upgrade the TZ's Intel GMA 950. I feel bad! In any case, i'll try and see if I can play the movie on a TZ in a nearby computer store. I really hope this beauty doesn't fail me!

Speaking about HP notebooks, they're are beautiful, but they can't beat Sony screens and they don't have a 13.3-inch screen that's lighter than the SZ or M1330 so it's out of the picture. I'm not very familiar with Asus notebooks yet. Probably it's because I'm not a very big fan of their designs.

 

dont go for the TZ. its not worth the extra money

 

o sorry my bad. i was thinking of the FZ not the TZ. TZ would be a great buy if you dont need an optical drive

 

but the TZ does have an optical drive

 

In that case, the FZ has a better video card than the XPS M1330 and the SZ.

 

A while ago, I saw with my own eyes that the TZ plays HD movies verrrry sluggishly! I'm so disappointed that one can't upgrade the integrated Intel GMA 950. Looks like i'll have to chose between the SZ and the M1330. The decision is very very hard. I wish I could get my hands on an M1330 test unit. So far, I've only seen the SZ up close.

The FZ is powerful, but a little to heavy for me as a student.