Intel GMA 900 v ATI Radeon Express 200 M

Which is better for graphics (movie watching and photo and video stuff): Intel GMA 900 (there is a 950 but not available for the laptops I am considering) or the ATI Radeon Express 200M (There is a version for both Intel and AMD chips but I can only get it for the AMD version.) Both are integrated graphics cars, both the support the two external high resolution Dell monitors I am deciding between but the Intel one is not available for the Intel model I am considering.

I am down to two choices for my second Laptop which will primarily rest at my bedside with a (relatively) small foot print.

I have decided to go with one that will also serve as a desk top to drive a hi-resolution Dell widescreen, either 1680 x 1050 or 1920 x 1200 (I haven't decided yet which to buy: one is 20.1 sub $400, the other is 24.5 sub $800, both with 3 year warranty.) My ASUS z70va will support either monitor if better capability is needed.

So, I am down to this: two Compaq laptops configured exactly the same except:

1. Intel Pentium 735A (1.79Ghz), Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 900 for Pentium and Intel Pro/Wireless 2200BG & Bluetooth

or

2. AMD Turion 64 ML37 (2.0Ghz/1MB L2 Cache), ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/productivity ports and 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth

Everything else is the same as follows:
XP home,
14.1 WXGA Widescreen (1280 x 768),
256 DR SDRAM (which I will upgrade to 2 GB aftermarket),
80 GB 5400 RBM HD,
DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW double layer Drive,
3 year extended warranty

Both configurations come in just under $1000 (AMD $970.74 (+ T&S=1081.78), Intel $984.84 (+ T&S=1096.59) unless I have to get XPP -- which ups the price by $80 for each

So here are my final concerns.

For the AMD Turion version:
Pro: higher processor speed (2.0 > 1.79 Ghz),

Cons: less good wireless (I presume less good as same offered for Intel model but Intel wireless 2200 available and costs more)
and an integrated ATI Radeon® Xpress 200M for AMD Processors, but which supports each Dell monitor but seems to need Windows Media Center for full advantage, which means I would have to get XPP

For the Intel Pentium M version:
Pros: Intel wireless 2200 w/BT ... but I have read on these boards some problems with it...but I assume it is better than the AMD option which is also available for the Intel model.
Cons: Slower processor speed 1.79Ghz<2.0, integrated Intel GMA 900 graphics card... I have no sense from its specs how it compares with ATI Radeon Xpress 200M. It may also need Windows media, which would mean XPP. I can't get the Intel version of ATI chip for Compaq.

As a side question, as I already have XPP on my new ASUS... can I copy the parts that are for Windows Media and put them on the other laptop? Is it feasible? is it "stealing"?

 

The 200m is a little better, but either will suffice for what you are doing. What parts do you want to copy? I don't think the media parts for Home vs. Pro are all that different.

 

In the specs for the ATI 200M they talk about how all of its features are designed to take full advantage of the Windows media edition.

Based on what you are saying.. it looks like I should go with the AMD... What about my concern about the wireless connection for the AMD as surfing on the interent will be about 70%+ of what I will be using the laptop for.

 

I own an ATI Radeon Express 200M chipset based laptop with dedicated (128 mb) graphics and it does the job pretty well: I don't get outstanding performances but it runs most games at low graphics. That said, if you don't want to play games on your laptop, I think that GMA 900 will be sufficient.

 

What version of XP do you have?

 

Is it the case that if I decide later I want an independant graphics card for some reason... could I add that.. like through a USB port or a PCMIA port or something like that? Given that these are laptops...

 

The Broadcom card is as good as the Intel. I have been using a Broadcom Wifi and have not had any issues with finding networks or dropped connections. I dont see any reason to be concerned about the Wifi. Infact the Intel 2200 had some issues in the past, dont know whether they fixed it in one of their newer drivers.

Well, upgrading the graphics card is impossible(virtually). Only a few models have modular design(MXM) which would allow any sort of upgradability. USB and PCMCIA ports are not really good enough, their bandwidth is too low for use by graphics cards.

 

Graphics card is not upgradeable. The Broadcom wireless cards on the v2000z are supposed to be better than the Intels, but I think either will do.

 

I think that's it then...

The AMD Turion version of above...

SO my last "anxiety" questions..

1. is there any problem transferring files between a Pentium M and an AMD Turion?
I ask because at one point I was carrying around an extrenal hard drive and hooking it up to my Win98SE Fat32Compaq and then hooking it up to my Windows 2000 computer at my office. I was told about potential problem of switching between Fat 32 and NTSC (if I have the acronym correct) and files being corrupted. Fortunately the Windows 2000 at school was not NTSC....

2. What about getting Windows Media Center on the laptop to make the graphics card more effective.... can I copy from my current XPP or should I just spring the $80 for the XPP on the new laptop?

These are the last questions.... thanks everybody... you have all been a tremendous help...and I climbed up quite way on my steep learning curve, thanks to all of your feedback...

 

1. No. NTFS vs. FAT has nothing to do with the CPU but rather the file system.
2. The only reason to get Media Center Edition is if you plan on hooking it to your TV. You have to activate XP Pro unless you have the coporate version. You may run into some problems there. Unless you have a specific need like logging into a NT Domain controller, Home is enough for most people.