Intel Integrated X3100 or 128MB 8400M GS??? (Battery Life)

Ok, I've already decided on the Laptop.

I'm looking at the Dell XPS M1330 with these specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/3MB cache) (Penryn if I'm not mistaken)
Windows Vista Home
3 or 4GB Ram @ 667MHz
1280x800 Led Display w/ VGA Webcam
250 or 320GB Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Integrated Sound Blaster or High Def. 2.0 (Not sure on this either)
Intel Wireless-N

Right now I'm torn between the two graphic options. I'm moving from a 17" Inspiron 9300 that had a 256MB 6800 in it. I purchased that notebook strictly for gaming. But now, as I've gotten older, I've more so decided that I want a laptop for easy portability with some power, while leaving my gaming to my future Tower that I'm gonna build.

I'll mainly be using this laptop for web browsing, possibly some minor coding, and DVD Burning/Watching, and playing some of my back-up SNES, NES, and N64 Roms. So, I've said all of this to ask, which GPU would be my best option? Dell has a deal going on now that it comes out around the same price no matter if you choose the 8400 or the X3100. Part of me says go with the 8400 to more so future proof my purchase some, the other part of me is concerned about battery life, which by the way is REALLY important to me. What's everyone's opinion on what I should do?

Also, does choosing the Hi Def 2.0 audio over the integrated sound blaster make much of a difference in battery life?

Thanks

 

I say get the 8400. I have similar specs to yours, and with power saver on, I can easily get 5-6+ hours out of it, while surfing the web. And at full performance, I can get about 2 hours of it while gaming on battery. Besides, when you're on battery, the CPU and GPU clock down to save power, so even if you did get the 8400, you would pretty much get the same battery life, if you're doing something that dosent require full power.

And the Hi Def audio is software, not hardware, so it will have no affect on battery life. Its just better codecs and such.

 

Excellent thanks.

Do you have the 6-cell or 9-cell? I'm asking because you said you could get "5-6+ hours out of it, and that sounds like the 9-cell. I'm only getting the 6-cell for now, and getting an extra 9-cell down the line.

 

Yes, I have the 9-cell. Battery life is great with the brightness turned down, and power saver on.

 

Expect around a 30min difference between the two cards if not more. Just get a 9cell...you will get a really really long battery life.

 

Yes, do what acorn said.
Get the 8400GS. It is a much faster gpu than the intel accelerator.
Just undervolt the processor, and get the most powerful battery. You should be able to get 4 hours even with the dedicated graphics card.

K-TRON

 

I'm also interested in the answer to this question. Does anyone have hard data that says 8400m uses x more watts or reduces battery life x minutes?

 

Check out the sig v

 

The 8400Gs according to nVidia uses 12 watts of power.
The intel integrated chipset uses around 3-4 watts of power.
The 8 watt power draw difference should not be more than 20 minutes of battery life.
If you undervolt the processor, you will be able to cut about 10 watts of power draw, so you will be in the win. More gpu power and more battery life.

K-TRON

 

Yeah, even if the integrated gives you an extra 20 mintues, I would still say the 8400...I mean I have it, and like I said, I can get 5-6 hours out of my notebook with the 9-cell. IMO future proofing, and the ability to play the occasional game is more important then an extra 20 minutes...but thats just me.

 

That's interesting. I've heard some people say that it can be as much as a 10 - 20% increase in battery life. It's good to hear others' opinions.

 

WATERWIZARD!! the link in your sig is obnoxious/ has nothing to do wit ocing the x3100

 

It's not obnoxious. it was april fools day, but thanks for reminding me to change it

 

How do you get 5-6 hrs? I only get about 4.5 hrs with wifi on, cpu undervolted.

 

Turn down your screen brightness...it can add a lot to batter life.