Please help, concerning graphics cards.

Hello everybody! I am in the process of buying a new notebook at Best Buy and I need some help on graphics cards. I know close to nothing. First off, I only use the internet, photoshop, Offce, and occasional light games. Examples: Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, Civilivation 4, etc. If possible, I would like to be able to play Red Alert 3 when it comes out.

Any how, which of these cards are better?

1)NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS NB9M-GE graphics with 256MB dedicated memory; up to 2047MB total graphics

2)Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with Intel® Clear Video technology and 1340MB video memory as allocated by Windows Vista


And why? How do they compare to "NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT graphics with 256MB dedicated video memory"

Here are the particular notebooks I am looking at:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8892898&st=+8892898&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1211587728389

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8907953&st=8907953&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1213046785694

Thanks!
Shane

 

9200m is better than 4500. The 9200m is discrete, has it's own memory 4500 does not. 9200m GS should be close to 8400m GT.

 

Well, this one is going to be a tough decision.
As powerpack mentioned, the 9200 is a better graphics card, but not by much. The intel 4500 usually scores around 900 on 3d mark06 and the nvidia 9200 scores around 1320 on 3d mark 06.
The difference is basically 45%, but both cards are very weak.
I would recommend getting a different notebook since you can get a better system in your price range.
Have you looked at Dell or Hp's online sites?
Usually they have better deals online than at the store.

To be honest with you, both graphics cards are very weak, and will haev dificulty playing thise games you mentioned. It is better to look for a laptop with a 8600GT or a 9500GT in it, becuase they are much more powerful than the two graphics cards mentioned.

K-TRON

 

The 9200M GS also supports Hybrid SLI (and Geforce something .. whatever), so I guess you should ask HP if the notebook provides this feature or not. Its really useful when it comes to battery life. As PP and K-Tron said, for real gaming you would need at least a 9500M GS (aka 8600M GT), or a step up the 9650M GS (aka 8700M GT), or the premium 9800M GT.

It will be similar in performance to the 8400M GT, probably a tad slower, but not a significance difference in performance. I believe these new GPUs are optimised more for energy efficieny.

P.S. If I were you, I would stay away from nVIDIA ATM. (HD 2600 is a good alternative)
( + I have seen many DV5 series notebooks experiencing some heating/cooling problems lately)