Question about Video Cards

My situation is this: I do not play video games, but I do like to watch videos on my computer. Someone I asked said a video card isn't important if your not going to play games. Is this true?

I am considering whether to stick with the Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 or pay an extra 50 dollars for the 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS in a purchase from dell.

Thanks in advance.

 

If you don't game at all, the X3100 would be fine. Hell, the X3100 will do WoW and other light gaming just fine as well. Better battery life (by a little) with the X3100 to boot.

 

Integrated will be just fine for you then.

 

Go with the integrated GPU. Maybe use the $50 for some extra ram.

 

Go with the higher power gpu. You will need it one day, and its much harder to get an upgrade on a gpu after the purchase. Intel graphics cards have always sucked and they still do. You will notice much better graphics with the nVidia.

The integrated graphics card hogs memory, which a dedicated nVidia would not.

K-TRON

 

how can you say he WILL need it one day? id say go integrated and use that extra money for something else. remember we all cant afford a $10,000 laptop like u

 

X3100 will be more then anought for your needs

 

I would like to agree with K-TRON....
getting 8400GS upgrade for $50 is worth every dollar spent..
Taste changes

Other than that u ll be future safe



But if u are convinced rock solid that you wont game at all then x3100 is a go from me

 

I agree that you don't NEED the 8400M GS over the X3100 for your current usage, but I have found that needs and tastes do vary. If it were me even if I didn't need it right now I would get the 8400M GS simply because of the low upgrade price. I wouldn't spend much more than $50 on it, but to have it available for just $50 would be nice incase my needs change.


That's just me though. You certainly don't need the upgrade for your usage.

 

I was never a gamer for a long time, but then my taste changed and I was glad I got a 7900GTX [at first I just got it just for the heck of it, but now I'm glad I did]. If the upgrade is cheap, then I'd say go for it - you might never know what you need later on. In the end, you're the buyer and you're buying it for yourself - you're the best judge once you know what the options are.

 

Where exactly are you going to notice "much better graphics" if you don't play games?

Sure, $50 is kinda cheap for a dedicated GPU, but it's a lot of money for something you don't need.
It's also a lot of money for something that will produce more heat and lower battery life.

 

Jalf's right. The X3100 is more than capable of handling Vista's Aero interface and videos, even HD ones. There is no reason in your case to get the dedicated GPU. You're paying $50 for less battery life and more heat.

 

ojr107, You need to understand alot of the members in this forum like K-TRON, nizzy1115, and even some MODS are not eductated in computer hardware.

If you dont play games the x3100 is OVERKILL. You will NEVER need anything more than the x3100 for the life of the laptop.

Even if you DO play games the 8400gs is not much of an upgrade...

Just like Jalf asked "Where exactly are you going to notice "much better graphics" if you don't play games?"....the answer is no where and his comment of "It's also a lot of money for something that will produce more heat and lower battery life." is 100% correct.

Again, anyone who disagrees is not educated in laptop/computer hardware.

 

ojr107, You need to understand alot of members in this forum like onion, onion, and even ONION are not educated in computer hardware.

Just a heads up.

 

Will the x3100 allow a DVI connection to an external monitor? If not, I think I'd probably spring for the video card in the event that one day I might want to use the bigger screen. On my monitors, text is much more crisp using a digital rather than VGA connection. Not a very important issue in either case, especially if $50 puts a noticable dent in your available funds.

 

Just check your laptop model on the Dell site and look at connectivity to see if it can handle DVI. Most likely it will have VGA and not DVI even if you have the discrete card.

 

3 or 4 times the processing power ins't much of an upgrade?? :O

It opens up soooooo many more games made in the past 2 or 3 years that you could play smoothly.

Most x3100s will not come with HDMI/DVI out.