will somebody please explain what graphic card I need

there are three types ( i think) and i dont know the difference...

Integrated Graphics
General Dedicated graphics
Enterprise Graphics (NVidia Quadra etc)

also there are different numbers after each and I am not sure what they stand for

radeon HD 4670 vs radeon HD 5830

I personally will need it for video editing, I dont do very much gaming and what I do do is not very high graphic stuff

please help... it will make choosing my first laptop a lot easier

 

Integrated Graphics are soldered to motherboard,or found inside on the cpu,they are good for surfing,sometimes watching movies/hd movies.

General Dedicated graphics,they have their own memory,they can be removed from a laptop(not always),and upgraded.They are plugged in a mxm slot.These are for gaming etc.

Enterprise Graphics,they are for CAD,for 3D designing.They might be expensive,and they are only used in this section.

For video editing,I prefer at least Ati 3650/4650,or Nvidia 9400/9600.

Please search.

 

so which one would be superior, the Ati 3650 or the Ati 4650?

 

of course Ati 4650. as for all technology.. higher version # the better improvement from the previous.

 

you could tell us your options and we would tell you whats best for you.

 

In both models the first number is the version number ( ATI is up to 5, now )
the next two are the horsepower in the card, the higher the number the stronger it is. A 4870 > 5830, due to the higher number( the middle two) but a 5870> 4870 due to the version being better. Which cards do you want to choose between? If yu want more battery life, go with integrated graphics as opposed to dedicated.

 

Generally...

i.e.
8800GTX > 9500/9600GT. Granted, the "GTX"

 

Well, that is pretty much same as ATI cards.
"8-series 800" vs. newer "9-series 500 or 600". Not to even count in the fact that 800-series were totally different than slower versions.

 

Deciphering graphics card model numbers:

First Digit: Generation
The first digit of a graphics card model is its series/generation. For example, an ATI Radeon HD 5870 is part of the 5000 series graphics cards. Same thing with a NVIDIA GTX 480, which is part of the 400 series cards.

Rest of the digits: Model
The rest of the digits really just help in telling you which is better. A Radeon HD 5870 is better than a 5850 or a 5670. Same thing with the NVIDIA cards: a GTX 480 is better than a GTX 470 or 465.

Finally, when comparing older series to newer series the only true way to compare is through tests. A rule of thumb I like to use is that an older card is roughly equal to its newer series counterpart, just down one step, like a Radeon 4870 being roughly equal to a 5850. However, since each new series has a wealth of new features it brings to the table, this really isn't the best method of comparison. Look at benchmarks! Tom's Hardware is your friend.

 

For H264 and AVCHD 1080p video encoding and transcoding
go for a i7 with 512MB-1GB of GPU RAM. System RAM should be 4-8GB. With 500-650GB HDD.


For 720p video an i5 with Intel HD GPU will do OK

 

You should be looking for the most basic (least expensive) dedicated graphics card you can find with the fastest cpu you can afford.

For your purposes, a 3650 vs 4650 argument doesn't matter. Pay attention to the processor. Unless you do actually play some new games.

You should even consider a fast cpu and and SSD or momemtous XT hybrid hdd and an integrated GPU with enough VRAM (video memory)...

 

Agreed, encoding your video is gonna be the biggest pain. You need a fast CPU to encode the thing faster. Or an hour of video is gonna take you 24 hours to encode. GPU I'd say all you need is a mid-range or less.