Confused: graphic cards and laptop choices

Trying to decide between Compaq R4012US (net $974 after MIR at Bestbuy) vs. Dell 6000 (net $1086).
The bestbuy online specs state the compaq's ATI 200m has 128 mb shared memory (plus AMD 3200+, 512 mb (2 dimms), 80 gb HD, DL-DVD). The guy at bestbuy said the compaq has 128 mb dedictated memory with 128mb optional additional shared memory (the hypermemory). The Win XP System screen did show that the machine had 512 mb memory (which he said indicated the graphics memory was dedicated).
I have the Dell configured with an ATI 128mb mobility radeon X300 (plus PM 730, 512mb ram (1 dimm), 60 gb HD, DL-DVD).
Primarily I will be using this for word/access/excel/powerpoint, casual digital image editing, and hope to start doing some home video editing. Occasionally play doom or unreal, but I'm not a gamer by any means.

Is the bestbuy guy correct about the compaq card?
I've read enough here to get the idea that otherwise the two machines are pretty comparable, both with pros/cons (speed, battery life). Is the graphics card likely to make any significant performance difference between the two?
Which would you choose?
Any information or suggestions welcome!
Thanks,
Tom

 

The BestBuy salesman is actually right this time. The xpress 200m with 128Mb has dedicated ram plus the additional shared option, but it performs slightly below the x300, which is an entry level card to begin with. People have said that doom 3 is almost unplayable with the xpress 200. If you aren't really a gamer like you said, I would say the x300 would be incrementally better, but either should be sufficient unless the doom you mentioned you wanted to play is doom 3 [ ]

The AMD 3200+ should be a better performer in terms of actual processing than the Pentium M 1.6. The 6000 has real dual channel memory, while the AMD is forced off, but with only one stick in the 6000 and the 533 system bus, it probably wouldn't make a difference anyway.

 

Thanks for the info.
I had configured the Dell with 512 mb in one dimm because I was thinking eventually I would add another 512. So at some point the dual channel capability would come into play.
I'm leaning towards the dell at this point, it also has a free printer. I've had dell desktops in the past and been happy with them.
But I like the compaq too. So hard to decide, but if I want the dell I'll need to decide soon before the $600 off coupon expires.

I suppose this post might have been better placed in the Hardware forum...

 

If it helps:

The i6000 is lighter.
R4000 probably has enough video power to do all the tasks you describe EXCEPT gaming
best option for the i6000 is to get the bare minimum RAM and buy from Newegg (I think its $119 for 1 Gig DDR2 stick )[:0]
i6000's bare minimum CD rom drive can be upgrade without a problem or much work (look around the forums)
i6000's pentium mobile chip is better for heat, noise and weight.

Unless you wait for the Turion chips to appear, they will be cheaper and still pack the same punch as the regular A64s.

My advice would be to get the Dell unless you can wait for Turion laptops to come out. And believe me, there are some cheap and sweet ones just around the corner (yea I know that this is always true for computers).

 

Thanks for all the advice, I've read through many of the posts on these forums.
I did finally buy the Compaq R4012US from Best Buy. I've only had it a short while, but I must say that thus far I am very pleased with my purchase. Everything has checked out great so far. I like the look and feel, performance is great (for my needs). I was glad to see that it came with a full Win XP install CD, plus additional restore/driver/application CDs. The provided software is nice, I really like iTunes, and I've already burned a DVD with the Muvee auto producer and WinDVD Creator.
The wireless card sems much better than my wife's Thinkpad T40. And out on the deck the screen is definitly more visible.
It is big, certainly not discrete. But its primarily a desktop replacement, most of my mobile use will be carrying it around the house and outside
Looking forward to a big family vacation at the beach in two weeks, planning to to burn some movies and slideshows on CD and DVD for our out of town family so they can take pictures or the trip home with them!