Is the upgrade on Graphic card worth the 60 bucks on a t61?

Hello,
What does having the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128 MB) get me above what the basic Intel GMA X3100 GM965 offers? I'm trying to decide if I should add it to my t61 package or not. Thanks alot for any insight.

 

If it's only 60 bux, then that's a pretty decent deal for the upgraded graphics. As always with discrete graphics however, your battery performance will suffer. Personally, I would go for it but consider your priorities before making the choice.

 

If you have the card that's $60 more, it will work a lot better with vista. Everything will run smother. If you get vista, you should DEFENITLY get the $60 card. It will take a load off the ram, and it will be faster. For $60, it is worth it

 

Also keep in mind that you cannot upgrade the graphics card after you purchase integrated, so that means you're suck with it. I recommend getting the 140M unless you need battery life.

 

One of the things I like about the Nvidia discrete cards, other than the obvious 3D usage benefit, is that it comes with some good tools to calibrate the screen. I don't think the control panel for the X3100 Intel card has as good/many options. Correct me if I am wrong guys?

 

agreed. you have way more configuration and customization options with discrete graphics. for me, this is a no brainer. as stated above Vista will run way smoother with this card. So will any game should you decide to play any. shared integrated video does not nearly have the benefits of discreet. but you will lose battery life. you can always buy more battery life. you can't buy more graphics horsepower.

Arkit, unless i understand you wrong your implying that the T61 has modular Video card? As far as I know they are discreet, but hard landed. Please tell me Im wrong. That would be sweet.

 

As far as I know the T61 Nvidia GPU is soldiered to the board and cannot be removed.

 

The big disadvantage of the 140M is that it puts a serious drain on battery life. I wish there were a way to switch from 140M to integrated, depending on what my needs were. With my 140M, I get roughly 4 hours of battery life on the plane while working; much less if I'm watching a DVD.

I've read in reviews that without the 140M, people are able to get 7 hours out of their battery on the plane. For long trips, it's nice to not have to bring an extra battery.

The 140M is quite nice for gaming though. I manage to get about 40fps on WoW at max resolution -- compared to about 15fps on my 2 year old desktop (with fairly crappy ATi graphics card)

 

youll have to get a sony if you want to do that. all you have to do is hit a switch, then reboot. not a bad idea. they come with 8400GS though, i think which are pretty comparable to the NVS140.

 

I'm not a gamer and I really have no need for 3D graphics. My main priority is long battery life and a cooler laptop. I went with integrated graphics for just that reason. I also picked the Penryn series CPU for it's higher efficiency rating, a 5400 rpm HD and 1GB RAM (If I sense I need more, I can easily add more later. Running XP pro, I shouldn't need that much for basic needs). All in the name of efficiency and cooling.

Scooter

 

Yeah, I really wish that the hybrid video system would become more widespread! We've already got Speedstep/PowerNow on pretty much all mobile processors so manufacturers should focus on providing variable power graphics processors as well.

 

asus tried last year to resolve the laptop video problem with this.
http://www.dailytech.com/more+asus+xg+station+details+unveiled/article6313.htm

i dont think it ever caught on or maybe its just not ready yet. seems as though the expresscard bus will be a limitation. although, some of the reviews actually were not too bad. obviously it costs a lot of money and is not very portable, but for some may be the answer. i envision modular laptops in the near future. (so do a lot of other articles)

 

I too like Scooter22 went with integrated graphics since I use my laptop to mainly surf the web and do work on the road (sales related, record keeping etc.) and some entertainment as well. I don't usually run Vista but it runs just fine and smooth without any issues what so ever. So it comes down to whether battery life is your primary consideration or not.
Good luck