Vista Aero

Do you need a premium video card upgrade to use the aero feature of Vista effectively?

I am buying a Inspiron 1520 with a standard integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 video card.
When configuring the laptop on Dells sight they recommend purchasing a premium video card.
I am not into gaming, but will the Intel video card affect aero??
Thanks

 

it wont be as glossy

 

it'll work
like crimsonman said...it's gonna be a little slower/choppy/whatever you want to call it..

thats just what i've heard though...no experience on my part
make sure you have at least 1gb of ram if you're going to use aero

 

The x3100 will run Aero fine.
If you are not interested in gaming, I would not upgrade the graphics card, because if you do it will reduce your battery life. Also, the money saved would be better spent on other things -- either in the computer or elsewhere.

 

I've seen Vista on a X3100 and its not choppy at all. It runs very smoothly and the X3100 is more than capable of the Aero effects.

 

I have 1 GB Ram and X3100, and Aero works like a dream, as does Flip 3D. Don't spend the extra cash on a discrete if you aren't going to be playing games.

 

it works like a charm as it did on its predecessor the 950 so crimmson and/or bravesdave is either very stupid or misinformed im hoping the later

 

The x3100 runs aero smoothly with no problems.

Make sure you get a vista version which is more then home basic, as that version does not have AERO.

 

the X3100 supports vista aero 100%, it wont lack any "luster"

Its fast, X3100 graphics are pretty good for an integrated solution. 2GB of ram is the least I would recommend.

I own a thinkpad with X3100 graphics btw.

 

I'm in the same boat--I'm trying to decide if I'll be OK with integrated graphics. I started a "help me choose..." thread, but didn't get a definite answer. People told me to get the card, but didn't tell me anything, besides games (which I'm not interested in) that would improve with the card. Everyone here seems to think that no card is needed. But what if I want to extend my desktop onto a high resolution monitor (like if I buy a 30" lcd some day?) would I want more graphics power for that? Or does the dedicated graphics card really only help w/ _3D_ performance?

 

not true at all - the X3100 runs Aero Glass just fine and with absolutely zero perceived slowdown on my D630. Intel worked hard to optimize their drivers for vista's new interface, and i have zero complaints about it.

 

Upgrading the graphics will only help you if you intend to game or run other 3D apps. For general Windows usage, X3100 integrated graphics works wonderfully at pretty much any resolution it's capable of running at.

 

Integrated graphic cards are fine; I used the standard 945gm to run Aero without problems.

 

true very true. it is really nutz. the intel video card is really nice and all i can tell you is that the more memory you have it is a benefit. but you know that too much of anything is no good. lol you should know that vista 32bit doesnt support 4gb only 3.2gb's