Confused about laptop graphic card...

M

manekbhavin

Disciple
This is my first post on the forum so please excuse any mistakes i make.

I am in search of a decent laptop which basically would serve the purpose of a media player for my home theater setup, net surfing, media, office work and casual gaming... (i am a heavy multi tasker too.)

On fooling around on the Dell website i liked the specs on this one:

Inspiron 15R Laptop Details | Dell India

But what i observed was this model has the onboard "Intel® HD Graphics (India)" for its video card and no dedicated graphic card as the site says. I would like to know how it would affect :
1.Gaming performance (given i only play racing games esp, latest NFS ones).
2. Aero experience in a 64 bit Win7.

Regards.
 
1.Assuming that by latest NFS ones you mean hot pursuit(2010), shift, undercover etc.., you will get poor gaming performance on the intel graphics media accelerator(Intel HD). Some more recent ones like hot pursuit will not even start. Many of the recent games may not run at all(Due to insufficient pixel shader version, insufficient video RAM). so it is advisable to go for a model with a dedicated ATI 550v which will not be too heavy on your pocket too. It is comparable in performance to the older mobility radeon 4650, or comparable in performance to the nvidia 420m in the XPS 15 series.

If there is no model within your reach with a 550v, go for a model with an ATI 5470, which will at least run the recent games, if not at higher settings. But remember, 550v >> 5470, so a model with 550v is advisable. It will also enable your laptop to run latest games for the next few years, though at lower settings after a few years.

2.The above point is more important, so choose based on that. This will automatically be taken care of, since aero is much less demanding in graphics than games.

In short, avoid "Intel HD" if you plan to run games with are 5 or less years at decent settings and if you plan to even run games 2 years or less old.

It would also be more helpful if you tell us your budget and some other stuff info for us to recommend specific laptop model no.s or models from other companies.
 
rhlravi said:
1.Assuming that by latest NFS ones you mean hot pursuit(2010), shift, undercover etc.., you will get poor gaming performance on the intel graphics media accelerator(Intel HD). Some more recent ones like hot pursuit will not even start. Many of the recent games may not run at all(Due to insufficient pixel shader version, insufficient video RAM). so it is advisable to go for a model with a dedicated ATI 550v which will not be too heavy on your pocket too. It is comparable in performance to the older mobility radeon 4650, or comparable in performance to the nvidia 420m in the XPS 15 series.
if there is no model within you reach with a 550v, with an ATI 5470, which will at least run the recent games, if not at higher settings. But remember, 550v >> 5470, so a model with 550v is advisable. It will also enable your laptop to run latest games for the next few years, though at lower settings after a few years.
2.The above point is more important, so choose based on that. This will automatically be taken care of.

In short, avoid "Intel HD" if you plan to run games with are 5 or less years at decent settings and if you plan to even run games 2 years or less old.
It would also be more helpful if you tell us your budget and some other stuff info for us to recommend specific laptop model no.s or models from other companies.
Click to expand...
Wow thanks for the detailed advice! Will surely keep that in mind!

My budget is around 35k (+/- 2k is ok).

Preferably a core i3 proc with 500GB of HDD.

P.S.:Also, just wondering what would be the recommended amount of RAM if i keep at an average, 4-5 applications running with a couple of explorer windows open? (yes im too lazy to click that "x" button :p)
 
manekbhavin said:
Wow thanks for the detailed advice! Will surely keep that in mind!

My budget is around 35k (+/- 2k is ok).

Preferably a core i3 proc with 500GB of HDD.

P.S.:Also, just wondering what would be the recommended amount of RAM if i keep at an average, 4-5 applications running with a couple of explorer windows open? (yes im too lazy to click that "x" button :p)
Click to expand...
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Go to Inspiron 14R page. Select the one that says Rs.30,900. Add HD5650 (~3k+tax) and compatible Dell wireless b/g/n ~ 0.5k+tax

So for Rs.34,900 you will get i-3 380, 2GB RAM, HD5650 :D, 320GB HDD.

You can add 2GB DDR 3 laptop RAM yourself for ~1.3k

So final cost is 34.9+0.9(delivery)+1.3k (2GB extra RAM) So its a great buy for 37.2k 9(all inclusive)

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - Notebookcheck.net Tech

HD5650 is a excellent mid range GPU :)
 
DarkAngel said:
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Go to Inspiron 14R page. Select the one that says Rs.30,900. Add HD5650 (~3k+tax) and compatible Dell wireless b/g/n ~ 0.5k+tax

So for Rs.34,900 you will get i-3 380, 2GB RAM, HD5650 :D, 320GB HDD.

You can add 2GB DDR 3 laptop RAM yourself for ~1.3k

So final cost is 34.9+0.9(delivery)+1.3k (2GB extra RAM) So its a great buy for 37.2k 9(all inclusive)

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - Notebookcheck.net Tech

HD5650 is a excellent mid range GPU :)
Click to expand...

You have done quite some research!

1. But on the Dell site as you mentioned when i select the Graphic Card it gives ma a error message:

"Compatibility Instructions

Errors:

The Pentium Processor or Discrete video card you selected cannot have Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 with Widi."

I have no idea what this means

2. Also, wouldnt that extra RAM that I add myself void the warranty?

3. BTW I am open to other brands too if it the specs are somewhat about:

Core i3 2.53Ghz

4GB RAM

500GB HDD (because i will be using it as a media server too for my Hometheatre setup)

15.6' Screen

A Graphic card that would work flawlessly for recent (racing) games rendering decent graphics
 
manekbhavin said:
You have done quite some research!

1. But on the Dell site as you mentioned when i select the Graphic Card it gives ma a error message:

"Compatibility Instructions

Errors:

The Pentium Processor or Discrete video card you selected cannot have Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 with Widi."

I have no idea what this means

2. Also, wouldnt that extra RAM that I add myself void the warranty?

3. BTW I am open to other brands too if it the specs are somewhat about:

Core i3 2.53Ghz

4GB RAM

500GB HDD (because i will be using it as a media server too for my Hometheatre setup)

15.6' Screen

1 GB Graphic card
Click to expand...
1.That is why i asked you to select Dell wireless b/g/n in the wifi option !!!! The GPU will be compatible with this one wireless card.
2.I dont think adding RAM will void warranty. The RAM compartment is separate in Dell (No stickers on top) and also its easy as pie to just unscrew 4 screws. Pop in new RAM and again screw back!!!!

The VRAM of the GPU's saying 1GB and 2GB etc... all are marketing gimmick. What matters is the GPU core and the RAM type(GDDR3 vs GDDR5)

For eg., a 512MB HD5650 will beat the hell out of a 1GB HD5470. But people who lack PC knowledge sadly fall for the GB gimmicks!!!

More than 512MB is a waste for these mid range laptop GPUs but companies are now offering 3GB VRAM with midrange laptop GPU!!! Shameless marketing tactics. Even the most powerful Nvida GPU the GTX580 has only 1.5GB VRAM!!!!!!!
 
DarkAngel said:
The VRAM of the GPU's saying 1GB and 2GB etc... all are marketing gimmick. What matters is the GPU core and the RAM type(GDDR3 vs GDDR5)

For eg., a 512MB HD5650 will beat the hell out of a 1GB HD5470. But people who lack PC knowledge sadly fall for the GB gimmicks!!!

More than 512MB is a waste for these mid range laptop GPUs but companies are now offering 3GB VRAM with midrange laptop GPU!!! Shameless marketing tactics. Even the most powerful Nvida GPU the GTX580 has only 1.5GB VRAM!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
I cannot agree more. I was always of that opinion from the start. My friends keep coming to me asking me to recommend a laptop with "1 GB graphic card". I get so frustrated when they do this, it just shows their ignorance in this aspect. Even my old 512MB 9800GT performs better than a 3GB gt445m. Salespersons exploit this ignorance of people and even some big manufacturers post ads in newspapers with just "1GB graphics memory for blazing fast gaming performance" without mentioning the model no. of the graphic card(which usually is just a 5470).

Coming back to the topic, i thought it is impossible to find a 5650 at this price! Sadly it is not available on 15" models, but if manekbhavin is ok with a 14" screen, this is a ridiculous gaming performance-to-price ratio he is getting here. The hp dv6 lineup has also been refreshed with newer graphic cards and processors(low-mid,mid and mid-high end) so it may also be worth having a look at.
 
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