No dedicated graphics card?

[enwar3]

So I'm buying a lappy solely for college, but it's supposed to last all four years. All I'm going to be doing that might be graphics intensive is watching movies, a LITTLE photoshop, and running a 20" lcd in my dorm. Do I need a dedicated gpu for this?

 

[Fraggable]

No, not now anyway. A 8xxx series video card will help a lot with HD movies though.

If it were me I'd go with a weaker version, like a 8400M GS. Good on battery life but much more power than a X3100 or whatever your alternative may be.

 

[enwar3]

I'm looking at HP laptops, since I work there and get a discount.

Alright - hit a slight problem. I swear to God that they used to offer 1440x900 on the 15.4" screens. Can't find that option anymore. I'd go for 1650x1050 if they had it. But 1440x900 is at least a must. I don't know if I want to step up to a 17" display either, because that means a more powerful gpu AND it'd be difficult to lug around to class.

 

[Fraggable]

17" is a bit large for a college student who carries it all day, and battery life is not going to be good. I know the 2500's only have 1280 X 800 screens or I would have ordered one by now. I have to hope that when they start the next refresh they will fix that, but considering the difficulty Dell is having with supplies I won't expect that anytime soon.

 

[enwar3]

Seriously man - even Dell offers 1650 on their displays. We don't even get 1440! What's the dealio?

 

[enwar3]

Dude I just saw the nicest laptop screen... my friend has an compaq workstation, 15.4", 1920 x (I forget) resolution. Simply amazing.

 

[Brainonska511]

1920x1200? (WUXGA).

I'd say you'd be fine with an integrated Intel chip (X3100). They just released a new driver that greatly improves its performance for XP and a Vista one is coming. You'll also get the maximum battery life out of your machine using the X3100 over something like the 8400M G (which reduces battery time by at least 30 minutes). As far as screen size goes, if you plan on carrying it around a lot, a 13" or 14" is a great choice.

 

[Fraggable]

Yeah I saw a Dell Latitude once that had that screen, it was insane. I don't know of any system that has it now though.

I will never understand why they can make 15.4" 1680 X 1050 LCDs for laptops but can't put the same panel in a 17" desktop LCD.

EDIT: The Latitude D830 has WUXGA as an option. I'm not sure what text would look like on that but it would be a beautiful screen.

 

[Ewat]

I got a 1440x900 on my Dell Inspiron 1520

 

[enwar3]

Anyhow, my question is where can I find a 15.4" screen at 1440x900 at about the same price it'd cost me at HP? (<$900)

Fraggable: I totally had that thought too. My 17" gets OWNED by my work machine, which is an inch and a half smaller.

 

[Fraggable]

I only found one 15.4" 1440 X 900 on Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16834280001

It's a craptastic laptop from a craptastic manufacturer though.

You might look for a light 17", something with 1 hard drive and around 7 lbs.

 

[enwar3]

Alright, here's a question for ya:

If I'm used to 1600x1200 on a 20", what's the equivalent on a 15.4" widescreen? 1280x800? 1440x900?

 

[Fraggable]

1600 * 1200 = A

W * H = B

A/B

 

[enwar3]

Dude what? I'm not sure what you were trying to say. But I did it my way and:

I got 1280x800 as being the closest (pixel/inch value) to the 1600x1200 on the 20". Not exact though - wonder why.

Just wanted someone in the know to see whether I was right or not.

 

[WackyDan]

The latest Intel Graphics are HD capable... You don't need a dedicated GPU to watch HD movies. Your battery will thank me.