How Impt is a Dedicated Graphics Card for Laptops?


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wainism

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Apr 15, 2004
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Beeshan
Hi guys,

looking to get a laptop at the end of the yr, hence doing research now.

just checking. i am wondering how impt is it to get a dedicated graphics card(ati x1300 128mb/256mb with Hypermemory) for a laptop?

I DO NOT game at all. my uses are photoshop cs2, and microsoft office, watching movies/mp3s, maybe some programming for my university final yr project.

currently looking at the Dells (seem to be most value for money), below is my ideal config:
1. Duo Core 2.0ghz 4mb cache
2. 2 x 1024mb ddr2 ram
3. 120gb hdd (prob allocate like 20gb to scratch disk for photoshop)
3. 14.1" widescreen

the thing about dell is, it offers both this ATI card as well as the Intel integrated card.

So what do u guys reckon, taking into account my usage pattern? or if u guys have any recommendations, pls feel free to list them as well. :)

thanks in advance
 

if you can get a ATI card.. i would get the ATI card...
but as for CS2 performance... my own understanding was that it is more processor driven, than graphics card driven.
 

the thing is the ATI card obviously means more money. hence was thinking if it makes sense to save on it. any more tech inclined guys can advise?
 

If you do not plan on playing games AT ALL then maybe you can consider non-deidicated graphics cards. THe 120gb HDD and 2 gb of ram for a lappie might be expensive..

My current T43 (1.85ghz) with 1.5gb of ram caost me 2.4k at student prices. Outside this would have set me back 4k easily. Only comes with 60GB and a x300 ATI card with 64mb of gfx memory.
 

Persoannly I find onboard graphics to be also lacking in 2D quality.. So I believe having the ATI graphics would probably be better.. :cool:
 

it could be just me - but i find the colour accuracy is better for a laptop with a dedicated graphics chip, than one without. i used to be using a dell inspiron 510m for my PS, and i noticed that, when using my EyeOne calibrator, EyeOne had to make more adjustments to the gamut on the 510m (and even then, it's still not close to ideal, if u follow the very helpful colour chart explanation at the end of the calibration), compared to my current HP dv5000 laptop with an ATI chip.
 

hmmm...thanks NW!

but apart from colour (which can be corrected with calibration), is there any other areas where performance (lagging) will be noticed?
 

laptop most important:

a)Ram is like the body muscles
b) Harddisk is like the Stomach
c) Processor (CPU) is like the brain
d) Graphic Card is like the eyes.(not wearing spectacles)
e) Screen is like the clothes u wear.


So, how to compromise and reduce certain features when choosing a Laptop?
 

hmmm...thanks NW!

but apart from colour (which can be corrected with calibration), is there any other areas where performance (lagging) will be noticed?

erm... the correction with calibration for me is still far short from ideal with my 510m. for the 510m, my blues seems way off, even after calibration. for me, there was a noticeable difference in the processed pics esp when i sent them for printing (510m vs dv5000). hence, i believe calibrating devices can't do much, if the problem is in the hardware.

other areas? hmm.. becos it's using shared memory to power the graphics chip, obviously the speed of running CS2 is affected. dat is even after upgrading my 510m memory. it was becos of going thru all these dat i decided to switch to my HP, and relegate the 510m to home-use.
 

I'm using WinXP 64bit Pro. Is there a 64bit PS CS2 version out there?
Ram may just be limited to 2Gb for 32bit applications.
 

Probably need to take note also, on release of Window Vista, the new Window OS will make use of a lot more of 3D effect, if you plan to upgrade OS in future, better get one with dedicated graphic card.
 

i guess upgrading to vista is an inevitable. so seems like there is certainly a need for a graphics card.

hey NW,

was just wondering. dell have the ultra sharp series of screens as compared to normal screens, could these have been a problem (with ref to the colour prob u face)?
 

i guess upgrading to vista is an inevitable. so seems like there is certainly a need for a graphics card.

hey NW,

was just wondering. dell have the ultra sharp series of screens as compared to normal screens, could these have been a problem (with ref to the colour prob u face)?

Best get as much dedicated video ram as possible the hyper memory video ram is probably abt 50% dedicated the rest is from the laptop RAM - so there is a speed loss - how much it depends.why look for so much video ram - do a google from video ram requirements for CS2 - Adobe had an information page basically advising that CS2 would work best with 256 but could have some options grey out with 128 or less. However the Mac appear to have been doing shared memory a lot better than PC since day one. But its a u go figger situation since by the time you know u got a problem u are a proud owner of a laptop. Dell screens were supposed to be a little fast to fade. I stress were since thing change. They may not be the best price buy on the block when I last look 3 months ago there are other choices out there. Go see some screens, heft some lap tops like buying a car - go kick some tires do a test drive slam some doors - u are buying some thing that needs to be handle not by spec or by internet shopping.check also that dell is giving you video ram that is fast as your cpu speed and not slower. it will cost u more now better than a lot more latter.why not buy a used mac book by year end the next wave of new mac books will be out, there will be people letting go. Also by then maybe CS2 - the mac optimised version will be out.
 

what does it mean by make sure dell is giving the video ram that is as fast as ur cpu?
 

I find my Compaq laptop with Intel Extreme II color to be the same as my friend Acer laptop with ATI X700... gamging performance is another thing la :sweat:
(both of us, using the same type of "glossy" 14.1" screen.)
 

I believe that colour you see on the LCD screen is more dependent on the screen than on the graphics system, whether it is dedicated card or on board...in the case of CRTs which require digital to analog signal conversion, sure, the card is important, but for digital screens like LCDs, should not pose a prob...

but like was mentioned earlier, if you want the bells and whistles of Vista, a dedicated graphics card might be a good idea...

if you are like me, who's WinXP looks like Win98, then no dedicated graphics card is all right... don't think Vista makes a hardware requirement there but would have to run without all the fireworks...

CS3 should be out in second quarter of next year, according to Adobe's press reports so far...should be 64bit and support Vista and Mac Universal Binaries...
 

If wanna use Vista.. better use dedicated graphics card... cus even if application dun use... Vista sure will use.
 

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