Add 1GB RAM or a dedictaed graphics card (for a non-gamer)?

[morland]

Hi all,

I have 2 questions and will appreciate your feedback/recommendation:

1st Question:
One of the laptops I'm considering has Intel GMA950 video; which as per my understanding can "steal" upto 256MB of RAM. Right?

The laptop comes with 1 GB of RAM. If I upgrade the RAM to 2 GB, will it have a significant impact on the overall performance of the machine and graphics (despite the "stealing").


2nd Question:
I hardly play games but suppose I want to have a dedicated graphics card on my laptop having 1GB RAM. Given this, and keeping cost as in mind, can you please recommend 3 graphics card in the order of priority.

 

[Stumps]

probably easier just to add the extra ram, if you aren't playing games the ram will give a reasonable boost in windows performance.

unless your laptop is actually designed to allow a video card upgrade , which I doubt, because it is fitted with the Intel intergrated graphics, which indicates that your laptop may be a lower spec machine.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

u dont play games so i'd suggest going to for the ram which you'll use all the time

 

[aka1nas]

There is a 99% chance that your machine cannot take a discrete GPU. Even the external approach requires an external PCI-E connector, which isn't very common yet.

 

[Matt2]

going to 2 gigs made an amazing difference in performance on my laptop running Vista.

 

[morland]

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies. I'll be using XP Pro and based on your feedback I understand that going for the additional RAM would be a better option.


Thanks.