Are integrated graphics good enough for a laptop?

[Jumpem]

Any reason to spend more on discrete graphics if the only uses will be Office and internet? What about Vista's Aero interfce?

 

[Barfo]

Even Intel's integrated crap graphics are ok for Aeroglass nowadays, you should be fine with them for Office and Internet.

 

[waffleironhead]

While they are not the fastest things around, when was the last time an Intel graphics chip failed due to hardware issues? For longevity, I would steer towards them. Especially if all you intend to do if office tasks.

But then again, I am a bit biased after having graphics chip failure in multiple laptops.

 

[habbakuk87]

Intel IGP are very reliable,my obsolete thinkpad is chugging on quiet nicely.

 

[yh125d]

Integrated is fine

 

[Keysplayr]

I just bought 2 Dell Inspiron 1545's about a month ago. One for my wife and one for me. Both have Intel HD4500 IGPs. Way more than enough. Just don't plan on gaming. Perfect for a laptop used for everything BUT gaming.

I also have a Dell Vostro 1500 that has a discrete 8600M 512MB card in it. Plays games better than I expected it to. CoD WaW for example. Low res though.

 

[vj8usa]

Integrated is actually better than discrete if you don't need the added performance - battery life goes up, and the laptop won't heat up as much. For office work and web browsing, it's more than enough. My laptop uses the intel X3100 (965?), and it's completely adequate for everything I use it for (and I have Aero turned on).

 

[akugami]

Yeah, integrated is fine unless you plan on gaming or doing heavy 3D rendering or something like that. If the system is good enough to play a H.264 encoded video without stuttering, you're fine.

I do own a gaming laptop and to be honest, gaming on a laptop is not a pleasant experience for me. I honestly wish I hadn't spent that type of money on a gaming laptop.

 

[KILLER_K]

Yup agreed it is fine for general use, but anything mildly aimed at games that are intense or newer it will fail. The crap intel graphics i have doesn't even support aero, but it gets the job done and battery life is good.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: KILLERK
Yup agreed it is fine for general use, but anything mildly aimed at games that are intense or newer it will fail. The crap intel graphics i have doesn't even support aero, but it gets the job done and battery life is good.

What do you have? I would atleast want Windows to look normal.

 

[vj8usa]

Any new laptop should be able to run Aero fully. It only needs SM2.