compare GMA950 with NVedia/ATI cards. in dell laptop

[vmmehar]

HI
I want to buy a dell Inspiron 9400, But I am thinking wether I should opt for Nvedia 256MB graphics card or not.
I will be having more than 1GB system memory.

Most of the times I just use this for work. (linux and Database work) .
Some times I want to use this for wathicing dvd movies, vedio editing from camcorder.

I will not be playing any games or 3D stuff.

Does it make sense to spend $250 to watch dvds or not.

I want to know the difference between internal graphic card and the external graphic care.

Appreciate any help.

Thanks
Murali

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: vmmehar
HI
I want to buy a dell Inspiron 9400, But I am thinking wether I should opt for Nvedia 256MB graphics card or not.
I will be having more than 1GB system memory.

Most of the times I just use this for work. (linux and Database work) .
Some times I want to use this for wathicing dvd movies, vedio editing from camcorder.

I will not be playing any games or 3D stuff.

Does it make sense to spend $250 to watch dvds or not.

I want to know the difference between internal graphic card and the external graphic care.

Appreciate any help.

Thanks
Murali

There will be no difference at all for any of the things you want to do.

A discrete graphics card will make 3D games much faster, but will not do anything for 2D apps. I'm pretty sure the GMA900/950 has some DVD acceleration, but you can easily play back DVD-quality MPEG2 video completely via software these days even if it doesn't. Your video card has NOTHING to do with video capture or editing.

 

[S1nnless]

for watch DVD's and video editing, a graphic card isn't realy needed, with GMA9x0 doing pretty well. But of course that if you have a better graphic card, other tasks, like gaming and even watching DVD when doing other things, like ripping something, you will have a better experience. Don't you have the chance to make another graphic, like a nVidia 7300 or a ATI X600?

 

[vmmehar]

Thank you for quick reply. I heard that the intel core duo is only 16-20% faster .. Do you know wether AMD turion 64bit will be better for my requirement. I am looking for laptop in which I can install windows and linux (windows for viewing movies and copying video from camcorder, remaining all the work from linux. (like Dataase, open office documents etc. )
Thanks
Murali