GeForce Go 8200M vs. Intel GMA 4500M

[JackSpadesSI]

I'm trying to decide between two laptops: the Compaq CQ60-215DX and the HP G60-230US, each for $449.99.

This is not a laptop that will need to play great games (of course, who doesn't mind playing a few casual games now and then on their laptop?).

I can't find detailed specs on either the GeForce Go 8200M or the Intel GMA 4500M. The HP wins almost every pro/con analysis in my head, except I keep getting hung up on the graphics. I just wish I knew the difference!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Probably the GF 8200m, as Intel's integrated graphics tend to be feature-incomplete. However, IMO, there isn't enough of a difference between the two to make up for otherwise inferior hardware.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

I posted a link for this in your other thread.

The Intel 4500M has more shaders (10 vs. 8) than the GF 8200M. The GF has PureVideo so it can handle HD content, but I'm not sure how the Intel plays HD content.

 

[JackSpadesSI]

Thanks for that link. What do you mean by HD content? Do you mean Blu-ray playback or do you mean any downloaded video at HD resolutions (720p for this screen)? I ask because I'd like to be able to watch HD content that I download or stream from Netflix... but I'll never put a Blu-ray drive into the laptop so that won't be a concern.

I'm building a desktop soon for my own personal PC gaming, but this laptop is for my wife. No games (at least, none more recent than 2001) on there! Therefore extreme graphics are no concern to me (so I have no idea why Flipped Gazelle had to say "inferior hardware" as if I should be ashamed, or something).

Would one of these two graphics options be better able to display Windows Aero?

Thanks, again!

 

[nosfe]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
The Intel 4500M has more shaders (10 vs. 8) than the GF 8200M

say what? it's a different architecture, they're not comparable

 

[tcsenter]

There are some hardware decoding features missing from GMA 4500 under Windows XP due to some content protection concerns that Intel has, but are functioning in Windows Vista and later.

One potential factor is that you can always use the generic Intel drivers released by Intel, but NVIDIA's generic drivers won't support many notebook implementations without modification. Therefore, you are more likely to become somewhat dependent on the OEM to release driver updates, which HP/COMPAQ isn't too good about (most OEMs aren't).

This was not such a big deal when Windows OS would allow unsigned drivers to be used. When you modify a driver INF to install on different hardware, it breaks the digital signature (e.g. WHQL). However, Vista 64-bit won't allow unsigned drivers to load, and there are no good ways around it. I expect Windows 7 64-bit to be the same.

 

[Arkaign]

Intel 4500M = brand-new Intel notebook chipset to go with it. Count on better battery life, SATA performance, and very good graphics (outside of trying to do new gaming). I saw a comparison of notebook video performance, and the 4500M performed the same as the Nvidia 7300 Go, which is a discrete product.

 

[AmdInside]

For what it's worth, I have a Geforce 8200 based HTPC and I was planning on moving it to the bedroom and build a new HTPC for the living room a while back. So I purchased an Intel G45 based motherboard (Intel DG45FC). It has given me lots of problems for video playback that I now regret buying it period. I missed my Geforce 8200 motherboard. I ended up building a new system based on an ATI 4550 graphics card and boy what a difference. Unless you plan on just running office programs and browsing the web, I'll take a Geforce or Radeon equipped notebook over Intel any day.