If I want a non gaming laptop should I care if it has a dedicated graphics card or not ?

[pcslookout]

Does it really make any difference then ?

 

[JWade]

even in some non-gaming situations, a dedicated video can still help.

 

[damian101]

Laptops with a dedicated GPU generally use some switchable graphics technology like Nvidia Optimus or AMD Enduro, mainly to increase battery life as dedicated GPUs aren't nearly as optimized for efficiency as integrated ones. In practice that means that the laptop display is directly connected to the integrated graphics, but the dedicated GPU can still be used to render things and route them through the integrated GPU.

If you don't use an application that can make use of the dedicated graphics card like games or other graphically intensive applications, or want to use the GPU for compute workloads I would stay away from laptops with a dedicated graphics card, they only make the laptop heavier, thicker and more expensive and can drain the battery.
Integrated GPUs nowadays are more than capable of doing everyday things like video decoding and basic animations, they are often even fast enough for some light gaming and can run many older games just fine.

 

[bbhaag]

^^ Agreed, for a non gaming laptop I wouldn't worry abut having a dgpu the apu will be more than enough. Of course it would be helpful to give us some idea of the programs you will be using that way we could say for sure but given the limited info from the OP I like damian101 recommendation.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Recommend an AMD APU, although the 10th-Gen 10nm Intel CPUs aren't too shabby either. Don't expect to play games on either one of them. Do expect to pay at least $400 for a decent-quality / spec "New" one. (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, preferably NVMe, and a 1080P IPS screen.)

 

[sandorski]

At least 8gb of ram is really what you need and a decent Storage device.

 

[sdifox]

Does it really make any difference then ?

Makes a big diff in price, not so much for your use.