Need help with new laptop

Pcnut

Junior Member
Jun 9, 2008
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i am looking to get a new laptop and had a question. i like to use mine to edit pictures when we travel so do i need a dedicated card or will just intel graphics work???
 

CSMR

Golden Member
Apr 24, 2004
1,376
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No, graphics card is irrelevant for photo editing. Photoshop CS4 does use GPU acceleration but integrated graphics (of current generation) will be fine for this.
 

Decembermouse

Member
Dec 18, 2009
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...yes, integrated will work fine. I do have a loathing for Intel integrated graphics though... just very lame technology. Except for the upcoming, auto-overclockable desktop version, but I don't plan on using that, since if I get one of those motherboards, it'll have a fast CPU, and have to have a discrete gfx card anyway. I'd still recommend, even if you get integrated graphics, at least get Nvidia or ATi integrated :)
 

WackyDan

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
4,794
68
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Photo editing is 2D, so the integrated graphics card is just fine for that.

If you find one with ATI or Nvidia, the correct term is "discrete" for that type of implementation which has dedicated video memory and have far better 3D performance. - which according to your usage you don't really need to pay for.
 

Decembermouse

Member
Dec 18, 2009
141
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If you find one with ATI or Nvidia, the correct term is "discrete" for that type of implementation which has dedicated video memory and have far better 3D performance. - which according to your usage you don't really need to pay for.

This is true. However, not all Nvidia and ATi cards are discrete; many of them have no dedicated video memory and rely on the RAM. They still tend to fare better than Intel's integrated graphics even without dedicated memory though. If I had to get an integrated solution (and in a laptop I don't see why I'd get a discrete gfx card anyway), it'd be Nvidia or ATi.