NVIDIA N12P-GV (GT 520M) vs. Intel HD Graphics 3000

[latimer]

I'm in the market for a new laptop and I've narrowed it down to two models. One has Intel HD Graphics 3000, a Core i5-2430M and a 500 GB drive. The other model has an NVIDIA N12P-GV which I read is the same as the GT 520M, a Core i5-2410M, a 750 GB drive and is $30 more. Other than that the two are identical. I will do mostly email and web browsing with some light gaming such as Portal, Starcraft and Skyrim. Is the $30 more model worth it even though the CPU isn't as good?

 

[TheStu]

The CPU probably isn't significantly worse, and the GPU is better. Spend the extra $30, get the extra HDD space and the better GPU.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Yes...

 

[Tom]

I'm in the market for a new laptop and I've narrowed it down to two models. One has Intel HD Graphics 3000, a Core i5-2430M and a 500 GB drive. The other model has an NVIDIA N12P-GV which I read is the same as the GT 520M, a Core i5-2410M, a 750 GB drive and is $30 more. Other than that the two are identical. I will do mostly email and web browsing with some light gaming such as Portal, Starcraft and Skyrim. Is the $30 more model worth it even though the CPU isn't as good?

I wouldn't call that "light" gaming, if you mean Starcraft 2. The gpu's you are considering might be ok for them, I don't know, but I would think you'd be a lot better off with a dedicated gpu if you plan to play games that are that new or have 3D graphics.

 

[IntelUser2000]

I'm in the market for a new laptop and I've narrowed it down to two models. One has Intel HD Graphics 3000, a Core i5-2430M and a 500 GB drive. The other model has an NVIDIA N12P-GV which I read is the same as the GT 520M, a Core i5-2410M, a 750 GB drive and is $30 more. Other than that the two are identical. I will do mostly email and web browsing with some light gaming such as Portal, Starcraft and Skyrim. Is the $30 more model worth it even though the CPU isn't as good?

You should spend $100 more and get something with a GT540m.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-520M.43104.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-3000.37948.0.html

Because whether you get the 520M or HD 3000, you'll have to sacrifice in one way or other. You can't even upgrade in laptops and its a long term investment, so its worth it to get something that's significantly faster for not much more.

 

[Emulex]

the cheapo GT430 does a great job at doing 4K video (or 1080p 3D) with passive cooling. i hear you can go up a few levels like 540/545 on passive too. Probably drive two 1080P or 4K screens from one htpc at the same time (xbmc).

how well does intel hd graphics handle 4K video or 3D 1080p 60fps