I’m lookinh for a laptop, and I’m somewhat confused by a few of the terms manufacturers use. While configuring a Gateway laptop, I came across this describing the laptop’s video capabilities. “Integrated Intel® graphics with dynamic video memory technology. Up to 64MB of video memory is available to use with 256MB system memory standard.” What exactly is dynamic video memory technology? The Gateway site doesn’t have a helpful FAQ that answers this. Also, perhaps I’m under the wrong impression, but I assume that Intel integrated chipsets suck, no matter how much memory they have.
I’ve also been seeing “shared video memory” a lot, but I’ve learned that they’re a drag on the system memory and are also slower when compared to actual video card RAM.
Would getting a laptop with an actual card like the “64 MB shared memory ATI Mobility RADEON 4X AGP graphics and 3D architecture” be better than getting a laptop with 64 MB integrated Intel video? I’m not exactly sure how they stack up against each other.
I should also probably mention that I’m getting a laptop with no less than 512MB system RAM running Windows XP.
Both graphics chipsets use main RAM for their video RAM. “Dynamic video memory technology” sounds like marketspeak for “we only use as much system RAM as necessary.” Still slower than dedicated video RAM. Basically, shared video memory uses system RAM for video RAM, so the total memory availible to the OS and applications is less than what you installed, so if you had 512 MB of system RAM and 64 MB of shared video memory, you’d have 448 MB RAM usable by the OS and applications. Shared video memory is a way to reduce costs by eliminating the specialized video RAM often found with graphics systems. Which model are you looking at? I checked the Gateway website, and the only model with Intel graphics is their Tablet PC. Are you looking at one of those?
BTW, the Radeon you mention isn’t an actual card like in a desktop, it’s soldered on to the motherboard like the Intel graphics chipset.
I saw the Intel graphics when I went to customize the Gateway, found here: http://gateway.com/home/prod/hm_400ss_config.shtml .
“BTW, the Radeon you mention isn’t an actual card like in a desktop, it’s soldered on to the motherboard like the Intel graphics chipset.”
Is this true for all laptop video cards? I was thinking of getting a laptop with a Geforce4 Go card. Do any laptops have non-integrated video cards? Or even do any laptops have non-shared memory? Could you possibly even point me to a few laptops in the $1000-$1500 range with video comparable to a desktop’s containing a >$100 video card?
Well, you can pop in one of these. Or these.
Generally speaking, though, no laptop’s going to have the video performance rivalling the high-end of what’s available for a desktop box.