Sypher_06

Hello,

I have been trying to find out for months now some information on mobile graphics cards that will support the Windows Vista "Aero Glass" effect, and laptop hardware performance. Unfortunately I have not been able to find anything or anyone that could answer my particular questions.

During the time when I used to post in these forums frequently I was always impressed by how much the people here knew. So, I was hoping maybe someone here could help me.

a) is the GMA 950 sufficient to use all the visual features of Windows Vista?

b) should there be much of a performance difference between 2GB of DDR2533, and DDR2667? If so, is it enough to warrant an extra $200?

c) how important is rpm of hard drives in laptops, will seek time be much more on a 200GB 4200rpm drive, than a 120GB 5400rpm drive. Is it fair to assume the 200GB uses less battery power?

d) lastly, what is TrueLife when referring to laptop displays? and is it necessary for someone who would not be doing much gaming on their notebook?

Any info you can provide me is much appreciated,
Sypher_06

P.S. just out of curiosity. What do you think of Dell for notebook purchases? I live in Canada.

ckfordy

The GMA is integrated graphics isnt it i think it will run vista but most of the features will have to be disabled.

I would stick with the DDR2 533 the speed difference is not worth the extra $200.

The 5400 RPM drive will be faster then the 4200 i would get the 5400 instead of the 4200 the battery life should still last a long time.

What are you going to be doing with laptop if your not going to be gaming then i wouldnt get it but if you are watching movies on it alot then i would. True Life i think makes the screen brighter and more crisper but thats just a guess maybe someone else here knows what it is and they can post it.

Dell makes great laptops just stay away from there desktops. There Laptops are extremely well built.

SirKenin

True life is supposed to make images sharper and crisper.

Just a couple of corrections to the previous post.

There is nothing wrong with their desktops. They are very well built and very reliable. There is a reason they sell a zillion of them to the corporate sector.

Also, Dell doesn't build laptops. They have someone else make them and stick the Dell logo on them.

Sypher_06

Well that is no good, I dont want anything disabled once I get vista loaded on. What should I be looking for as my mobile GPU... would the nVidia 256MB Geforce Go 7400 Turbocache, or the ATI 256MB X1400 Hypermemory be sufficient for what I need or will I need better, like a 7900 or something?

I am a software developer, but I like to have a few games installed. This is mainly going to be my work computer.

Sypher_06

So would you recommend anyone to get it, or am I really not going to need something like this for my purposes?

SirKenin

Eh. I dunno. I guess it doesn't matter one way or the other. I don't have it on mine and I only use it for work. I've seen it, though, and it's pretty nice if you have a use for that kind of thing. Up to you.

Sypher_06

Thanks, for the extra $125 i think I will do without.

SirKenin

That's probably a very reasonable decision.