The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    1520 x3100 8400m or 8600m

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by paladin732, Jun 28, 2007.

  1. paladin732

    paladin732 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    46
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I just ordered a 1520, I am wondering though, since vista takes full use of a dedicated GPU just for basic AERO stuff, would the 8400m make a big difference in performance? What about for basic games with the 8600m?

    I am putting 4gb of ram in the system (64bit vista) and a T7500


    Also, how much of a hit to battery life does a dedicated graphics card usually do? Can it be disabled in the bios when not being used?
     
    paladin732, Jun 28, 2007
    #1
  2. Kdawgca

    Kdawgca rotaredoM repudrepuS RBN

    Reputations:
    5,855
    Messages:
    8,609
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    206
    x3100 is fine for Vista Aero effects. Unless you are planning to do 3d rendering or playing 3d games you dont need a graphic card.

    If you are planning to play basic games the 8600m Gt will be overkill(the 8400m GS would be a better option)

    You probably dont need 4gb of ram(you need at least 2 gb for vista though) but it depends on what kind of task you will peform.

    Dedicated card do draw more power then integrated cards(x3100). You can try underclocking them to save some battery life or buying a bigger battery.


    Also Fill out the FAQ so that we can help you better.
     
    Kdawgca, Jun 28, 2007
    #2
  3. paladin732

    paladin732 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    46
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Yea, I know I do not need 4GB of ram, however I just wanted it since I bought it third party (it was OCZ brand) for $160 for the 2 2gb chips.

    How much more battery power do they draw? Like for instance, a system with ~6 hours battery life, would it get ~3, ~4, or?
     
    paladin732, Jun 28, 2007
    #3
  4. thursday000

    thursday000 Newbie

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    how much does the inpsiron 1520 weight with the 8600M GT? Does the GPU change the weight of the mahcine? What is the weight of this machine with 8600 MGT, T7300, 2 GB memoery and 120 GB HD? anyone know?
     
    thursday000, Jun 28, 2007
    #4
  5. majortom1981

    majortom1981 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    10
    Messages:
    253
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I think getting the 8600gt is better because it will help future proof your laptop. Meaning it might help your laptops performance with games and image editing programs down the road.This is the reason why I selected the 8600gt in the 1520 that I just bought.
     
    majortom1981, Jun 28, 2007
    #5
  6. justinluck

    justinluck Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    4
    Messages:
    189
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I would also liked to know the battery life difference of an X3100 and an underclocked 8400M.
     
    justinluck, Mar 25, 2008
    #6
  7. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    81
    Messages:
    967
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The X3100 will get about 15-30 more minutes than the UC'd 8400.
     
    XPS1330, Mar 25, 2008
    #7
  8. XPS1330

    XPS1330 Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    81
    Messages:
    967
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    By the way, if you do decide to choose the X3100, you might want to consider getting the Inspiron 1525 instead.
     
    XPS1330, Mar 25, 2008
    #8
  9. nizzy1115

    nizzy1115 Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    2,557
    Messages:
    6,682
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    205
    Agreed. The 1525 is a better laptop if you are going the integrated graphics route.
     
    nizzy1115, Mar 25, 2008
    #9