Dell Outlet Graphics Wrongly Described?

I bought an Inspiron 6400 from Dell Outlet and it was listed as having "256mb Graphics Card". No more information was given.

I received the Laptop today. The graphics card turns out to be a Nvidia GeForce Go 7300. In the graphic properties it states:

Total Available Graphics Memory: 383 MB
Dedicated Video Memory: 128 MB
System Video Memory: 0 MB
Shared System Memory: 255 MB

I did a scan with Everest and it states that the memory size is 128mb.

So, it's a 128mb graphics card.

Do I have any comeback with this Outlet system? Will Dell say that because it has 255mb shared memory that that constitutes a "256mb Graphics Card".

thanks

 

Yes, it is basically a marketing scam. Most laptop descriptions include the dedicated and shared memory numbers and they don't differentiate before you buy it.

That being said, nVidia's Turbocache technology is very good compared to other techniques and you'll probably be fine.

 

As Greg said, this is the way the graphics card companies advertise their cards, not Dell's "innovation". nVidia says 256 MB with TurboCache, and ATI says the same with HyperMemory.

Personally, I've heard better things about the X1400 ATI card than the nVidia, but you should be fine with 128MB dedicated, anyways.

If you don't like it and want a graphics card with a true 256 MB, you can return that unit and buying one that matches your specs. I believe there should be a card that matches your needs.