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Shared?
Nov 7, 2006 20:57:50 GMT -8
Post by Nobody on Nov 7, 2006 20:57:50 GMT -8
I am shopping around for a laptop, and i've been mostly seeing laptops that have a video ram of 128 or 8-224, and they all say shared. What does that mean? I barely see this with pc's. And when i do it is usually some beat up video card. But i am seeing this in laptops with ATI Radeon, GE force, and nvidea cards, so what gives? I just wanna know what this means and if it is good for gaming or not.
=edit=
JUST REALIZED THIS IS MY 3000TH POST!!!! I WIN.
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Shared?
Nov 7, 2006 21:15:44 GMT -8
Post by FrkUout on Nov 7, 2006 21:15:44 GMT -8
Shared memory uses part of the system ram to provide ram for the video processing. So if the system has 512MB of RAM and the video has up 128MB shared the system RAM will be reduced by the amount of RAM used for the video. In the case of setting the video to 128MB the RAM available to Windows would be 512-128= 384MB.
Generally this is not good for gaming. It doesn't matter what manufacturer of the video card you get they're al about the same now-a-days. The biggest advantage is seen in the bus used. I would recommend a PCI-e card which would be one of the ATI x-series cards or the higher end nVidia cards. The specs for the machine should also say what type of bus the video card is using.
If you go further up the food chain you'll find laptops with video cards that you can swap out. This is good for upgrade purposes since the video card is usually the lagging factor when it comes to gaming. Those computers are going to cost you though.
My suggestion for you would be to find a laptop that you like with a video card that has dedicated video memory. This configuration will not use any system RAM for the video processing.
In the case of my old laptop I have a GeForce go 440 video card taht has 64MB of RAM and my system has 1GB of RAM. I am able to run games like Generals without problems. No when it comes to game slike Half-Life 2 I probably couldn't run it on that machine due tot he requirements. It might meet the minimum requirements but no one likes to play games on the minimum requirements.
ATI produces Radeon series chipset
nVidia produces the GeForce series chipset
For both instances, multiple vendors produce the actual video cards. In the case of Intel, I believe they produce their own stuff.
Hope this cleared up the shared RAM.
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Shared?
Nov 7, 2006 21:31:08 GMT -8
Post by Nobody on Nov 7, 2006 21:31:08 GMT -8
Yea cuz i was wondering what is up with this shared business. I heard it is not good, but wasnt clear on why it wasnt. The thing i am having problems with is finding laptops that have a dedicated memory. The only one i found was a sony and it cost over 2 grand. I will keep looking.
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Shared?
Nov 8, 2006 12:57:39 GMT -8
Post by Zangief on Nov 8, 2006 12:57:39 GMT -8
Thats because in general, laptops aren't meant for huge memory usage like desktop's are. High end gaming and memory heavy applications like professional graphics and video manipulation aren't accomplished well on most laptops. If someone does use their laptop for that kind of stuff, they forked over a lot of money for it.
Always ask yourself what you will be using it for. If you will be needing it for school stuff like work processing, spreadsheets, internet, email, ect, you probably don't need a $3000 laptop.
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Shared?
Nov 8, 2006 13:44:28 GMT -8
Post by Nobody on Nov 8, 2006 13:44:28 GMT -8
I will probably be using it for mostly school stuff, but i want to be able to play some of the new games out for pc, with out a video card problem
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Shared?
Nov 8, 2006 14:05:27 GMT -8
Post by Zangief on Nov 8, 2006 14:05:27 GMT -8
Put a min of 1 gig ram in there and get a better than basic video card and you should be fine.
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Shared?
Nov 8, 2006 14:10:03 GMT -8
Post by Nobody on Nov 8, 2006 14:10:03 GMT -8
I will do that. Oh and another question, is there a difference between Intel and AMD? I have heard all kinds of things about their comparisons. I've heard that Intel is like superior to AMD, is this true?
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Shared?
Nov 8, 2006 14:36:47 GMT -8
Post by FrkUout on Nov 8, 2006 14:36:47 GMT -8
Processor choice is basically your preference. While Intel does have an edge with its core 2 duo line of processors AMD is still close behind. There are those that will argue different for one side being better thant he other but looking at the benchmarks on places like Tom's hardware they are usually around the same.
If you're looking for a long battery life I would suggest a mobile processor with a smaller screen. Four hours is ususally the average battery life for most small notebooks. Mine big honking notebook only got 2 hours but that's due to the 15.4 wide screen and having a P4 processor instead of a smaller screen and a mobile processor.
If you do not care about battery life and want performance then get a non-mobile processor and whatever screen you want. If you can try to get one of the screens that look like they have glass over them. The pictures on them are excellent.
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Shared?
Nov 8, 2006 18:37:38 GMT -8
Post by Nobody on Nov 8, 2006 18:37:38 GMT -8
Is an intel core 2 duo mobile?
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Shared?
Nov 8, 2006 20:56:11 GMT -8
Post by FrkUout on Nov 8, 2006 20:56:11 GMT -8
I'm not sure if the core 2 duos are mobile or have a mobile version. Check the out on the intel web site.
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Shared?
Nov 9, 2006 12:49:19 GMT -8
Post by Solid Đefect™ on Nov 9, 2006 12:49:19 GMT -8
shared on a pc usually means they are just trying to sell it and when you figure out its not what you need its too late, the comps yours >.> but pending on what you are gonna use your laptop for, i'd usually go with the cheapest most durable one you can find (durability is the biggest factor in buying a laptop for me)
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Shared?
Nov 13, 2006 13:48:26 GMT -8
Post by Nobody on Nov 13, 2006 13:48:26 GMT -8
Alright i have narrowed my search down to these two. The first one is from dell the other is hp
Dell:
PROCESSOR AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-56 edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 edit
UPGRADE TO WINDOWS VISTA Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Home Premium from XP Media Center Edition edit
LCD PANEL 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™ edit
MEMORY 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm edit
HARD DRIVE 60GB Hard Drive edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability edit
VIDEO CARD ATI RADEON® Xpress1150 256MB HyperMemory™ (Integrated) edit
$950
HP
* AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-56(1.8GHz/512KB)
* 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)
* FREE Upgrade from 60 GB 5400 RPM to 80 GB 5400 RPM
* FREE Upgrade: 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support
* 256MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200
* 802.11b/g WLAN
* FREE Upgrade to 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen!
* FREE Upgrade to Genuine Windows XP Media Center!!
* Microsoft(R) Works/Money
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone
* No TV Tuner w/remote control
$1050
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Shared?
Nov 13, 2006 18:07:19 GMT -8
Post by FrkUout on Nov 13, 2006 18:07:19 GMT -8
The bright screen display is the shit. The pictures on those are beautiful. Either computer is a good deal. Just make sure you get what you want. Also, if you didn't request it they do not come with MS Office so you'll need to buy it if you don't have a copy to install.
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Shared?
Nov 13, 2006 18:58:04 GMT -8
Post by Nobody on Nov 13, 2006 18:58:04 GMT -8
I was leaning towards the HP as well. The dell is from Circuit City and the HP is from costco. Costco also has a free 6 month waranty with it. The only "problem" i see with both comps is that both have an AMD processor, but i cant find any comps that have an nvidea or ATI card with intel chips unless they are over $1500. Nevertheless, i dont think it will make that much of a difference.
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Shared?
Nov 13, 2006 19:44:37 GMT -8
Post by FrkUout on Nov 13, 2006 19:44:37 GMT -8
You'll be happy with the AMD processor. I've used AMD for a long time now and they are just as good if not better than Intel chips. Plus the Turion chips use less energy which should help with battery life.
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