Good idea to get a good graphics card?

College Life
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<p>I don't plan on doing PC gaming on college with whatever laptop I get. The one I got for $1099 last year happened to come with an 8600M GT, and all I used it for was a few games(that I won't play) and Google Earth, and I don't plan on majoring in technology or anything.</p>

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<p>I think you just answered your own question.</p>

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<p>Nvidia admitted 3 days ago that it's GPUs are defective( most likely the 8600 gt and the 8400 gs)</p>

<p>NVIDIA</a> says "significant quantities" of laptop GPUs are defective, stock tumbles - Engadget</p>

<p>i would wait a bit longer until they will disclose which GPUs are defective.</p>

<p>This is a great time for ATI to get back in the game.</p>

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<p>He could always go with ati though. 3000 series isnt bad for budget cards.</p>

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<p>You said you don't need one so why are you asking? Plus, I ran Google Earth fine with integrated graphics.</p>

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<p>I just get the feeling that if I went with a weak card, I might be limited if I ever needed to use an application that wants a good card. Dell XPSs are good, but they definitely overprice them. I might find a Toshiba or Asus for a lot cheaper, but I have till next year to buy a new laptop for college, I can only imagine how much technology will advance by then.</p>

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<p>Any ASUS beats any Dell XPS any day.</p>

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<p>I bought this Acer 5920G exactly a year ago(2 GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, Core 2 Duo 1.5 Ghz, 8600M GT, HDMI, HD-DVD(worthless now) for $1099. Sadly though Acer products seem to break a lot, too bad I found that out too late. It's a good laptop, but it still has a ton of problems sometimes, so I need a more stable one for college. </p>

<p>What do Asus and Toshiba have coming out next year? The Toshiba Qosmios were very nice, but Asus always has powerful gaming laptops, though I don't need a gaming laptop that badly, but it wouldn't hurt. As a side note, has anyone here downloaded Service Pack 1 for Vista? I did and my wireless connection messed up and I had to activate System Restore and now I don't know what to do.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I just get the feeling that if I went with a weak card, I might be limited if I ever needed to use an application that wants a good card.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>...doubt that'll ever happen. you won't ever need a good one unless you do 3-D animation or gaming, which it sounds like you don't. and even if you were in animation, you probably wouldn't have the necessary software on your computer anyway.</p>

<p>if you still decide to get a higher-end card, though, be aware that all it's going to do is create heat and suck up power.</p>