Solved! ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5450 switchable graphics

bharms

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Jun 11, 2010
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I'm looking at some customizable laptops and am curious about the video card. The options I have are Integrated Graphics (Intel(R) HD Graphics), 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5450 switchable graphics, or 1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5450 switchable graphics. The specs for the computer are as follows:

* Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-430M Dual Core processor (2.26GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 2.53GHz
* 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* FREE Upgrade to 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* Wireless-N Card
* 14.0" diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
* High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard)
* Full-size island-style keyboard
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* HP TrueVision Webcam + Fingerprint Reader + Digital Microphone

To upgrade from integrated graphics to the 512mb HD 5450 is $102.00, and to upgrade further to the 1 gb HD 5450 is an additional $101.00 ($203.00 cost to upgrade to 1gb from integrated)

In this configuration the video card is definitely the weak point. I'm set on having a dedicated graphics card, as aside from wanting it for movies/imaging/etc I would like to play some games (a few MMORPG's, some RTS games, and some old turn based strategy games - nothing too demanding) as time allows, but gaming is a SECONDARY function to battery life/portability and especially durability, as I am a student needing to take this to class every day.

I know the Mobility HD 5450 is not a very strong card ( http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-HD-5450.23819.0.html ). I wish they offered the option to use the HD 5650 in a 14" laptop, but I can't seem to find that without breaking the $1000 mark (in the Lenovo IdeaPad). But, in order to stay close to my ideal price ($800-900) and have a sufficient warranty (3+ years), it seems I will be using the customizable HP's from Costco.

My question is, is the upgrade worth the money?

1.) Is ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 512mb worth $100 over the integrated card?
2.) Would doubling the memory to 1 gb for that card provide any real benefits that would be worth an additional $100, given the limitations of the HD 5450 based on it's architecture?

Thanks in advance!
 
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maximator

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Mar 8, 2010
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1.) First of all if you want to even have a chance to play games forget about Intel HD. All these cards do is save power. Second I don't know about the prices but the 5450 graphics card is quite a weak one. I would definitely go for a better graphics card. i5-430M processor is way too good for a card like 5450.
2.) No. I think 5450 is too weak to even handle a 512MB of V memory.

My advice is to get a weaker processor and a better GPU so the system would be more balanced. If you want to do some real gaming i would sugest at least an Ati mobility radeon 5650 or 4670, or the Nvidia geforce GT 330M or GTS 250, the directx 9 games should then run on maximum graphics settings and directx 10 games at least on medium. Also i think 4 GB of RAM would be enough.
 
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