12. Conclusion

As our test on the Dell Latitude D610 shows, the 900GMA integrated graphics core of the 915GM delivers far better 3D performance than its predecessor in the 855GME. However, modern games like Doom3 and Farcry are still impossible to play smoothly at resolutions higher than VGA. Gaming fun is still possible with older 3D shooters like Quake 3 Arena, HL2 and strategy games like Settlers, despite the limitations of integrated graphics. As earlier measurements have shown, the GMA900 is DX9-capable, but in terms of 3D performance it is far inferior to the more effective dedicated graphics solutions offered by ATI and Nvidia.

The substantially higher memory bandwidth on the 915GM - a whopping 8.5 GB/s in dual-channel mode - proves to be a boon only when running synthetic benchmarks. In practice, it has no measurable effect on performance, as the bandwidth of the CPU interface is a steady 4.2 GB/s. In theory at least, the bandwidth of one channel is sufficient to provide a constant stream of data to the CPU. The 915GM does score major points when it comes to memory module compatibility. Unlike their DDR predecessors, DDR2-SO DIMMs feature on-die time phasing, making it far less likely that a memory module will fail to function properly in any given system.

If you have a halfway up-to-date notebook system with the 915GM's predecessor, the 855GME, and use it mainly for office applications, you won't need to upgrade to a new system for the sake of performance. On the other hand, if you need a new system and can live with integrated graphics, a unit with 915GM is definitely the way to go. This chipset is currently the best possible compromise between performance and an acceptable price for components.

In view of its technical features, we would probably invest the $1526 in a system like the Latitude D610. At the end of the day, the business device offers the latest technology at a very reasonable price. Having said that, we believe that the technology should have been given a more attractive and better-made case. The fact that Dell does not offer all the Sonoma features in the D610 - like HD Audio, Expresscard and SATA - is no big surprise. The Texans are, after all, only interested in providing what the market actually demands, in order to keep their prices competitive.