View Full Version : Which mobile graphics?
xeonicxpression
2008-08-11, 22:02
I'm planning on buying the new Dell E6400 and it has the option of NVIDIAŽ QuadroŽ NVS 160M1 256MB DDR2 or Mobile IntelŽ GMA 4500MHD. Which one would you choose, for best XBMC compatability? I'll be running XBMC on Vista. It isn't going to be dedicated to XBMC. I just want to be able to play with it on my laptop, when I'm not at my main PC. I also don't plan on running any games on it. Any input would be appriciated.
xeonicxpression
2008-08-12, 10:13
No one? There has to be someone who has some input.
How much are they?
I just bought a Dell 1530 XPS lappy... I love it! feels really well made and I spec'd it up to.... 2.6Ghz Core2, 4Gig RAM and a dedicated 256mb 8600GT nVidia GFX card... runs XBMC Win a treat.... so not only can I watch all my movies/media when I work away the onboard HDMI and S-Video mean I can connect up to pretty much any TV.... hacked the Dell media button to... now launches XBMC....
Gamester17
2008-08-12, 23:03
I'm planning on buying the new Dell E6400 and it has the option of NVIDIAŽ QuadroŽ NVS 160M1 256MB DDR2 or Mobile IntelŽ GMA 4500MHD. Which one would you choose, for best XBMC compatability?Doesn't matter, both those are good enough for XBMC, I would choose the one with the fastest CPU.
pantherman007
2008-08-13, 07:11
With the feature-freeze now in place, is there an opinion on whether Intel X3100 graphics with a decent (>2.0 GHz dual core) CPU is a "good enough" combo? Judging from the previous forum posts that chipset seems to be right on the bubble for XBMC use...
I'm still eyeing a Dell Studio Hybrid XBMC build, but its older graphics have me a little worried it might fall short.
Gamester17
2008-08-13, 13:34
Yes Intel X3100 graphics is good enough as well, (this is all in the manual and FAQ you know).
pantherman007
2008-08-14, 07:35
Yes Intel X3100 graphics is good enough as well, (this is all in the manual and FAQ you know).
Sorry. I searched on 3100 and X3100 in the wiki and nothing came back. In the FAQ I only saw OpenGL version info, nothing on specific chipsets.
With beta & stable releases in the near future and presumably more users coming and asking the same question, would expanded documentation on HW requirements/compatibility be helpful in the manual or do you think that's unnecessary? (That's an offer to help create it if I can get off my ass, not a request for you to do it)
Gamester17
2008-08-14, 15:54
Sorry. I searched on 3100 and X3100 in the wiki and nothing came back. In the FAQ I only saw OpenGL version info, nothing on specific chipsets.OpenGL is a standard, which means if a GPU claims its hardware and drivers support the version of OpenGL that XBMC requires then it does, simple as that.
So for practical reasons we can't maintain a list of all chipsets/graphic-controllers that support OpenGL 1.3 + GSLS and newer as that would be thousands and thousands, with new chips coming out almost every month, it would be impossible for us to maintain a such list.
...it like when you go to a store and buy a PC game, the box only read "Requires at least DirectX 9.1" support because DirectX is a stanard, it does not list all chipsets/graphic-controllers on the box (nor even on their website for that matter).