I'm getting a new laptop for school pretty soon, which I've more of less decided will be a Thinkpad T61 of some flavor. However, the computer apparently bleeds battery power, and since I've heard that dedicated graphics cards are a big power hog (not to mention a definite hundred-dollar price jump), I'm considering going with the integrated option. I don't really know much about graphics hardware, however, and looking back at old threads hasn't been all that helpful, so I'd like to ask for advise.
The integrated graphics option for the T61 is an Intel GMA X3100 GM965 w/ 1394, verses the dedicated option which is an NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128MB). From what I've heard, the Quadro NVS is a "business" graphics card that specializes in things like C.A.D. and 3D presentations, which I have no interest in. The setup I'm planning on is an IntelCore2 Duo 2.0Ghz processor, 2gigs of RAM, and a 100GB 7200RPM hard drive. I'm sticking with Windows XP for the time being, so Aero isn't a big issue. Lastly, I am very much a casual editor, who is still using Ulead Media Studio 6.5 for heaven's sake, and who wouldn't mind being inconvenienced slightly video-rendering wise if it meant much less heat and power consumption in the long run.
So, given all that, do you think I should spring for the dedicated graphics, or would the integrated graphics be good enough?
