Queries on laptop configuration

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bvr37

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Aug 11, 2009
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We are looking for a laptop for B Tech student.

Which applications demand i5 as against i3 ? Both second generation.

Which applications need 4GB RAM as against 2 GB ?

What is the difference between the HD3000 graphics and NVIDEA graphics?

What difference does it make to have a seperate NVIDEA graphics card as agins HD3000 graphics ?

OS - What are the differences between XP, WIN 7 home basic, home premium and professional ?

Dell laptops do not seem to support XP. Is it likely tocrate problem ?

If some medium gaming is required, what ADDITIONAL REQUIREMNTS ARE THERE ?

Some body can pl elaborate.

Thank you.

 
I'll answer some of your questions.

4GB of RAM is what you want. Windows 7 uses quite a bit of RAM. I only have Firefox open to respond to your post. Windows Task Manager tells me that I am currently using 1.5GB of RAM.

The Intel HD 3000 graphics core is pretty decent, much better than their old GMA 4500MHD integrated video. It is slightly faster than the desktop Radeon HD 5450 video card. As compared to a nVidia card, well it depends which nVidia card, but nVidia will be fast generally speaking.

For personal use you'll be fine with Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium. Professional is basically good for medium to large businesses because of some additional security features.

Windows XP is a great operating system; I am still using it in my desktop PC. It is a 32-bit OS which means it does not recognize more than 3.5GB of RAM. It does not support DX10 or DX11 graphic effects. It also does not support SATA hard drives, so it cannot be installed it in a current laptop unless you have SATA drivers or the laptop's BIOS can switch the SATA controller to E-IDE compatibility mode. Lastly, the laptop manufacture may not have Windows XP drivers for some of the hardware.

If you want to play games with medium graphics quality with decent performance, (1366x768 resolution) then you want to buy a laptop with at least a Radeon HD 6630M or GeForce GT 540M.
 
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