Why is it that the laptops today sold in best buy, etc have bad video card? Is it worth buying one?

I've been hearing people talking about cheap laptops at best buy, circuit city, and etc... with Nvidia 8400 graphics cards for the price of 800 dollars or less. But I don't' think that Nvidia offers those cards anymore. Because the last time I checked, for a good 700-800 dollars, they have a Integrated Nvidia 7150 video card or less for the price. Am I the only one noticing that? I don't want to spend 1000 dollard on a laptop with a Nvidia 8400 GS graphics card. Because at the price, I can get a desktop with better specs with a cheaper price. But I really need a laptop for college, a little gaming, but mainly school work. I never buy stuff online with credit card or stuff like that.(that's just me), So should I just go ahead and buy a laptop with the Nividia 7150 graphics card they offer in stores?? or does any1 else have a better idea. (Best answer for 10 points). Thanks.|||Of course Nvidia offers those cards. They offer the 9 series which is the same as the 8 series, but just more energy efficiency. And the 8400M GS is still a decent card.



Of course, the best deal is ALWAYS on the internet. Considering you don't like shopping online, then buy the one from the store. But check out this one as it has HD 2600XT (which is better than 8400M GS) for a price of 1000 dollars which I think it's a good deal.



http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?…



But with 7150 video card you should be play games like CS 1.6, WOW stuff like that. It is sufficient for video editing also.



So the choice is yours.



EDIT: So this guy got mad and sent me an email. Basically he is telling me that it's a good deal. Well yea, it is, but for gamers like him probably. Considering the following:



1. 4GB will not make any difference with 3GB

2. a 17inch laptop would make it difficult to carry around and

3. 8800M GTS is for gamers



What's the point of getting this laptop for SCHOOL?

I am also a college student, and I understand what the asker needs.



yea and I do apologize for not digging deep enough. I was writing this at 12:00 in the night so I wasn't able to concentrate very well. It is a good deal, but just not a good deal for students like us. That's why i would still consider it to be a rip off.|||Get the laptop, it has a one year warranty and you can always get the extended warranty|||I think if you shop around online you will find laptops with better graphics cards that are under $1000



Unforturately i don't think the 7150 card will be useful with cames at all. Generally with nvidia card numbers, the first number denotes the series or generation of the card. And the second number denotes the level the card is at. Now the x2xx card (eg 7200) is a buget card used in systems that don't go any gaming except maybe like the sims, or something from a long time ago. So i can't imagine what the 7150 would be like.



If you want to play games, your gonna have to go for at least an 8400M, or better yet an 8600 or 9500. For instance the DELL XPS M1530 is a good laptop for games, it has an 8600MGT. However, its gonna cost you around $1500USD to get that.



You might be better off getting a really cheap laptop and then a getting a high powered desktop for gaming.|||Actually i bought my Gateway 6860-FX from best buy for 1250.00 and it comes with the 8800GTS 512mb Nvidia card set in it. Also came with Vista 64, 4 gigs of Ram and 320gig hard drive. tis only weak point was the 1.8gHz processor. But that was an easy upgrade to the t9300 (or x9000 if you have the money) and i added another 320gig hard drive to it for a pretty massive storage capacity for a laptop.



For under 2K i ended up with a pretty beefy rig for a laptop, not top of the line like a Sager, but i also didnt pay 5K for the system.



As far as paying more for a laptop than a desktop and getting less goodies... welcome to the club. We are always going to pay more for lesser hardware. Its the price we pay for mobility.



I would love to be sporting a 2 gig Geforce x280 SLI set up with a QX9775 processor and 8 gigs of ram... but unfortunatly it would run in excess of 250 degrees in a laptop and fry itself (or boil my blood as i used it)



If you shop around for a laptop you can get a pretty good system like the 6860 and do most everything you could want with it. And not really break the bank... But you cant have everything... our thermal budget is simply too tight in a laptop.



If your wanting the best of both worlds your either going to have to fork out 5K for a Sager, or your going to have to get a laptop for mobility and a desktop for gaming and high demand applications.



A good rule of thumb is your going to get about 4 times the return on your money with a desktop vs a laptop. My 1900 i spent on my rig (the laptop, after the upgrades i did), would have bought ALOT more power in a desktop, but i wouldnt exactly be able to carry that with me where ever i go.



EDIT:

At below poster... yeah, except the 17in (higher resolution)screen, vista 64, a full 4 gigs of ram, and the better graphics card. For 150.00 over the 6850... thats a great deal. Dig a bit deeper next time.