ATI X300 battery usage

[Col. Mustard]

Due to one of Dells zany promotions, I can actually get a 128Mb X300 version
of the Inspiron 6000 I had configured for slightly cheaper than the
integrated Intel 900 graphics version I was planning on.

Problem is, I don't plan on doing too much 3d gaming and apart from the
occasion CAD work - it would likely be overkill for the 1280x800 resolution
I was planning. I'm concerned that battery life, temps and fan noise would
suffer for no real gain.

Does anyone know how much battery usage the ATI X300 uses over the Intel
integrated GPU?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[Margolotta]

Due to one of Dells zany promotions, I can actually get a 128Mb X300 version
of the Inspiron 6000 I had configured for slightly cheaper than the
integrated Intel 900 graphics version I was planning on.

Problem is, I don't plan on doing too much 3d gaming and apart from the
occasion CAD work - it would likely be overkill for the 1280x800 resolution
I was planning. I'm concerned that battery life, temps and fan noise would
suffer for no real gain.

Does anyone know how much battery usage the ATI X300 uses over the Intel
integrated GPU?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Why the hell
Are you buying a Dell?
When for the same price, er
A Mac is much nicer.

 

[answers]

I cant quantify the difference in battery usage, but battery usage will
increase slightly.

However, since the graphics card has its own memory/processor it relies
less on the system resources. Allowing for CAD program to utilise the
system resources. This would certainly aid battery life.

Fan noise, temprature may be inevitable.

If you want to get more out of your battery then have a look at the
following link.

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/Laptop-Battery-FAQ/browse_thread/thread/2d49c7f96458814d?hl=en

Hope this helps.

Regards
Battery Wizard
http://www.ComputerBatteries.co.uk