Can some one explain to me the advantages/disadvantages of shared/dedicated video memory. I am looking to purchase a notebook computer and have noticed that most of them have shared video memory. I know I need at least 64mb of video memory since I will be gaming on this note book. Will shared memory be a problem? What is it sharing with? Thanks, J.

SHared memory is shared with your redular memory. If you have shared memory its best to have as much memory as possible.

Exactly. But If I were you, I would NOT get an integrated card that steals System RAM. Since you said you are going to be a gamer on the laptop, I would buy a 128MB Card and stick it in there. Like a one of the Radeon 9200's. That wont eat up System RAM.

AS this is a laptop the J is buying, there wont be a lot of choice as to which kind of video card is intalled. You get what is given and there is not a lot you can do about it. The only thing that can be done is to buy a laptop that has dedicated memory, but of course, they will be a little more expensive. Stuart

samzee, you just cant buy a video card and stick it in a laptop...it just doesn't work that way...it all depends on the laptop you get, because some actually have a separate video card..my dell laptop has a separate 32 meg radeon 7500, unfortunately there is only 1 possible alternative and i have yet got a definitive answer to that..doesn't matter in my case, i'm not gaming on a laptop there are laptops out there that have the ati radeon 9700..... some alienware and asus laptops have interchangeable video cards and they claim future upgradability Abit NF7-s 2500+ @ 3200+ 512 Corsair XMS PC3200 128 meg Radeon 9800 Pro DUAL 36 GIG WD Raptors DUAL 21 in. ( 19.8 viewable ) Sony Trinitrons 3+ Mbps cable connection

OK...I've never even seen the inside of a laptop. I know you can upgrade the CPU & RAM, but do they actually have video cards that can be swapped? I thought they all used integrated video? Can someone clarify this?? J (by farmerj), Shared memory is just that...it's taken away from system memory for the video. You need a minimum of 256mb for Windows to peform decently, & 512mb is considered the "sweet spot". If your system only has 256mb & you use 64mb of that for video, that leaves only 192mb left for Windows. Look for a machine with 512mb.....

As response no. 4 said (sorry, very long handle) there are a few brands which have dedicated graphics cards - alienware's a favourite as they are intent on producing 'super-gaming' laptops, but apart from those few, you will tend to be stuck with shared graphics - laptops aren't designed for dedicated gamers. I haven't come across any that share more than 64Mb which could be a problem for you, but decent laptops should come with at 512Mb total RAM as standard & if not it's very easy to add. "I know that I'm mad - I've always been mad..."