I know this question has probably been asked numerous times, but I really need some advice. I understand that Nvidia works great with Houdini, but this spec on the laptop has really confused me:
* Chipset : Intel® PM965 Express Chipset
* Interface : VGA and S-Video Out with Smart Display Sensor
* Processor : NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GT GPU with 1023MB Total Available Graphics Memory11
* Video RAM : 256MB dedicated video memory

Now, does having an Intel chipset means that the real video card is still Intel? I've seen other laptop with the same processor did not include the chipset information, so I want to make sure that if it says Nvidia is the video card, Nvidia is the video card used and not Intel. Thanks to anyone in advanced.

That is a pretty confusing way to describe it, so I don't blame you

It sounds like it has an Nvidia 8400 GPU with 256MB running on an Intel 965 motherboard… I'm not sure what the 1023 total memory means, perhaps it's the amount of system RAM it can use in addition to the video RAM. I've never heard of anyone advertising that, though.

Regardless, the NV 8400 GPU is very underpowered for any sort of 3D application. I think it's more or less designed to run Vista's Aero, and that's about it.

Look for something with NV 8600M graphics or above (the first digit is the generation, stick with 8 or above, and the second is the performance rating; I'd stick with 6 or above; the M indicates a mobile chipset).

Good luck!

Thanks, I knew it was really hard to describe, that really helped me to understand it better I know what to look for now

Unfortunatly it i sincreasingly popular to advert mmobile GPUs not with the dedicated RAM (256mb DDR3 for example) , but with the “shared + dedicated” memory. In fact the shared memory is normal ram that mobile GPU can use, under certain conditions.
This leads to impressive figures like 1024 mb (256 dedicated + 768 shared) of Ram for the GPU. So always check for dedicated memory specifications!
The shared memory has no importance for 3d modeling apps. Neither has the famous “Vista turbo cache”, some memory that can be used to re-open applications faster etc.

As in the post before: go for a 8600gt with 256mb DDR3. Check sites like
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ [notebookcheck.net]
http://www.notebookreview.com/ [notebookreview.com]
for specific benchmark results of your graphic cards…
confusing I know, but there is no other way, comparing card by card…

Thanks for that info. What about 9300m gs? I saw that it is on the lower end, but there is a laptop that's under $1200 (around my budget) has that spec, would that work?

I would think it would be okay, though I haven't tried it so I can't give you a definite answer. Any lower end Nvidia card will likely work, though large models or textures will be a little sluggish.

We all have to make our final decisions based on a budget.
If the 9300gs is the maximum that your budget allows, it has to work!
It depends on what are you planning to do with it?
Sincerely I don't think you gonna have much fun with this card!
But i passed by dell.com, they have a weekend offer for 1200$ for a XPS 1530, 15" 2.1Ghz Core Duo, 4GB of Ram, 8600Gt and 320GB HDD. I wouldn't think twice…

I have an Acer Aspire 5920G with 8600M GS graphics, 256mb dedicated on the graphics card. It runs Houdini just fine!

Cheers,

Peter B

thanks for all the help. I saw a dell with ATI Radeon 3650, would that work? It's around $1000, even better for my budget. But I did hear that ATI video cards are not as good as Nvidia for Houdini, is it true?

I have a HP mobile workstation with 4gb ram, quadro 1700, dual 2.4 ghz cpus. But, Houdini isnt as smooth as i would like it to be… XSI is much faster on the laptop. Actually any 3D program is able to handle more complex scenes on the lappy than Houdini. Anything over 1mil poly and it chokes both memory wise and graphics wise.