Intel HD Graphics 630 or NVIDIA GeForce 940MX for Non-Gaming Laptop

[JonCharles]

I'm going to purchase a new Lenovo T series Thinkpad for myself, to replace my old HP Elitebook that I have had for about 10 reliable years. My hope and intention is that this one will last just as long. It is fairly powerful, having an i5-7440HQ processor and having an SSD. The last thing to decide is whether to stick with the default Intel HD 630 or pay the $80 for a Nvidia 940MX.

I will not be gaming on this laptop barring the possibility of extremely light games. I will also not be running any photoshop, CAD, or other graphically intensive productivity programs. I would be watching (probably not producing) plenty of 1080p 60fps video content, and sometimes using a monitor to output video (only one screen).

Is there any real benefit for me to getting the dedicated card? I don't mind paying the extra money for better performance or future-proofing, but I know there are also benefits to sticking with integrated graphics (battery life, less heat?, possibly healthier for laptop in long run?). I'm really just aiming for a quick, durable, and reliable laptop that only needs to do the things described above.

 

[jaguarskx]

The Intel HD 6xx graphics core series is capable of playing 4k resolution video. That is 4x the resolution of 1080p video.

The Intel HD 3000 within the 2nd gen Intel Core i5-2410m in my Lenovo Ideapd Y470 from 2011 is capable of playing back 1080p 60 FPS video.

 

[mightyjp64]

If you're not planning on gaming a lot, integrated graphics is the way to go.

Intel HD 6XX is actually more powerful than the very old Nvidia GeForce GT-525M I have on my Dell Inspiron n5110, at least according to UserBenchmark. I can still game on it with settings turned down, especially with 2d games.