2373H6U VS. 2373GVU which is the better T42

[kuma]

Ok I just finished my first Med school class, and I've been eye balling a T42 for about two weeks. I've been unsure if I should act on the current special on the IBM site for the 2373H6U for about $1500 or get the 2373GVU for about $1900. Is the only difference the video ram?

I'm very confident that within the next year or two, there will be much more streaming video content on the internet and I want my computer to be able to take full advantage of it. Will the H6U be able to play videos from the internet that are being streamed as well as the GVU? I have to act by today as the deal for the H6U ends on the 10/3.

What do people think?

Thank you all again.

[chikin03]

Streaming video does not require a better video card. At most, it involves CPU. I ordered a H6U a week ago, upgrading to 512mb. Afaict, the only difference here is the FireGL card, which iirc is an engineer grade video card--which you should know of already if you need it.

OTOH, if you're really hard core bio, there are some protein/molecule viewing programs which make use of the video card (rotating views of binding sites, higher order structures, etc). It's possible you might see a difference there, but it's hard for me to make the call. Search for reviews online of the card, and they'll mention it's applications and necessity.