Do I need an NVIDIA graphics card?

[tpann]

Hello,

I'm going to keep this question pretty general (non-spec-oriented) and see if it works, forgive me if I don't provide enough information.

I'm planning to purchase a new laptop and have a choice between a laptop that includes an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 card and one that does not include a graphics card. I don't know how to make this decision because I'm clueless about what graphics cards do.

Here is what I will use the laptop for: The most CPU intensive stuff will be Pro Tools 11 and other audio sequencing stuff, Photoshop and Illustrator and other graphics programs, and Camtasia. I have Premier Pro and AfterEffects video processing applications but I don't use them and I think the likelihood that I will become a power user is very low.

I am not a gamer at all.

Based on that, do I need the NVIDIA graphics card?

Again, my apologies if I'm not providing enough background to enable an accurate answer. I'm happy to follow up with more.

Thank you,
Tim

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Short and sweet Yes

 

[JaxDrumm]

I know I'm not a pro, but I made it by on an integrated card for about three years, but I was a gamer and it was bad. Camtasia, however, was perfect. Never had any trouble. With Premiere and After Effects, you might run into a little trouble with a bad graphics card such as realtime lag, but it'll be usable, regardless.

 

[Mellon Head]

Get the one with the graphics card. You'll be glad you did.