Please advise, do I have enough video memory?

[staceaze]

I am not a huge gamer and I am still learning about my new HP laptop. My last computer died on me of old age and viruses. Through what I thought was sufficent research, I settled on a model that fit my price range ($1200)and needs.
After talking with my friend about her recent laptop purchase, I am wondering if I need to upgrade my dedicated video memory. She said that 64mb of dedicated video memory is not enough to play most games. Is this true? Please give your opinion.
My Nvidia properties says that it has

335mb total graphics memory
64mb dedicated memory
0 system video memory
271mb shared system memory


My HP has
 
Processor Brand AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2
Processor Speed 2.2GHz
Display Type WXGA+ high-definition widescreen with BrightView technology (1440 x 900)
Screen Size 17"
System Bus Up to 1600MHz
Cache Memory 512KB + 512KB on die Level 2
System Memory (RAM) 2GB
System Memory (RAM) Expandable To Nonexpandable
Type of Memory (RAM) DDR2
Hard Drive Type Serial ATA (5400 rpm)
Hard Drive Size 240GB
Optical Drive Double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW
Optical Drive Speeds Drive speeds not available
Direct-Disc Labeling No
Digital Media Reader or Slots Yes, digital media card reader
Diskette Drive No
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 (UMA)
Video Memory Up to 559MB total available graphics memory 
Personal Video Recorder (PVR) No
TV Tuner No
MPEG Yes
Modem 56 Kbps*
*Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps.
Networking Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 connector)
Wireless Networking Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
S-Video Outputs 1
Additional Audio/Video Connectors SPDIF digital audio out
Audio Altec Lansing
 Speakers Built-in
 PCMCIA Slots 1 ExpressCard 34/54
 USB 2.0 Ports 4
IEEE 1394 FireWire Ports 1
Parallel Ports None
Serial Ports None
 Game Ports None
Notebook Weight Standard (more than 6 lbs.)
Battery Type Lithium-ion
Pointing Device Touchpad with on/off and dedicated vertical scroll up/down pad
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
Included Software Microsoft Works; Adobe Acrobat Reader; Hewlett-Packard QuickPlay, Photosmart Essentials; muvee autoProducer Basic Edition; Roxio Creator 9 Basic and more
 
  THESE were the specs from the Best Buy page that I looked at. Did I make a good choice? Thanks.

[patio]

Laptops are not designed for gaming.
As to wether you made a good choice or not that remains to be seen if you're not using that machine for gaming...

[DeltaSlaya]

335mb total graphics memory
64mb dedicated memory
0 system video memory
271mb shared system memory

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150

As patio said, and also that graphics card is extremely low-end and not gaming oriented. I had a 7300, different series but it wasn't very powerful.

I gather that the card has 64MB RAM onboard and can be allocated an additional ~512MB?? Any amount of ram probably wouldn't make a considerable difference as the clock speeds are just too low for gaming at a resolution of 1440 x 900 on med-high settings.

[staceaze]

So do I need a better graphics card or is it pointless? What is a decent one to look for? Can my graphics card be upgraded at all?
I am not a gamer but I do like to play some games such as Sims.
Thanks so much for the responses.

[DeltaSlaya]

Sims does not require a high-end graphics card, so at the right settings your gameplay should be fine.

No, it's highly unlikely that your video card will be upgradeable, though you probably don't need it; it's better than integrated graphics.

[soybean]

No, it's highly unlikely that your video card will be upgradeable, though you probably don't need it; it's better than integrated graphics.

Oh, his HP laptop does not have integrated graphics?  You're saying it's an add-on card?

[DeltaSlaya]

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150 (UMA)

Yes I am. Read the specifications.

[soybean]

I did and I saw the same thing you did, which in no way indicates a video "card" is installed.  Do the specifications say anything about a PCI Express slot, or AGP slot, or PCI slot?  Can you tell me any laptops that have them?   

[DeltaSlaya]

Well I don't mean a 'card' as such, I'm more a desktop oriented guy. I just mean that it's made by Nvidia or ATi I guess?? lol

[soybean]

No, it's highly unlikely that your video card will be upgradeable, though you probably don't need it; it's better than integrated graphics.

OK, see my point now?  It IS integrated graphics, based on the nVidia GeForce Go 6150 GPU.  Laptops simply aren't upgradeable in ways that desktop PC's usually are.

[staceaze]

Thank you all for your responses. I use my computer mainly for internet access, and photo editing so I suppose that the gaming aspect will not effect my usage much at all.