Discrete vs. integrated graphics, no gaming

[GoSUV]

I am planning to buy a MacBook Air to run Cisco/Juniper router sims for my networking certifications. What am I giving up, in terms of graphics performance, when the MBA's don't have discrete graphics like the MBP's? I'm currently using a 2007 15" MBP C2D, with the Nvidia GPU. I'm thinking of changing to a lighter MBA, so that I can bring it with me on my commutes from home to work and back.

I don't play any games at all, but do watch movies on it. Will the current generation MBA be a downgrade in terms of graphics performance compared to my 2007 15" MBP?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

The integrated graphics processor (IGP) of the current MBA will be on par with the 8600M GT.

from 8600M GT performance vs. Intel HD 3000​

 

[KnightWRX]

If you don't game at all, you're not going to miss out on anything really.

 

[GoSUV]

Thanks for the replies.

So movie watching, like decoding H.264 material, say up to 1080p connected to an external display or an HDTV, isn't going to favor the machine with discrete graphics as well then?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Thanks for the replies.

So movie watching, like decoding H.264 material, say up to 1080p connected to an external display or an HDTV, isn't going to favor the machine with discrete graphics as well then?

Yep, as even my 2007 iMac with a worse GPU than the 8600M GT can play 1080p footage back, highly compressed or using an editing codec.

 

[GoSUV]

Went to the Apple store yesterday and got myself a fully loaded 11" MacBook Air, with i7/4/256. Reminds me of my old 12" PowerBook G4, only a hundred times faster. So far so good, I especially like the SSD, as there seems to be no need to wait for a disk or anything.

This is your ultimate portable computing power house. Thumbs up.