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Thread ID: 87608	2008-02-27 10:16:00	High End Graphics cards	Geek4414 (12000)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
644226	2008-02-27 10:16:00	Has anyone got any recommendation which graphics card to choose for mid-range video editing, probably around $1,000 to $1,200 price range? nVidia Quadro FX1500 (256MB GDDR3) ? nVidia Quadro FX1700 (512MB DDR2) ? nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX (512MB, 640MB or 768MB DDR2) ? nVidia GeForce 9600 (new release) ? Or Any ATI cards? I know this is a silly question, how does an onboard GeForce 7100 (HDMI output) stack up for video editing?	Geek4414 (12000)
644227	2008-02-27 10:20:00	I dont think the videocard has anything to do with video editing. I'm using an ATI 256 mb card, and I do a bit of video editing, no prob at all. The CPU / amount of ram would be more important than a videocard for video editing. Depends on how fast you want things to happen	Speedy Gonzales (78)
644228	2008-02-27 10:34:00	I dont think the videocard has anything to do with video editing. I'm using an ATI 256 mb card, and I do a bit of video editing, no prob at all. The CPU / amount of ram would be more important than a videocard for video editing. Depends on how fast you want things to happen Erm.... I was under the impression that the videocard had everything to do with video editing, yes? I've had systems with crap proc but decent video cards which handled much better with video processing side of things than systems with decent cpus and crap video cards.	Deathwish (143)
644229	2008-02-27 10:39:00	[edit] I misread the previous post.	Greg (193)
644230	2008-02-27 10:41:00	Nope, I dont think so. The only reason youre using a videocard is, so you can see something on a screen. If you think a videocard has anything to do with video editing, tell me WHAT it would actually do. All you need depending on what youre editing is firewall, (which is better than USB 2 for this), a big hdd helps, a pretty fast CPU helps, and a bit of ram also helps. And the program to load and edit the video.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
644231	2008-02-27 11:03:00	Well system specs depend of what level of video editing you're gonna do, But You need LOTS of RAM. I should say, minimum 2GB, and a multi-core processor. Because chances are that you're gonna open up lot of programs at once, and those programs are likely to be GIANT memory consumers. (Adobe Premiere itself consumes about a 1.5GB of memory i think) Doesn't really matter if you're doing home video editing, using drag-and-drop softwares like Windows Movie Maker/DVD Maker though, since these programs only require adequate CPU power during final rendering (encoding) High-end GPUs are required if you are putting in a lot of effects onto the video. Especially 3D effects. NVIDIA Quadro series are targeted at professional 3D graphics designers, who use programs like 3dsmax, Maya, etc. Multi-GPU systems like NVIDIA SLI and ATI (AMD) Crossfire are designed to improve real-time 3D performance in games. So I can say lots of GPU memory/power is not a significantly large factor in video editing. One with 256MB memory and an optional VIVO would be all right for average video editing. Personally I did a lot of video work with my PC, mostly 3-5 min promotional video montages. Didn't have a lot of fancy effects, but yes I did have quite a few animated overlapping captions/titles and opening sequence. My setup was(and is right now) AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2.4GHz, Dual-core) 2GB DDR RAM NVIDIA GeForce 7900GT x2 SLI (256MB+256MB factory OC) and it was working fine for me, though it was lacking RAM some of the times. Highly recommend 4GB. :)	kimatg (12579)
644232	2008-02-27 11:04:00	The video editing requirements also involve a little to moderate level of 3D animation, hence the need for a high end graphics card . Btw, Nvidia only list the FX1500 and FX1700 as mid-range cards . I have been getting conflicting advice from various sources . Some said the GeForce 8800GTX is recommended by Apple for their workstation class 3D work . I guess the 8800GTX is good enough for 3D animations as it does not requiring as high a precision as CAD work . I have just stumbled upon a very interesting forum while googling around . . . . whirlpool . net . au/forum-replies-archive . cfm/582432 . html" target="_blank">forums . whirlpool . net . au I found these comments very interesting . . . especially the part about turning a $180 (USD?) 6800GT card into a $2,500 (USD) Quadro FX4000???!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quadros are nothing more then a Geforce (insert number here) that are badged and sold as a Quadro (insert number here) . the difference is the drivers are optimised for workstation apps and have to go through a much more arduous certification program before being released as in a gaming card a few precision errors might mean a few pixels aren't right but for professional workstaion users thats catastrophic . There are ways and means for turning said Geforce's into said Quadro's and i'll leave it at that that Quadro 560 is nothing more then a 7600 GT with professional app drivers Here's a review of professional 3dcards using different workstation apps . xbitlabs . com/articles/video/display/quadrofx-vs-firegl . html" target="_blank">www . xbitlabs . com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh btw heres the forums for rivatuner . The program that can convert Geforces to Quadros ;-) . guru3d . com/forumdisplay . php?f=18" target="_blank">forums . guru3d . com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- get a 6800 card(6800GT eBay $180, bought 1 day ago), use River Tuner to sofmod or even reflash it into a quadro FX4000 (cost over $2500) . -------------------------------------------------------------------------	Geek4414 (12000)
644233	2008-02-27 11:10:00	I think youre getting confused between video editing (video editing can be something you've recorded with a video cam, and all you're doing to it, is editing it / adding titles, then burning it to DVD). AFAIK, 3D animation has NOTHING to do with it. Altho programs like Nerovision (part of Nero 8 ) give you the option of adding animated 2D/3D titles, before you burn whatever to DVD. And 3D animation / something like CAD. They are NOT the same thing. In both cases, the speed of the CPU and the amount of ram you've got, would still be more important than the videocard.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
644234	2008-02-27 11:16:00	Well system specs depend of what level of video editing you're gonna do, But You need LOTS of RAM . I should say, minimum 2GB, and a multi-core processor . Because chances are that you're gonna open up lot of programs at once, and those programs are likely to be GIANT memory consumers . (Adobe Premiere itself consumes about a 1 . 5GB of memory i think) Doesn't really matter if you're doing home video editing, using drag-and-drop softwares like Windows Movie Maker/DVD Maker though, since these programs only require adequate CPU power during final rendering (encoding) High-end GPUs are required if you are putting in a lot of effects onto the video . Especially 3D effects . NVIDIA Quadro series are targeted at professional 3D graphics designers, who use programs like 3dsmax, Maya, etc . Multi-GPU systems like NVIDIA SLI and ATI (AMD) Crossfire are designed to improve real-time 3D performance in games . So I can say lots of GPU memory/power is not a significantly large factor in video editing . One with 256MB memory and an optional VIVO would be all right for average video editing . Personally I did a lot of video work with my PC, mostly 3-5 min promotional video montages . Didn't have a lot of fancy effects, but yes I did have quite a few animated overlapping captions/titles and opening sequence . My setup was(and is right now) AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ (2 . 4GHz, Dual-core) 2GB DDR RAM NVIDIA GeForce 7900GT x2 SLI (256MB+256MB factory OC) and it was working fine for me, though it was lacking RAM some of the times . Highly recommend 4GB . :) Hi kimatg, Thank you very much for your reply . Yes, I am aware that multi-core CPU and loads of RAM will be the key . We are intending to spec the system with a Quad Core CPU and 2GB of memory as a start . I have been reading up a lot about XP Pro's limit on 4GB addressable space . The 4GB limit includes the page file and any memory on the graphics card and in fact any other devices in the system that need any address space . So if you have a 512MB on your video card, it will only leave an absolute max of 3 . 5GB addressable space for XP Pro, that is ignoring any swap file and any other memory address reserved for other hardware devices . Apparently, the only way around this limit is to use 64-Bit version XP/Vista . There is no other way around it . In fact, people have been sighting that as the main reason to use the 64-bit OSes given the lack of 64-bit apps . Anyway, as I mentioned in my last post, I stumbled onto a forum that suggest using RivaTuner to turn a GeForce card into a high end Quadro FX . I will spend some time to read up on that forum and see it's possible to convert an integrated GeForce 7100 into a Quadro with that software! :cool:	Geek4414 (12000)
644235	2008-02-27 11:18:00	The rendering he referred to is real time playback of the file with all the transitions and effects, viewed from within the editor, before the file is rendered. It is taxing, On the entire system, But any mid-range to low end video card will do fine.	Metla (12)
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