Video card for video editing/graphic design - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

psicodude · 03-02-2009, 02:22 PM

I have been asked to develop a standard video editing computer for the education institution I work for. Before the Mac/PC flame war gets going, let me be clear that Mac's are available, but a lot of teachers are just not comfortable using them, and prefer a PC.

Anyway, the question I have is in regards to the video card. I am quite familiar with the "gamer" type video cards that Nvidia and ATI put out, but I am not sure if these cards are suitable for video editing and graphic design work. The students using these computers are not professionals by any means, but they are in high school, so I would like something half decent at least. They will be doing some 3d rendering, but video editing in Premiere or Corel Video Studio will the primary use.

Any suggestions or tips are appreciated.

PsYcNeT · 03-02-2009, 02:37 PM

nVidia's latest Quattro series cards are phenomenal. They render realtime so well, it's lightyears beyond even 3 years ago.

Geforce = gaming, Quattro = work

Hack&Lube · 03-02-2009, 02:42 PM

For a highschool environment, it doesn't matter. All mainstream graphics cards can do video editing and graphic design perfectly fine, even onboard video. Quattros are overkill for highschool. They aren't professional graphic designers.

photon · 03-02-2009, 03:16 PM

The only thing you'd want is the ability to manage the colour, and most good video cards do that.

The Quattro is more for rendering 3D type stuff is it not? There's not much of that going on in graphic design and video editing. Though I think the newest Photoshop does use the 3D chipset for some of its filters if available.

Your primary concerns should be with power consumption and noise level IMO.

PsYcNeT · 03-02-2009, 03:26 PM

Ugh.

I mis-read the OP. My bad

Yeah teh Quattro is a 3d rendering series. For Image/Video editing I would be more concerned with what kind of processor/ram those systems are running, as single-core system can take eons to render video.

llama64 · 03-02-2009, 04:18 PM

A Radeon 4850 should easily handle your needs. You could also get away with something a bit cheaper, but I would stick with a slot card rather then on-board if there are any plans for 3D rendering at all.

As PsYcNeT points out, you should be focused more on processing power and memory. Given the prices, go for at least 4GB of RAM, 8 if you can swing the budget for it. A quad core will also go a long way, but a decent Core2Duo will suit you just fine. This is more important for video/sound editing then it is for 3D graphics work.

A good monitor is also a good investment for this type of setup. Get one with some screen realestate (20in+ widescreen) with a matte finish (NO GLOSS!).

BlackArcher101 · 03-02-2009, 04:44 PM

Quattro cards are overkill and way way way overpriced. In fact, I remember seeing an article stating that GeForce cards actually outperform Quattro... the only difference between Quattro drivers are scrutinized more and stability is top notch.

I do 3D rendering and movie editing on my home pc with my GeForce 8600 GT... it does the job just fine. I found the CPU and RAM where of greater importance.

Hack&Lube · 03-02-2009, 11:57 PM

I would say something like this

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/s...d.php?t=706506

Would be perfectly fine and also come in on economy ($81.62) and size (will fit in cheaper smaller form factor systems for education, even Dells/HPs, etc.), and noise (low profile, low heat, tiny cooler, tiny fan. Best of all, it has all 3 video outputs you would need, VGA, DVI, and HDMI.

psicodude · 03-03-2009, 02:57 PM

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I am going to put less of a priority on the video card, and more on moving to a quad core cpu with more ram, and am going to try to get a larger power supply as well.

Tens of thousands of students thank you! (Well, not really because they are teenagers, but you get the point)

photon · 03-03-2009, 05:28 PM

Quad core with a more ram but a normal video card won't need a very robust power supply, 450W would be plenty.

You should make sure and get the most efficient one possible though, look for ones that tout 80 or 85% efficiency under load. Seasonic is a good brand.

Keep the noise in mind too, the default Intel cooler isn't very quiet, and different cases generate different levels of noise. Every dB would make a difference in a room full of computers.