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"Graphics card advice"

Morning guys,

I've been looking into the possibility of upgrading the graphics card in my PC. My motherboard is an aging Gigabyte 945gcm-s2l and I am currently running an NVDIA GeFORCE 6600 256MB DDR2 graphics card. My board can take a maximum of 4GB DDR2 RAM (already installed and it's OCZ gaming RAM which I believe is as good as my board will take) but only 3GB of it is useable as apparently the 'missing' GB is being used by my current graphics card. It's not a OS issue it's not showing in the BIOS and I use a 64bit OS which can handle this anyway. Would a more powerful graphics card improve my systems performance or would it be a waste of money? I don't play games on my PC but I do use it for HD video editing. My processor is actually not all that bad it's an Intel Core 2 Extreme x6800 (overclocked to 3.5Ghz with cooling modified) and my system is generally pretty fast and stable. It's just with video editing every bit of power counts. I know that I should really build/buy a new PC but apart from the money, I have that much stuff on this one that it would it take me forever to sort it all out again and I really don't have the time at the moment.

I am using a Cooler Master Elite gaming tower which is powered by a 350W PSU BTW.

Be grateful for any suggestions.

pete_21 wrote:
Any suggestions guys?

Try here pete ... loads of info regarding your needs:

VideoGuys

Still would go with a GTX560Ti though

Just done a bit more research into video editing machines and can't seem to find any using Quadro/Firepro cards. They generally seem to use the type was originally looking at (550ti etc.), in theory the Quadro/Firepro cards seem well suited to my needs but using PC Specialist system builder you cannot even select these cards for video editing machines. Any suggestions guys?

Cheers for the heads up Garin, just had a quick look at those cards, this one seems to be the model most retailers have instock (at the sort of money I was looking at spending anyway). I think you may well be right, they do seem to be tailored more to my needs than other cards I have previously considered (low system usage, powerful rendering capabilites). Will do a bit more homework on them but I'm seriously interested, thanks again.

Under normal circumstances, you wouldnt really bother with Nvidia at that price point. ATI offers better price/performance ratio. Not sure how that pans out on video encoding though.

Since you have no interest in gaming, you might be better looking at some of the Quadro (Nvidia) & FirePro (ATI) cards. They are usually aimed at the CAD/3D modelling market but maybe they are better suited to what you're doing.

Thanks for the advice guys, yeah I reckon the PSU should probably be alright. I've been looking into the graphics cards in a bit more detail and the models I have narrowed my choices down to (GTX 550ti, GTX 460) are not all that expensive and would appear to benefit my set up. CUDA encoding looks interesting, if it works anything like NVDIA claim then an upgrade to the MX version of my video editing suite would be a serious consideration. As previously mentioned, some people have experienced a drop in quality on the finished project but I would like to try this for myself (as others say it does not). Also my current set up can play full HD video fine but it does load my CPU, if a more powerful dedicated graphics card would lessen the load on my CPU in anyway then it would make clips easier to work on. I understand that I'm trying to polish a t**d (as Alan Sugar would say) to a degree and really need to upgrade my board, processor and RAM but I think this upgrade could be worth trying.

pete_21 wrote:
Suppose if I did upgrade the graphics card & PSU it would mean that I could change the board, processor & RAM later in the year when I will (hopefully) have the money and time to properly sort my system out. Surely those components would need to be changed to run something like an i7 powered system anyway?, especially as it will be used for HD video editing.

As far as the graphics card is concerned, as long as it has a PCI-E interface, it'll fit in a newer motherboard. And it looks like you have a bigger PSU than you thought as well, so maybe doesnt need upgrading either.

pete_21 wrote:
PSU is actually a 500W passive unit

As far as I remember the 'passive' refers to the fact that it is 'fanless' and relies on heat-sinks for cooling. Is it fanless?

Regarding the 460 GTX ... yes (and likewise the 560 GTX). Power supply ok and its length is within those quoted for your case :¬)

Ahhh, it's all making just that bit more sense now. Also I have just found the box and instructions for my Cooler Master tower and it appears that my PSU is actually a 500W passive unit (I was going by the small writing on the side of the unit itself which seems to state 360W?). Take it that I could go for a better card (460 or something) as it is?

Thanks for your perseverance with a total graphics card noob!

pete_21 wrote:
It's just that I don't want to install components which are basically designed for gaming when the system is never going to be used for that.

Point taken pete, but look at these 'purpose-built' HD Editing PC's, especially at the GFX ... now compare them to what you have and what you might want in the future....just a guide and look at the prices ... one of these would be cheaper than your proposed upgrade :¬)

HD Editing PCs

Cheers for that link DL, will have a proper look through that over the weekend. That's really helpful as I have no real idea what the difference between the different cards is. Don't mind buying a more powerful card & 'future proofing' myself for a few years, nor do I mind upgrading the PSU. It's just that I don't want to install components which are basically designed for gaming when the system is never going to be used for that.

@ Garin The possibilty that I may already be close to 'hitting a wall' regarding power consumption was not something that I had previously considered, thanks for pointing that out. Apart from the overclocked CPU I am running, modified cooling (extra oversized intake/exhaust fans & an upgraded CPU fan which looks like it was taken from under the bonnet of a pimped up Subaru!) I also have 2 x HDD, 1 DVD-RW drive, 1 X BD-R drive as well as the usual graphics & sound card etc. You may well be right, by adding a more powerful graphics card it could well be a step too far for my slightly weedy PSU? I did have one of those digital power consumption monitors supplied by my electricity provider, can't remember if I still have it though. Suppose that would give me some idea but TBH I suspect that power wise I'm probably pushing my luck a little bit as it is.

Suppose if I did upgrade the graphics card & PSU it would mean that I could change the board, processor & RAM later in the year when I will (hopefully) have the money and time to properly sort my system out. Surely those components would need to be changed to run something like an i7 powered system anyway?, especially as it will be used for HD video editing.

Thanks again guys.