Best video card for video editing in Win 7

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SirRob

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Jun 15, 2003
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The computer will be used exclusively for video editing and video playback in Windows 7. I want the best, smooth visual experience (Aero etc.) possible, but this computer will not be used for gaming.

I am looking for recommendations on video cards with the following:

-At least 2 DVI outpits (dual LCD displays)
-TV-out would be nice, but is not critical (S-video or component)
-Nearly silent without getting too hot
-Hardware HD decoder
-Low cost

Thanks for the help!
 
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T2k

Golden Member
Feb 24, 2004
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It does not work like that when it comes to professional video editing - you should check out your NLE's spec page for supported cards/requirements then pick the one that fits your wallet.
 
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SirRob

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Here are the requirements:
-DirectX ® 9 or 10 compatible
-256 MB
-Pixelshader 2 required, Intel GMA integrated graphics not supported
-ATI Radeon 9600+ or NVIDIA GeForce 6 or higher recommended

Any recommendations?
 
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SirRob

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I understand that those requirements are pretty low. I am assuming that the over-all experience for Windows 7 may be more demanding, but let me know what you think would be sufficient for both. Thanks!
 
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T2k

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Feb 24, 2004
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If you want to go for the full Windows 7 mile then you have to go ATI. Prices start around $100 (5670, single-slot card, 75W max) but I'd suggest to get at least a 5750 for ~$140 (dual-slot). Nvidia still does not have any DX11 card and unless you want to spend $500 in March-April on their upcoming first, high-end DX11 card then Nvidia won't be a choice until the Summer when their first anything mainstream (sub-$300) DX11 parts are expected.
I personally tested Canopus aka Grass Valley and Avid with 48xx and 58xx cards, they worked fine - which NLE we're talking about here?
 
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Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
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A 4650 or so would be a great idea. Save the money not wasted on a higher end card towards ram/ssd/whatever.
 
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T2k

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Feb 24, 2004
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Arkaign said:
A 4650 or so would be a great idea. Save the money not wasted on a higher end card towards ram/ssd/whatever.
Click to expand...

There's very little price difference between a sub-$100 5670 and its older versions like 4650 etc but he'd get a brand new architecture and very low power draw (75W max) - as a matter of fact it's the only DX11 card you don't even need power cable for... :)
 
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SirRob

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Jun 15, 2003
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Thanks for the options. I will mostly be using Pinnacle Studio and Sony Vegas, because I really like to have the ability to totally control the menus.
 
Arkaign

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
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T2k said:
There's very little price difference between a sub-$100 5670 and its older versions like 4650 etc but he'd get a brand new architecture and very low power draw (75W max) - as a matter of fact it's the only DX11 card you don't even need power cable for... :)
Click to expand...

That's a nice card, but I don't think DX11 has any features related to video editing (AFAIK). Even DX10 doesn't do anything related to that.

It couldn't hurt, but I'm not sure it's going to do anything extra for him.
 
Cogman

Cogman

Lifer
Sep 19, 2000
10,286
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Hotkeys and video cards have nothing in common (unless the video card sets up its own hotkeys, which would be retarded beyond belief.)

You should literally go for the cheapest last/current gen video card you can find. Video editing loves a good CPU over a good video card. Also, lots of system (not video) memory helps.
 
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SirRob

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Jun 15, 2003
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ATI's software has hotkey functionality built into it. nVidia's used to and I am checking to see if it does again in Windows 7. The idea is that you can just hit a few keys and enable and disable displays to the configuration that you like. I will be using 2 LCD monitors most of the time, but I may want to display to a TV some of the time. Instead of opening the software, finding the right settings, making the changes, applying them, and then closing the software, I could simply hit a three key command and have all of that done for me instantly. Trust me, it is a lot easier for my wife...
 
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SirRob

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Jun 15, 2003
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I am planning on getting a core i7 920 with at least 6 gigs of RAM. Regarding the video card, are you saying that I should pay a little extra for the Radeon HD 5670 over a GeForce 9500 GT or Radeon HD 4650? The difference is around $40 to $60. Also, I cannot find ANY Radeon 5xxx cards with S-video, component, or even composite out. I guess they think that HDMI should replace the older standards. Someday...
 
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T2k

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Feb 24, 2004
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Arkaign said:
That's a nice card, but I don't think DX11 has any features related to video editing (AFAIK). Even DX10 doesn't do anything related to that.

It couldn't hurt, but I'm not sure it's going to do anything extra for him.
Click to expand...

He said he wants to take advantage of the full W7 pack - that means DX11 ergo ATI 5xxx-series.
 
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T2k

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Feb 24, 2004
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Cogman said:
Hotkeys and video cards have nothing in common (unless the video card sets up its own hotkeys, which would be retarded beyond belief.)

You should literally go for the cheapest last/current gen video card you can find. Video editing loves a good CPU over a good video card. Also, lots of system (not video) memory helps.
Click to expand...

Except it's not true in many cases - more and more NLE will be able to use GPU for fx acceleration, some even for encoding.

ATI Stream Encoder Plug-In for Premiere Pro CS4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sGiAV684dQ
 
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T2k

Golden Member
Feb 24, 2004
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SirRob said:
I am planning on getting a core i7 920 with at least 6 gigs of RAM. Regarding the video card, are you saying that I should pay a little extra for the Radeon HD 5670 over a GeForce 9500 GT or Radeon HD 4650? The difference is around $40 to $60. Also, I cannot find ANY Radeon 5xxx cards with S-video, component, or even composite out. I guess they think that HDMI should replace the older standards. Someday...
Click to expand...

They all have them but now it comes from some adapter (eg DVI-YPrPb component.) 5670 is easily faster than 4650 (think of encoding, acceleration etc) for a negligible difference.
 
Cogman

Cogman

Lifer
Sep 19, 2000
10,286
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T2k said:
Except it's not true in many cases - more and more NLE will be able to use GPU for fx acceleration, some even for encoding.

ATI Stream Encoder Plug-In for Premiere Pro CS4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sGiAV684dQ
Click to expand...
Seriously? Have you SEEN the quality of GPU encoded videos vs CPU encoded videos? Its especially funny that you point to AMDs flaming pile of crap as an example of a GPU video encoding. Even though it is using the more advanced H.264 encoding standard AMDs Stream encoder does WORSE then the older MPEG-4 ASP standard encoders (xVid, DivX). AMD has completely dropped their stream programming language. Go look at comparisons between x264 and ANY video card encoder, the difference is night and day.

OpenCL is nowhere near being adopted by major cooperation, and nVidias CUDA is, well, nVidia's. Most consumer software publishers don't like the idea of making a plugin or piece of software that only works for one video card and not others.

In the future, video cards may play more of a major role in video processing plugins, ect. That isn't today, and won't be tomorrow. Expect at LEAST 2-3 years before we start seeing GPGPU processing become mainstream (if it ever does become main stream).

For the here and now, my recommendation stands. You'll be hard pressed to find the video card being used for much more then video decoding (even low level cards do that now-a-days), video output, and 3d rendering (not really a great boon for video editing).
 
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T2k

Golden Member
Feb 24, 2004
1,665
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Cogman said:
Seriously? Have you SEEN the quality of GPU encoded videos vs CPU encoded videos? Its especially funny that you point to AMDs flaming pile of crap as an example of a GPU video encoding. Even though it is using the more advanced H.264 encoding standard AMDs Stream encoder does WORSE then the older MPEG-4 ASP standard encoders (xVid, DivX). AMD has completely dropped their stream programming language. Go look at comparisons between x264 and ANY video card encoder, the difference is night and day.

OpenCL is nowhere near being adopted by major cooperation, and nVidias CUDA is, well, nVidia's. Most consumer software publishers don't like the idea of making a plugin or piece of software that only works for one video card and not others.

In the future, video cards may play more of a major role in video processing plugins, ect. That isn't today, and won't be tomorrow. Expect at LEAST 2-3 years before we start seeing GPGPU processing become mainstream (if it ever does become main stream).

For the here and now, my recommendation stands. You'll be hard pressed to find the video card being used for much more then video decoding (even low level cards do that now-a-days), video output, and 3d rendering (not really a great boon for video editing).
Click to expand...

From where you stand you have no access to Adobe's site, it seems - they already support GPU-accelerated features in several apps incl. Premiere, Photoshop and they already said they will support OpenCL in CS5.

So from here, where I sit, Sir, your recommendation makes the least sense for the long run, sorry.
 
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SirRob

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Jun 15, 2003
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T2k said:
He said he wants to take advantage of the full W7 pack - that means DX11 ergo ATI 5xxx-series.
Click to expand...

Does that mean that I will have a lesser (non-gaming) experience in Windows 7 if I only have a DX9c or DX10 card?
 
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Voo

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Feb 27, 2009
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SirRob said:
Does that mean that I will have a lesser (non-gaming) experience in Windows 7 if I only have a DX9c or DX10 card?
Click to expand...
At the moment? No, Aero and Co work perfectly fine with almost every card, if you don't game there's absolutly no reason to get a more powerful card because of Win7. You should be a little bit careful with T2K and wreckage.. they aren't known for theír impartiality.


Video encoding is a mixed bag of things, at the moment the quality of GPU encoded videos are noticably worse compared to CPU encoded ones. No idea if that's something they can fix in software, though I think so.
In the long run OpenCL surely isn't a bad idea, but on the other side you could get a really cheap last gen card right now and get a cheap DX11 card in a year or so, if there's any software on the market that benefits from it. Once Nvidia has fermi out of the door, the prices should get a good bit down.
 
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