Which video card for editing/converting AVCHD? [Archive] - High Def Forum - Your High Definition Community & High Definition Resource

djbauda

08-09-2009, 03:19 PM

Hello. I'm building a new computer for general home use and for editing, converting and watching AVCHD home clips as well as other HD clips. I will most likely use Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 (not the professional version) for editing. I don't play any games. I need help deciding which video card to get. I've read a lot in this forum and from what I understand, I should get a card that can do the decoding rather than relying on the CPU. Which card should I get though? An nvidia GTX 260 or an ATI HD? If ATI, which one? I'd like to spend under $150.

Here is the system that I'm planning on building. Feel free to provide comments on this as well.

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK
system drive - Seagate ST3500631NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive
2 drives in raid 0 for files, clips, editing, etc (nightly backup to separate drive) - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb /s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler
Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound

Thanks for any advice. I appreciate it!

lsilvest

08-09-2009, 07:46 PM

I have 3 cards presently that I've used to record, play and edit OTA HD (Mpeg2) and all have worked fine using Nero Vision. An ATI 2600XT (512MB), GEForce 8600GT (256MB), and ATI 3870 (512MB). As you can see, none are close to high-end (I'm not a gamer so I don't need the top of the line). The only real difference I noted was that the 3870 seemed to speed things up a bit. The files I work with range from 5 to 8 GB each and I often have 3 loaded to make DVDs. Haven't tried Blu-ray, but have no reason to believe any of my present systems can't handle it.

I'm running XP Pro SP3 w/4 GB Ram. CPU's used with the above cards ranged from AMD X2 4200 to 6000.

Bottom line: you don't need to get anywhere near $150.00 unless you need something to play intensive games. If you want to compare cards (use the ones I listed as reference), I suggest Tom's Hardware video card comparison charts. Shows which are better for certain uses (that's why I bought the 3870 - rated better for video than some of the 4XXX series).

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	High Def Forum - Your High Definition Community & High Definition Resource > General Chit Chat > Computers/HTPCs > Which video card for editing/converting AVCHD? PDA Which video card for editing/converting AVCHD? djbauda 08-09-2009, 03:19 PM Hello. I'm building a new computer for general home use and for editing, converting and watching AVCHD home clips as well as other HD clips. I will most likely use Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 (not the professional version) for editing. I don't play any games. I need help deciding which video card to get. I've read a lot in this forum and from what I understand, I should get a card that can do the decoding rather than relying on the CPU. Which card should I get though? An nvidia GTX 260 or an ATI HD? If ATI, which one? I'd like to spend under $150. Here is the system that I'm planning on building. Feel free to provide comments on this as well. COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK system drive - Seagate ST3500631NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive 2 drives in raid 0 for files, clips, editing, etc (nightly backup to separate drive) - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb /s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound Thanks for any advice. I appreciate it! lsilvest 08-09-2009, 07:46 PM I have 3 cards presently that I've used to record, play and edit OTA HD (Mpeg2) and all have worked fine using Nero Vision. An ATI 2600XT (512MB), GEForce 8600GT (256MB), and ATI 3870 (512MB). As you can see, none are close to high-end (I'm not a gamer so I don't need the top of the line). The only real difference I noted was that the 3870 seemed to speed things up a bit. The files I work with range from 5 to 8 GB each and I often have 3 loaded to make DVDs. Haven't tried Blu-ray, but have no reason to believe any of my present systems can't handle it. I'm running XP Pro SP3 w/4 GB Ram. CPU's used with the above cards ranged from AMD X2 4200 to 6000. Bottom line: you don't need to get anywhere near $150.00 unless you need something to play intensive games. If you want to compare cards (use the ones I listed as reference), I suggest Tom's Hardware video card comparison charts. Shows which are better for certain uses (that's why I bought the 3870 - rated better for video than some of the 4XXX series).