Which GPU for a photo and video editing computer?

[McLovin]

Hey guys,

I am planning to build a computer primarily for photo, video, and 3D editing. I am planning to get a the Intel E8400 processor with the 750i mobo.
NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Bundle Deal Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 & EVGA 750I SLI Ftw Motherboard -UNASSEMBLED - E8400-750iFTW In Canada.

Which graphics card would be my best bet for the money. Basically, I want the lowest cost graphics card that will still do the job smoothly. It doesn't need to run any games, just as long as photo, video, and 3D editing is smooth.

I don't have any preferences between Radeon or Nvidia, so whichever one you guys recommend is fine.

 

[jasonalwaysready]

Hey guys,

I am planning to build a computer primarily for photo, video, and 3D editing. I am planning to get a the Intel E8400 processor with the 750i mobo.
NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Bundle Deal Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 & EVGA 750I SLI Ftw Motherboard -UNASSEMBLED - E8400-750iFTW In Canada.

Which graphics card would be my best bet for the money. Basically, I want the lowest cost graphics card that will still do the job smoothly. It doesn't need to run any games, just as long as photo, video, and 3D editing is smooth.

I don't have any preferences between Radeon or Nvidia, so whichever one you guys recommend is fine.

photo and 3d editing isn't video intensive as far as i know. so i wouldnt get the sli motherboard. unless you are working on ridiculously large screen sizes, its typically better to get just one nice gpu. but since what youre doing is mainly cpu bound, id recommend cheapen your motherboard, upgrade to the best cpu you can afford, and get a 9600 gt.

id say a q6600
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

with an asus p5k
Newegg.com - ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

and one of these 9600 gts
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

i have about the same setup and its quite nice. also the quad core will really cut down on those editings tasks...

edit: didnt see it was for canada, newegg is out, but i think id still recommend the same parts...

 

[NightSurge]

You may be fine with just a workstation type graphics card. Any Geforce FX series would probably be plenty for just graphics and video editing. But either way, the 9600GT is a great buy. You could also get by with the 8800GSO 384mb video card which is cheaper and will give you all the performance you would need for your setup.

As far as the processor, the quad core would be a good idea if it was a higher end quad core or if you plan to overclock the q6600 quite a bit. Otherwise, stick with the E8400 as it will render anything faster than the Q6600 and is usually a tad cheaper than the Q6600.

 

[jasonalwaysready]

take a look here:
Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9300 processor - The Tech Report - Page 9

its reviewing the q9300 but it has charts for tons of cpus and compares them when doing the types of tasks youre looking at doing.

the q6600 did good, but not as well as the e8400 in a lot of cases... and with a better price... looks like a good choise. but where a program takes advantage of the 4 cores, it blows the 2 cores away.