do video cards...

[devil_warrior]

do video cards really matter if i am building a pc purely for video editing?

i ask this mainly because i want to build one purely for video editing no games at all and wonder if a normal mid range card (6800gs) will be more then enough or upgrade to a higher set (7800 and beyond)

 

[Camden]

It will make them look better and more accurate for sure in the detail. I'd say yes, but the loading and editing of large video files are based more on ram. Regardless, I see no reason why a 6800 wouldn't be able to do the trick.

 

[uzi9mm]

The CPU is more important than the video card in video editing. A good amount of ram would be nice..... But if you have some money left over, I would invest into some ram and some HD's to throw in a raid.

So I would just get a decent card, like the 6800GS.. the only time you would really need a good video card is if you want to apply realtime effects that are complex and you want to see the results without rendering. Or if you want to dabble in 3-D special effects in AfterEffects.

 

[turtile]

Its all CPU power. Dual core working the best.

A seperate card is all you need.

 

[wedge_00]

Most video cards don't provide any acceleration with video editing or performance like that, i think there are specialty cards that do... But they are really expensive. The most important parts are CPU, (Intel have the leg up on AMD in this department of Video. Dual Core goes a lot quicker) RAM (The more the better to help and execute, video) HARD DRIVES (Need lots and lots of space, make sure the RPMS are high so data can transfer quick.)Look at SATA II hard drives if you got the connectors.

 

[BiGyLiLuPdAmIdL]

Don't they ahve special cards for videoediting? I think they are called Quadro's.

 

[uzi9mm]

Don't they ahve special cards for videoediting? I think they are called Quadro's.

Those only help the extreme OpenGL based effects on editing programs.. Those cards will allow you to preview the effects at a higher framerate than what other cards will allow before rendering...

And it might shave off some time on the render depending on how much OpenGL effects you use....

 

[ricanflow]

the most important factors are what were said, cpu and ram, especially dual-core. and the quadro series of video cards can help cut down render times, but yes they are veryyyy expensive. stick with the 6800, and invest in more ram and cpu

 

[aliasaid]

i almost feel ashamed to be recommending intel, but in your case, get a good dual-core intel processor.

 

[devil_warrior]

dont feel ashamed intel are better at video editing apprently