Graphics card upgrade

Redriddick

Hi Guys,
Heres the story.I built a htpc about a year and a half ago specs are:
Asus m4a785td- v evo
Amd phenom x4
on board graphics
4gb ram
I have a few home movies to edit and put on dvd,im using power director 9 and it is slow so i reckon its the graphics card.I dont do any gaming on this so my question is what graphics card can i get that wont break the bank and has to be under €100?
Thanks guys!!!!!!!!

nesf

If you're serious about it you'll want to consider upgrading to an i7 and getting some fast hard drives for video editing. Assuming you're doing it a lot of course.

PowerDirector 9 does have GPU acceleration so any decent GPU will give you an increase in performance.

A 6790: http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=45287&agid=1004

Or a 6850 (better): http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39504&agid=1004

Would be good options. Or an Nvidia 550ti or 560.

If it's only a short term thing I'd just pick up the 6790, it's got a HDMI port and such so it should work with any modern flatscreen TV.

ShadowHearth

Op. is it worth it to upgrade pc just for few home videos?

I am not sure, but you need more raw proceeding power for it then gpu power. Alot of ram would help too.


Why don't you ask someone a faivor and edit those movies at friends house? As you are not full time movie editor and as far as i understand you need it only for now.Get your friend a box of Budweiser for 20 quid for using his pc? Save 80 for your next biuld when you will decide to properly upgrade your system?

cherryghost

What case have you got for the HTPC? Some HTPC cases won't allow larger graphics cards to fit in properly.

Dublin_Gunner

I would not be suggesting gaming grade gfx cards for what the OP wants, and he did point out a budget of €100.

OP, I would like to suggest 2 upgrades, which should fit into your budget.

1. Another 4GB ram will make a huge difference, however you have not stated what operating system you use, and if its 64bit or not.

2x4GB Kingston Hyper X 1600Mhz DDR3 €45 use these on their own for 8GB, or even add to what you have for 12GB (if you have 2x2GB sticks).

2. Asus Radeon HD 5450 1GB low profile, silent €35.13

or for an extra €20 HD 6570 gives a fair bit more grunt than the HD 5450. It also has superior video playback performance and quality.

For around €80 - 100, this would give you a huge boost in your video rendering performance, as not only would the extra ram help a hell of a lot, but the HD 5450 can be used for GPU acceleration, or the 6570 for even better performance.

Redriddick

Enderman wrote: »

What case have you got for the HTPC? Some HTPC cases won't allow larger graphics cards to fit in properly.

Hi Enderman,
Its a full atx case so size does'nt matter in this case:DI know what you guys are saying about not being worth it but i think its just hd4200 on board so if i got something cheapish it might be worth while!

nesf

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

I would not be suggesting gaming grade gfx cards for what the OP wants, and he did point out a budget of €100.

I accept that, but he's willing to spend 100 quid and he'll get more performance out of a gaming card than HTPC card and he's looking for performance (for some reason I don't get). Point taken on the memory though but it comes down to whether he shelled out extra for the 64 bit version of the software or not, 9 was divided into a cheaper 32 bit and a more expensive 64 bit version. If he's running 32 bit he won't benefit from the 8 GB.

Dublin_Gunner

nesf wrote: »

I accept that, but he's willing to spend 100 quid and he'll get more performance out of a gaming card than HTPC card and he's looking for performance (for some reason I don't get). Point taken on the memory though but it comes down to whether he shelled out extra for the 64 bit version of the software or not, 9 was divided into a cheaper 32 bit and a more expensive 64 bit version. If he's running 32 bit he won't benefit from the 8 GB.

Hence i asked what version of windows he's running. It might be worth checking out if PowerDirector 9 32bit can be made large address aware too.

Most likely its his CPU that's causing it to be slow for video encoding, and just about any modern graphics card would be faster. Coupled with the extra ram, the best choice for him IMO would be the mid range gfx card and ram upgrade*

*providing he has the software base to make use of it.

nesf

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Hence i asked what version of windows he's running. It might be worth checking out if PowerDirector 9 32bit can be made large address aware too.

Most likely its his CPU that's causing it to be slow for video encoding, and just about any modern graphics card would be faster. Coupled with the extra ram, the best choice for him IMO would be the mid range gfx card and ram upgrade*

*providing he has the software base to make use of it.

I'd agree with that.

I can imagine it's not able to be made LAA to boost sales of 64bit though. I can't find anything on google for making it that way anyway.

Redriddick

Guys thanks for the replies.Its the 32 bit system i have so no good on the ram front.Still undicided what to do???

nesf

Redriddick wrote: »

Guys thanks for the replies.Its the 32 bit system i have so no good on the ram front.Still undicided what to do???

Is it a one off thing or are you planning on doing this a lot and does it really matter if it takes a bit longer to process the video?

Redriddick

Sorry guys im probably wrecking your heads.It will more thean likely not be too often i will be doing this.What happens when i cut out parts of the video it takes a while for the video to catch up again.Dont know if this makes sense?

Dublin_Gunner

Redriddick wrote: »

Guys thanks for the replies.Its the 32 bit system i have so no good on the ram front.Still undicided what to do???

Well definitely a GFX card upgrade will help, and from what I see PD9 supports GPU acceleration.

Basically, try get the fastest card you can for your budget - the faster it is for gaming, the faster it will be for video encoding (in general).

However, I'd have to state that NVIDIA gpu's still seem to have the best compatibility and performance in this regard.

If you're happy spending that much, you may be able to get a GTS 450, or even a GTX 550ti - just look out for deals.

Actually, here's a HD 6770 for €88 + shipping
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/10028574/art/vtx3d/radeon-hd-6770-1-gb-gddr5.html

or Bargain!!!

HD 4850 for €60!

The 6770 is faster though. I can't seem to find any nvidia cards in that sort of price range that would be better than the AMD counterparts.

Redriddick

Thanks a mil Dublin Gunner.Will have a scoot around and see what i can find!!

Dublin_Gunner

Redriddick wrote: »

Sorry guys im probably wrecking your heads.It will more thean likely not be too often i will be doing this.What happens when i cut out parts of the video it takes a while for the video to catch up again.Dont know if this makes sense?

This happens as your CPU is trying to render the scene in the 'preview' pane for you to view.

I assume its in the 'preview' pane that you see this happen?

Having a GPU accelerate the preview should have this happen in real time. (though I'm assuming the software uses GPU acclerated preview - it definitely uses GPU acceleration for rendering the output file)

Have you tried turning on GPU acceleration from the settings menu? You may find that even your onboard gfx may make this a lot quicker without having to shell out for a new card.

Redriddick

Will defo try that tonight and let ye know how i get on.

nesf

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Have you tried turning on GPU acceleration from the settings menu? You may find that even your onboard gfx may make this a lot quicker without having to shell out for a new card.

That'll eat up system memory though won't it?