New Video Card

[woodchuckr]

I'm looking into getting a new video card Geforce GTS 250 and it comes in two different memory configurations, 512 vs 1024 MB. I know the games use the extra memory to improve their frame rate, but does the extra memory buy you anything in encoding times ? Thanks

[REDWAGON]

I'm looking into getting a new video card Geforce GTS 250 and it comes in two different memory configurations, 512 vs 1024 MB. I know the games use the extra memory to improve their frame rate, but does the extra memory buy you anything in encoding times ? Thanks

 

Go for the 1024 (1GB) card !!!

 

Frank...

[ggrussell]

I was thinking the same. Why buy something that is over kill? Does the extra memory help Video encoding? I've never installed a PC game. The extra memory also means extra bucks. I'm considering upgrading soon, too.

[REDWAGON]

I was thinking the same. Why buy something that is over kill? Does the extra memory help Video encoding? I've never installed a PC game. The extra memory also means extra bucks. I'm considering upgrading soon, too.

 

HI Gary. Nice to see you posting And just remember that if you're running a 32bit OS, don't install more than 3GB as the OS will not see more than that anyway. And even if you're running a 64bit OS, 4GB is plenty for most all video work impo. Of course unless you're some big time gamer !!

 

Frank...

[sknis]

That card is CUDA capable. It will encode very quickly as a Blu-ray or mpeg2 HD output from Video Wave.

 

Cost difference is about $10-20; go for the 1G.

[NoriNYC]

I don't think there's much advantage in going with 1G if encoding is the only concern. Considering today's games, however, I would definitely go with 1G between the two. The cost difference is very minor as Skins mentioned.

[Big_Dave]

You might be able to get a little more out of your PC by increasing your memory. If you should decide to increase your memory to 4 gb, then you'll see 3.5 at best with a 32 bit OS. see how your system runs with the new card before increasing memory.

 

Hint: When you change out your power supply, unplug your PC, unbolt the old power supply and move it aside. Do not disconnect any cables yet. Then bolt in the new power supply and swap cables on a one for one basis.

[ggrussell]

Cost difference is about $10-20; go for the 1G.

Would seem that way unless you're paying almost 10% sales tax.

[Big_Dave]

Look for good memory bandwidth. Look here for ATI and here for NVIDIA. Most if not all of the top graphic cards require a power supply of at least 550 watts. And, if you have a small cabinet you might run into air circulation issues and heat problems. Some of these cards will chew up over 300 watts. Do some research on the power consumption for the card that you are considering.

 

What is hotter a 60 watt light bulb or a 300 watt light bulb?

[woodchuckr]

I wound up ordering a geforce gts 250 1 GB video card and a 650w power supply to keep it fed :-). I figured the 300 watt supply that was currently in there would not cut it. Also the evga card I ordered looks like it blows the hot air off the card and vents it outside the box. So hopefully the temperature inside case should be ok.

 

Big_Dave,

I looked at the nvida charts at your link and the problem is I don't know what is good enough. The gts looks pretty good compared to the cards below it, but not as good as the cards above it. Is 70 GBps fast enough ? How about the fact that the 250 has a faster clock speed, but smaller memory interface ? The problem is most review sites are concentrating on frame rates of games and not encoding times (I don't do games, I die too fast :-))

PS, you an sr-71 fan ? My nephew and I did a term paper on that, what a neat plane

 

 

[Big_Dave]

Woodchucker,

 

What are your expectations for processing video? How long are your videos? SD or HD? Also, what are your system specifications? Are you doing video work as a profession?

 

The card that you selected is a middle-upper card. It's very good.

 

 

[woodchuckr]

Big_Dave,

My computer is an Asus P5GC-mx1333, with the onboard intel 950 graphics, Intel E7500 Dual Core processor (2.93 Ghz), 2 Gig of Ram, XP Service Pack 3 and Creator 2010 Pro. I'm using the hardware encoding selection since it is faster then software on my system. Soon to be an owner of a geforce gts 250.

I do a mix of SD and HD videos. The SD are usually programs recorded off the air. The HD's are from a canon camcorder and are 60 minutes in length. I'm not a professional (I just have too much time on my hands :-)

I would like to encode a 60 minute HD video in 30 minutes, but I would settle for being able to do it in 120 minutes, which is far better than the 300 minutes it is taking right now :-)