Video Card for Sony Vegas 10 Is Geoforce 560 sufficient or Overkill

[David Ruhland]

I am in the process of a new build with Windows 7 Pro x64, 17 2600 processor 8gb Ram and am wondering if this video card is sufficient, overkill or what? I am so confused by this CUDA, GUDA, etc.. I do have a 650 watt Power Supply

Please tell me your thoughts and suggestions on this card. I am using Sony Vegas 8 and Sony Vegas 10. This is within my bidget, but if there is a better, less expensive card I am all for it!

GIGABYTE GV-N56GOC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 OC Edition Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), 2x 2x DVI-I, 1x Mini-HDMI, DirectX 11, Dual-Slot, SLI Ready, Overclocked at TigerDirect.com

[Adam Stanislav]

At just a quick glance I have found three reasons why I would not buy the card, but that does not mean you should not.

First, I have had so much bad experience with TigerDirect that I would not want anything from them even if they offered it to me for free. I once bought a motherboard and a microprocessor from them. They lied they were both in stock. While they shipped the motherboard promptly, they took three months to ship the microprocessor!

Second, it takes up two slots. Why would I want to limit what other boards I can add to my computer? Especially when the second slot is not active, and is only taken because the card is two thick due to its big fans.

Third, it says it uses mini HDMI. So you will either need an adapter or a special cable with mini HDMI on one end and HDMI on the other, and those cables are more difficult to find that straight HDMI cables. Well, maybe not those anymore, but if you need a mini on both ends (for example when saving the output of your computer video card to a video with the nanoFlash), you will have a serious trouble finding your cable.

Anyway, those are my personal reasons. They may not matter to you, but at least consider them.

[David Ruhland]

Adam...Thank you for your advice...I am a little torqes as I placed a 1200 dollar order and paid 2 day shipping only to have 2 sata cables and a media card reader shipped thus far. Heck for 200 more I could have had a dell built for me. (im still thinking about canceling my order and getting the Dell)

Could you please recommend a card for me. I never had a problem in the past with Tiger, this is the first time i ordered everything from them.

Do you have an alternative source to order from? New Egg? or should i just have it built by Dell?

Thanks.....

[Steve Rusk]

I've had several purchases thru Newegg and never had a problem. The worst thing they ever did was take 3 days to ship an item for which I had paid the rapid ship fee, they redunded the fee the day they shipped the part. I consider them the B&H of the computer world.

[Adam Stanislav]

I buy from Newegg and Amazon. Never any problem with either. When I was building my current computer, I got the motherboard from Newegg, the microprocessor from Amazon. When I turned the system on, nothing happened. I knew it was either the motherboard or the microprocessor. And since I had bought each from a different company, I could just return both for replacement.

And when I did, Amazon told me to put it in the package. The next day UPS knocked on my door with a label. Newegg only gave me an image of the label, which I had to print myself, but at least was able to give that to the UPS guy, too. Amazon sent the replacement immediately, not waiting for the return. Newegg waited to receive the motherboard first, then sent the replacement in several days.

Ever since then I favor Amazon, but still also shop at Newegg. But never at TigerDirect.

As for my video card, I searched Newegg for nVidia cards. All but two required two slots, so I picked the cheaper of the two and have been happy with it ever since.

Also, every time I have built a computer in this century, I have always started by visiting My Super PC - Build A Computer - Build A PC - How To Build Your Own Affordable, Quality, Fast Computer!! Free Online Guide To Make Computer Building Easy. He has some good advice, though I always seek a bit more power and memory, since his advice is for general computing, not for video editing.

[Jerry Amende]

If I were in the market for a Video Card, I'd wait a bit before I shelled out over $100. Vegas 11 is supposed to be out in a few days and is supposed to make great use of Video Card hardware processing.

Of course, the public does not yet know which cards take full advantage of these features (except there is a YouTube video of a Vegas 11 demo with an NVIDIA 5000 ($1700)) Sneak Peek of Sony Vegas Pro v11 - NVIDIA demonstration at IBC 2011 - YouTube

In order words, I'd wait until first adopters report on how less expensive cards work.

...Jerry

[David Ruhland]

Adam...

Thanks for that great link!

Jerry....I have always been perplexed when it comes to video cards. Id love to get one for under 100 bucks...but not sure what to get....I keep hearing Niveda 460 or 560. I just want to do video editing and some photography editing.

[Jeff Harper]

Not to be negative David, but this was not the best time to build, the new Intel chips are coming out very soon, and they promise to be very nice. I bought an expensive 6 core chip a month ago, and found out the day after I installed it the new chips are coming out in November.

What's ironic is the older processors and the new ones generally run the same prices, so by waiting, you can get the newest technology at a similar price.

While it is also true that Vegas 11 is about to be released, and the video cards that will help might be too expensive, but if it were me I would still want to wait to know what to buy so that I can at least have a choice.

Since you've already ordered, you'll be fine, I'm sure. But if you could wait I sure would.

[Jeff Harper]

First what Jerry says if true, I would wait too, just to be safe.

However, that taken in consideration, the card you ordered is fine otherwise. I don't know about Gigabyte video cards, I use and stick with EVGA, but on paper your card would be exactly the type I would order.

It has dual monitor support, which I need, and most that do dual monitors are thicker. I have one and it does not interfere with any second slot on my board. The PCIe slot for video card on most motherboards are positioned far enough from the other slots it's not an issue.

Secondly it uses two DVI connectors AND HDMI, so you will not need an adapter to use it. The HDMI is a plus, not a minus.

The price of the card is about what you will spend for any card with dual monitor support, at the least. If you don't need dual monitor support, than you can get a sub $100 card on sale.

Oh, and I have dealt with Tiger Direct, and they are fine. Tiger Direct may not be Newegg, but they are nevertheless very large and for the most part very reputable. I find Tiger Direct to be like Adorama, and Newegg to be like B&H. Newegg and B&H are the kings, for sure, but the other two are usually great, but they may have issues from time to time, like Adam had, but those incidents are the exception to the rule, I think.

[Jerry Amende]

David,

The point I was trying to make is... Vegas 10 only uses advanced video card features to a limited degree (i.e. you might get some rendering speed improvement using the Sony AVC encoder). Other than that, a "plain Jane" video card works fine with Vegas 10. I'd get one that supports dual monitors (I think most do, now) and I've had better luck with NVIDIA than ATI - YMMV.

However, Vegas 11 promises improved timeline performance using the GPU acceleration of higher end cards. Will the Geoforce 560 offer significant timeline improvement? Don't know yet. That's why I'd wait a few weeks 'til Vegas 11 is out - then re-ask the question.

...Jerry

[David Ruhland]

Thank you guys. I sincerely appreciate it. When laying out 1200 for a new build its hard to NOT question yourself if you made the right choice.

I tried to cancel my order at Tiger Direct, but they said its on the truck to be completely shipped on Monday. I was gonna just pay 200 more and get a Dell that was already built, but I dont like all that extra crap that comes on a Dell for software...Trial this, trial that! and the processor was a i7-2600 locked. I have never overclocked, dont reallly know what it means, but may mess with it someday, so i wanted the unlocked version.

I did check Newegg and found thier prices to be a little bit cheaper, so I called Tiger Direct and they adjusted my invoice to the same prices as Newegg.

I find the Tiger direct site to be a little easier to search.

I do like the comparisons of Newegg/BH and Tiger/Adorama

Waiting is a great idea, however I always seem to be behind the 8 ball on stuff like that, years ago I always paid too much for things I MIGHT NEED in the future..I have gotten smarter and I buy/build for what I need. I dont see Vegas 11 in my very future, Heck I am still trying to figure out my first version Sony Vegas8, then I upgraded to 10..(i dont remember why i upgraded to 10, i just did)

Well time to sit back, relax, and start reading my online MOBO manual and waiting for UPS to get here.

I sure like this Forum.

Adam...Ill be up in your area in the next two weeks....Coffee?

[Ian Stark]

I agree with 'wait until Vegas 11' for the gpu and 'wait until the new Intels' for the cpu (if you can).

Regardless of the new gpu features, cpu grunt is what Vegas wants most so my money would be going in that direction primarily. I am just about to spec up a replacement to my 5 year old quadcore system and will certainly be making the cpu the primary consideration (hexacore sounds like fun!).

Something else you might want to think about before you get a budget graphics card is what other things you want to do with your pc. You might be running other apps that would benefit from a better gpu. I just read an interesting article which said that for gaming, for example, you will do better getting a more modest cpu and investing more in a better gpu if you have to make the choice.

Personally, I'm about to spend more money than I have available or should sensibly lay out, so I can get high end everything! I do make a living out of this, so speed of everything is a very important consideration. I work on the basis that if I save just ten minutes a day through faster renders, app loading times etc, that's equivalent to around 42 hours a year. My day rate is between £500 and £1000 (depending on the client and their expectations/wallet). That equates to potentially over £1000 of savings in year one which is a good return as far as I'm concerned and worth the initial extra investment. Plus I like fast stuff.

There is clearly a point of diminishing return in both cpu and gpu and as you go up the ladder you might find yourself only enjoying a marginal improvement by getting the next model up.

[Leslie Wand]

as ian said:

'There is clearly a point of diminishing return in both cpu and gpu and as you go up the ladder you might find yourself only enjoying a marginal improvement by getting the next model up. '

very well put - UNLESS there's a clearly measurable ($) improvement between, say the mid unit compared to the expensive model, eg. i7 950 vs 965, in your workflow, then spending the extra might give you bragging rights, but certainly isn't going to pay for itself business-wise.

[Randall Leong]

For those of you who recommend the OP to "wait for the new Intels":

The new CPUs will not be all that much of an improvement over the current i7-2600(K), especially in terms of "bang for the buck". The least-expensive worthwhile CPU in the LGA 2011 line will be priced very close to $600 - twice as much as the current LGA 1155 i7-2600(K). And new LGA 2011 motherboards will be priced at $300 and up on initial release. Sure, there will be a $300 LGA 2011 CPU - but it will be locked (or "limited unlocked"), and its performance is no faster than a slightly overclocked i7-2600K even at maximum "overclock". That's because the $300 LGA 2011 CPU in question, the i7-3820, has only four physical cores - and because Sandy Bridge-E is significantly less efficient (power-wise) and slightly slower (in terms of performance per MHz) than the LGA 1155 CPUs, the i7-3820 needs to run at 3.6 GHz just to equal the performance of an i7-2600(K) at 3.4 GHz.

[Adam Stanislav]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

It has dual monitor support, which I need, and most that do dual monitors are thicker.

Mine has dual monitor support. It actually has three connectors, but I have only ever used two of them. One is DVI, one HDMI. The third one is a display port connector. I have not used it because I have no device with that connector. The card costs less than $80. You can see it here: Newegg.com - ZOTAC ZT-40602-10L GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card. I got it a year ago and have been very happy with it. I even watch 3D Blu-rays on my computer in full color 3D, full 1080p, with an ASUS 3D 120 Hz monitor plugged to the DVI port.

I also have all the NVIDIA developer tools, including all the sample CUDA and OpenCL software, all of which runs without a glitch on my card.