Video Card or Computer Upgrade for Pro 11? at DVinfo.net

Harry Simpson · October 25th, 2011, 04:52 PM

I've got Pro 11 being delivered tomorrow. Though i know the answer may be both, I wanted to lay it out to the forum here for advice as I know you all are the best advisors.

My present computer
AMD Athlon Dual Core Processor 4050e 2.10 GHz
3 GB memory
Windows 7

My present video card
ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500
PCI Express 2
512 MB DDR2

I'm looking seriously at the video card

Amazon.com: XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 900M 1 GB DDR5 Dual MINIDP Dual DVI PCI-E Video Card HD687AZDFC: Electronics

XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 900M 1 GB DDR5 Dual MINIDP Dual DVI PCI-E Video Card
$206.39

If i only invested in the new video card would that not be the best bang for the buck?

If I can speed up render times and playback smoother in editor that would be great.

Ideas?

TIA
Harry

Randall Leong · October 25th, 2011, 09:18 PM

Harry,

I'd strongly recommend a complete new system at this point: Any GPU upgrades will be held back performance-wise by that very old CPU. And given that it performs slower overall than even some of the early Intel Core 2 Duo and Pentium Dual-Core (C2D-based) systems, you'll find that the HD 6870 would be a waste of money on such an old, slow PC.

On the other hand, getting a new CPU, motherboard and RAM without also upgrading the GPU is also pound-foolish: In that case, the CPU will be held back by the older, slow GPU. In addition, with your current low-end HD 4xxx series, Vegas Pro 10 or 11 cannot use GPU acceleration at all because that mode requires an HD 57xx series or newer in order to even enable that mode at all.

In other words, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Harry Simpson · October 26th, 2011, 07:04 AM

Thanks Randall,

That's why I threw the questions out. That's kinda what I was thinking too. Update both. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Harry

Harry Simpson · October 27th, 2011, 08:47 AM

Ordered a
ASUS P8H61-M CORE I7 motherboard
Intel Core i7-2600 3.4GHz 8MB LGA1155 processor
8GB DDR3 1600MHZ PC3-12800 RAM
ATI RADEON HD6750 1GB PCI-e 2.1 DVI HDMI video card
Will run 64bit Windows 7 Home Premium

Now I hope this config wil let Vegas Pro 11 run faster.....;-)

Harry Simpson · November 3rd, 2011, 09:43 AM

I ended up also ordering a new 1TB hard drive and Windows 7 Professional

It hasn't arrived yet but looking forward to loading Vegas Pro 11 on this puppy.

Randall Leong · November 3rd, 2011, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Simpson

I ended up also ordering a new 1TB hard drive and Windows 7 Professional

It hasn't arrived yet but looking forward to loading Vegas Pro 11 on this puppy.

Harry,

Before you can enable the OpenCL GPU accelerated mode in Vegas 11, you should update the AMD (ATi) Catalyst video driver to version 11.7 or later. Do not use the driver that is on the CD that comes bundled with the card as that driver may be of an earlier version that's known to be incompatible with the OpenCL GPU accelerated mode in Vegas Pro 10 (in fact, for several months Sony Creative Software recommended the Vegas Pro 10 user to use only the 11.2 driver version until 11.7 came out).

Harry Simpson · November 8th, 2011, 03:32 PM

Thanks Randall

Sounds like you may have saved me some trouble there - I'll pay special attention to the driver.

System is still not here but hopefully will get here within a couple of weeks and I can see how everything works.

October 25th, 2011, 04:52 PM	#1
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Video Card or Computer Upgrade for Pro 11? I've got Pro 11 being delivered tomorrow. Though i know the answer may be both, I wanted to lay it out to the forum here for advice as I know you all are the best advisors. My present computer AMD Athlon Dual Core Processor 4050e 2.10 GHz 3 GB memory Windows 7 My present video card ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 PCI Express 2 512 MB DDR2 I'm looking seriously at the video card Amazon.com: XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 900M 1 GB DDR5 Dual MINIDP Dual DVI PCI-E Video Card HD687AZDFC: Electronics Amazon.com: XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 900M 1 GB DDR5 Dual MINIDP Dual DVI PCI-E Video Card HD687AZDFC: Electronics XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 900M 1 GB DDR5 Dual MINIDP Dual DVI PCI-E Video Card $206.39 If i only invested in the new video card would that not be the best bang for the buck? If I can speed up render times and playback smoother in editor that would be great. Ideas? TIA Harry __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom

October 25th, 2011, 09:18 PM	#2
Randall Leong Major Player Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Melrose Park, Illinois, USA Posts: 936	Re: Video Card or Computer Upgrade for Pro 11? Harry, I'd strongly recommend a complete new system at this point: Any GPU upgrades will be held back performance-wise by that very old CPU. And given that it performs slower overall than even some of the early Intel Core 2 Duo and Pentium Dual-Core (C2D-based) systems, you'll find that the HD 6870 would be a waste of money on such an old, slow PC. On the other hand, getting a new CPU, motherboard and RAM without also upgrading the GPU is also pound-foolish: In that case, the CPU will be held back by the older, slow GPU. In addition, with your current low-end HD 4xxx series, Vegas Pro 10 or 11 cannot use GPU acceleration at all because that mode requires an HD 57xx series or newer in order to even enable that mode at all. In other words, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Last edited by Randall Leong; October 25th, 2011 at 10:13 PM.

October 26th, 2011, 07:04 AM	#3
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Re: Video Card or Computer Upgrade for Pro 11? Thanks Randall, That's why I threw the questions out. That's kinda what I was thinking too. Update both. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Harry __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom

October 27th, 2011, 08:47 AM	#4
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Re: Video Card or Computer Upgrade for Pro 11? Ordered a ASUS P8H61-M CORE I7 motherboard Intel Core i7-2600 3.4GHz 8MB LGA1155 processor 8GB DDR3 1600MHZ PC3-12800 RAM ATI RADEON HD6750 1GB PCI-e 2.1 DVI HDMI video card Will run 64bit Windows 7 Home Premium Now I hope this config wil let Vegas Pro 11 run faster.....;-) __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom

November 3rd, 2011, 09:43 AM	#5
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Re: Video Card or Computer Upgrade for Pro 11? I ended up also ordering a new 1TB hard drive and Windows 7 Professional It hasn't arrived yet but looking forward to loading Vegas Pro 11 on this puppy. __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom

November 8th, 2011, 03:32 PM	#7
Harry Simpson Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN. Posts: 581	Re: Video Card or Computer Upgrade for Pro 11? Thanks Randall Sounds like you may have saved me some trouble there - I'll pay special attention to the driver. System is still not here but hopefully will get here within a couple of weeks and I can see how everything works. __________________ Nashville TN using Canon 5D MK3, Canon 550D, RODE SVM mic, 70-200 f2.8L II IS, 24-105 f4L IS, 50 and 85 f/1.8, Vegas Pro 11, Zoom H4n, Blackbird, Lilliput Monitor, Lightroom