video card

[Keith]

for photo editing, does it make sense and worth the expense to buy an actual video card? most motherboards already come with integrated video with Radeon or other makers for 256mb for example, do i gain anything besides loss of memory because its integrated on my system? curious in your thoughts and what video card you would recommend if in so that is the case.

thanks in advance!

[Jonathan]

hmm, I was thinking of asking the same thing. Most of my components are up to date but my video card is falling behind in technology. Hope I can tag along:D

[Pete]

Not sure about for photos Keith but the gamers would never have video card they couldn't remove and update.
My understanding is that when its integrated with the motherboard its for cost savings.Im told most 256MB cards are good enough and a 512MB would be a luxury for photos. I guess it boild down to how deep ones pockets are.
Maybe someone with more knowledge can chime in here but the common answer is at least a 256MB on board the card.

[Pete]

Jonathan and Keith this may be worth looking at:
www.pcmech.com/show/video/969/

[Jonathan]

Thanks pete, Seems I might be needing a firewire port as well. Ahh digital:D :p

[Pete]

Thanks pete, Seems I might be needing a firewire port as well. Ahh digital:D :p

It never ends does it? One purchase requires another "something" to make it all work.

[stilllearning]

256mb should suffice for present day monitors. But what about in 3 years or 5 years? As monitors improve in resolution and size then 512 or even 1024 may become the norm.

[Jonathan]

256mb should suffice for present day monitors. But what about in 3 years or 5 years? As monitors improve in resolution and size then 512 or even 1024 may become the norm.

I was thinking the same thing... I am more than likely going to hold off though until my computer screams....must buy video card:D

[Rudi]

Even a 64MB video card will run a 24" monitor, so there is certainly NO NEED to get the latest and greatest *for Photoshop work*. Photoshop is all 2D stuff, requires next to no processing, there is no motion or 3D stuff.

The best card I ever had on a PC (couple of years ago now) was a 32MB Matrox Millennium 550! That thing was awesome and markedly better (and pricier!) than the cheap 64MB offerings from NVidia and ATI at the time. Colours and rendering clarity were markedly better.

So - a video card DOES make a difference, BUT - you don't need any more than 128MB video RAM unless you plan to be using a 30" monitor or larger in the near future. I run my 24" Dell flat panel using a 64MB card (on a PowerMac G5), and in fact I could run two of them side-by-side if I wanted to! The built-in graphics of my MacBook are also more than adequate to run the monitor at full native res.