Couple MPE questions
 

1. Where can I find the list of MPE supported cards? I mean without the hack. 2. If I edit something in Premiere and then build my DVD layout in Encore will Encore use the MPE engine to render the timeline or do I need to render in Premiere?

You will need to export directly from Premiere to take advantage of MPE acceleration. The current list of supported cards is at:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Premiere Pro CS5\cuda_supported_cards.txt

And in 5.0.3 includes the following entries:
GeForce GTX 285
GeForce GTX 470
Quadro CX
Quadro FX 3800
Quadro FX 4800
Quadro FX 5800
Quadro 4000
Quadro 5000
Quadro 5000M

I recommend the GeForce 470 for maximum performance on a budget, but I have a QuadroCX.

great thanks! I just ran the hack on my GTS-250 and I got minor improvments over software. now im thinking with a GTX-480 it would have 4X the cores of my card I should see a real boost!

Not necessarily 4x the performance of the GTS 250. You see, MPE currently does not make full use of the higher-end Fermi architecture GPUs; in fact, you would see nearly the same level of performance improvement as an upgrade to a GTX 480 or GTX 580 by merely switching from a GTS 250 to a GTS 450. Plus, the GTS 250 is hobbled not only by its older architecture, but also by its use of DDR3 VRAM. Unfortunately, the only pre-Fermi GPU to use (or support the use of) DDR5 memory is the "obsolete" (meaning that it is still on the market, but superceded by newer Fermi-derived GPUs) GT 240.

If you have a desire for substantial improvements to MPE performance that takes anywhere near full advantage of the Fermi architecture, you'll have to wait until CS6 is shipping.

Interesting because the GTS-450 doesnt have that many more cores than the 250 does it?So what is the factor thats most important?

Graphics memory bandwidth. Despite the 256-bit memory bit width, DDR3 memory used in the GTS 250 just does not deliver as great of a total bandwidth as the 128-bit DDR5 memory used in the GTS 450.

mmm...I could get one of those for $150 maybe im going to compusa this weekend. Thanks!

What about this? They have it in stock at my local store.
CompUSA.com | VCGGTX4601XPB-OC | PNY GeForce GTX 460 XLR8 OverClocked 1GB GDDR5 SLI

or this
http://www.compusa.com/applications/...580&CatId=3669

Randy, back to your original question....

MPE is primarily used for playback on your timeline, for realtime feedback without the need for waiting on results..
And although this helps the encoding speed, i believe that the compression to whatever codec you choose, still needs to be fed through the CPU...

Interestingly enough, i don't know if MPE is utilized within Encores' design build..Even if it was, Encore still requires CPU throughput in the end....

Somebody else feel free to chime in..

BTW, i'd get the 470...Seens to be the best bang for the buck...