I am just about to order my components for my new edit PC build, but am perplexed on Video cards. From everything I read I DONT need one of these expensive 3d gaming cards, BUT what do I really need for just editing?? I assume i want DVI and or HDMI outputs?

I saw an editing setup somwhere where there were Dual Monitors (approx 24") and hanging on the wall was a large I am assuming HD TV (37inch approx) I thought this may be an effecient setup

Is there a Video card that allows for 3 monitors like this?

Two questions:

1) Which CPU are you planning to get in your new build?

2) Which version of Vegas are you planning to run on that new system?

Older versions of Vegas do not use the GPU at all, so the choice of a video card is irrelevant. However, I'd still recommend a video card that's well balanced with the CPU's performance just in case you want to upgrade to a newer version of Vegas or to any other NLE that takes advantage of both CPU and GPU. After all, an underpowered video card (GPU) is equally as detrimental to the performance of a fast CPU as an underpowered CPU is to the performance of a high-end GPU.

Intel Quad core i7 2600

Intel Core i7-2600 BX80623I72600 Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.40 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail at TigerDirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073160&CatId=6991)

Sony Vegas 10

Windows 7 Pro 64bit

I am wondering why is this I7 2600 so cheap compare to the i980 extreme? The performance is almost as good as the i980.

OH Bruce....Dont confuse me...... lol

Intel Quad core i7 2600

Intel Core i7-2600 BX80623I72600 Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.40 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail at TigerDirect.com (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073160&CatId=6991)

Sony Vegas 10

Windows 7 Pro 64bit

In this case, concentrate on an Nvidia GeForce GTX series card around the $200 price point, such as the GTX 460 or the GTX 560 Ti, if you're going to encode to AVC Blu-ray using the Sony AVC encoder (or if you want to eventually use Adobe Premiere Pro). However, if you're going to encode to MPEG-2 instead, then an AMD HD 6870-based card is more than acceptable.

I've been going thru this the last few weeks,
What I know ( some may be relevant to you, some may not),

Vegas ATM is limited in its use of CUDA, it doesnt play a part in the preview at all, only in Sony AVC rendering.

If you use the Adobe suite as well, ie Premiere Pro, After Effects, the best bang for buck card is sorted out in this thread,
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/adobe-creative-suite/484577-any-gts-450-tests-yet.html
(I have a GT240 DDR5 1GB in the mail right now, at a $120.00, its a bargain :)

If you want Hackintosh compatibility as well as CUDA support, (this is where it gets messy),
you could get something like an older GTX285 which is Mac supported as well.
The results with the 4xx series is mixed, some have them working, some have lots of freezes.

A Vegas update with CUDA supported preview would have to be in the wings, Sony couldn't sit on their hands knowing what a difference it makes to the editing experience in Premiere Pro (and many believe it will be available in the release of the new Final Cut Pro) , and ignore the concept.

David, Randall's advice is spot on...I would go with his guidance and forget about it, whichever card fits your scenario, that is the one to choose.

The cuda implementation in Vegas does not compete with the .MP4s that can be produced in handbrake (see Sony Creative Software - Forums - Vegas Pro - Video Messages (http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=752833&Replies=160)). So - at best - it is premature to get a high-powered card, IMO.

When I built my rig some months ago, I spied a good deal on an Asus GT 240 with 512 MB RAM - about $40 at that time, with free shipping, on sale at NewEgg.

It serves my needs perfectly:

1. Two high-pixel count displays ports (DVI can output to HDMI with a cheap cable from ebay).
2. Works well with my Poser and other animation programs, including Sketch up that can be fussy about video cards.
3. Works well with Boris CC7, which can be VERY picky about which video cards it will work with, including some that cost a lot more than the GT 240.

I see that on ebay the prices have gone up; but it's still a good choice.

This one has more RAM than mine, and has DVI, VGA & HDMI:
ASUS GT240 1 GB DDR3 Graphics Card ENGT240/DI/1GD3 - eBay (item 360341817570 end time Apr-05-11 09:34:00 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ASUS-GT240-1-GB-DDR3-Graphics-Card-ENGT240-DI-1GD3-/360341817570?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item53e60bc8e2)

I still havent figured out the 3 monitor setup? I am thinking that perhaps the editing PC has dual monitors and the large HDTV-monitor on the wall is hooked to a stand alone DVD player or something?

David, if you want to feed 3 monitors simultaneously, you'll need to add a second video card to your computer.
Make sure both the HDTV and video card are HDMI capable and you should be OK.
Someone used to make a triple-head card (Matrox?) but I believe it's been discontinued.

I have had the setup of two monitors and a TV, but TV wasn't hooked up to the pc. It was for previewing DVD.

So if you saw a photo of my setup you might think the TV was hooked up to the PC, but it wasn't.

Are you sure you need a TV hooked up? They look pretty bad hooked up to a PC, at least mine did.

No i am not sure I need the tv hooked up. I just like the way i can spread my workspace out on dual monitors and was wodering if it was possible on a 3 monitor setup. It would be really nice to work on a time line on a 37" hdtv/monitor and have the vectors scopes on another monitor and everthing else on another monitor

There are all kinds of working styles in monitor arrangements.

Over the years, I went from a single 17", to dual 17... and a couple steps later, to a 22 for TL, and a 24 for preview. Maybe it will become dual 24s.

A buddy of mine swears by (and sometimes at) SLI, (two 2-headed cards tied together) which allows him to have 3 monitors and one TV, he dual-previews on a monitor and TV, this is helpful when he has a client in the room. That leaves a monitor for TL, and one for project media and all the misc filters, scopes, etc. He finds it very helpful to have good real estate for his project media display.

Another buddy uses a standard two-head card, plus a BlackMagic Intensity Pro hdmi to TV. That gives him two "editing" monitors and a TV for preview.

IMO 2 monitors, one at at least 24", is minimum. But then, I sometimes edit on a laptop, too. YMMV.

i sometimes edit on a laptop too.... its hard working on a 13 inch screen when u are used to dual 24" monitors!