Video Card??????

[bfisher]

Got a question about an editing problem. When I'm watching my clips on my editing program or playing them back after editing the picture is jerky. What I mean is that the scene advances, but in a rythmic jerky manner.

I know I have enough computer. It's a new Dell inspiron, Intel Quad 6600 processor, 4G of DDR2 800 Ram, 500G hard drive. The only questionable component is the video card. It's an Intel Integrated Graphics 3100. I'm thinking of upgrading anyway, but need to know if this might be the culprit. Like maybe it can't keep up with the processor.

Everything comes out fine burned to dvd. It just makes it a royal pain to clip scenes, add titles, and such.

What do you guys think? And how about some suggestions on a video card.

[FishFood]

Even the crappiest of integrated video cards should be able to play a clip. What editing software are you using?

Do you have a 16x/32x PCIe slot if you were to upgrade?

[Sansho]

The Intel integrated graphics aren't known to be fast. On the mac side, their Final Cut Studio 2 software (prosumer/professional video software) doesn't run on a mac with Intel integrated video.

Been using macs long enough, not sure I can make a good recommendation for your Dell, however, isn't the Inspiron a notebook? They don't usually have upgradeable video cards.

For a desktop system, not knowing anything else, I'd go buy the newest, fastest Nvidia-based video card, with min 256mb video memory, 512mb better. Multi-year vendor warranty.

[mchain]

I've never met an integrated graphics card up to the task of movie making. You may (emphasis on "may") find some options in your editing program that could help your situation.

I'm with sansho on this one. Not much you can do about upgrading a laptops graphics card (alienware excluded) but maybe you have a desktop alternative you can cheaply upgrade like sansho suggested.

[FishFood]

Quad Core CPU & 500GB hard drive indicate it isn't a Laptop. The 500gb HDD is avaliable for the laptops (although pricey and rare), but I dont think intel has release a Quad-Core for laptops yet. I may be wrong.

Make sure you get the basics out of the way:

Update you video drivers
Does this software list minimum system requirements?
Does the software's website say anything about having problems with the 3100 series integrated graphics?


As for a new video card. Something around the Nvidia 8800 series. One of the fastest cards out, and affordable.

[CompuDude]

Inspiron is definitely a laptop line, but I agree, I haven't seen 500gb quad core laptops yet, so I'm guessing it's a desktop.

Try the drivers first... current generation integrated graphics chipsets have gotten a LOT better, but it's still true that an add-in card will still likely blow it away.

One final thing to check: What editing software are you using? Some of them are more demanding on the video processor than others. Also make sure it's certified for Vista, which I'm guessing is what you're running. It also wouldn't hurt to disable some of Vista's eye-candy special effects... those pretty shaded boxes chew up your video card's processor before it has to display a single frame of video.

[NeveSSL]

If its a laptop, you won't be upgrading the video card. If it comes with a video card, then SOMEtimes you can, but not often. I could on my Inspiron 1550 if I didn't already have the highest card in it, which is a Radeon X1400 (its beginning to age a tiny bit ).

If its a desktop and you're running Vista, CompuDude's advice for turning off some of the advanced graphics features is an excellent idea.

If you have a desktop, you should be able to get a good card from Google for about $40-$120 depending on how much you want to spend. I spent $30 on a fanless Nvidia card and its doing well for me (although I don't do video editing... music editing, yes, no video tho ).

Brandon

[bfisher]

WOW, more help than I expected so soon. Didn't even read all the posts yet.

The puter is a desktop, approximately 1 month old. Operating system is XP Pro, as I was advised to steer clear of Vista.

Editing program is Corel ULead 11.5 Plus. I tried a couple of the more popular others, but needed something even a dummie could handle.


Oh yeha, I appreciate all the help. I'm fairly new to this underwater video stuff, and video in general. In fact, I'm not up to par on all the computer jargon that much. This is a big learning process, but I'm having fun at it.

[Defman]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Inspiron is definitely a laptop line, but I agree, I haven't seen 500gb quad core laptops yet, so I'm guessing it's a desktop.

Dell took to also naming their consumer desktop line "Inspiron" over a year ago.

[FishFood]

Originally Posted by bfisher

WOW, more help than I expected so soon. Didn't even read all the posts yet.

The puter is a desktop, approximately 1 month old. Operating system is XP Pro, as I was advised to steer clear of Vista.

Editing program is Corel ULead 11.5 Plus. I tried a couple of the more popular others, but needed something even a dummie could handle.


Oh yeha, I appreciate all the help. I'm fairly new to this underwater video stuff, and video in general. In fact, I'm not up to par on all the computer jargon that much. This is a big learning process, but I'm having fun at it.

What's the model number for your Inspiron?