What video card do you think is best for a DAW?

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craigb
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2009/02/15 06:03:17 (permalink)

What video card do you think is best for a DAW?

One of Jim's comments in another thread has me wondering. As long as I'm day-dreaming about upgrading my studio PC (at least until I get a job, win the lotto or have a rich relative I've never heard of kick it and leave me a bundle), I thought I'd continue my pondering with video cards!

Since using a DAW is a lot more like what a stock broker wants to see than what a gamer needs, what video cards are recommended for a DAW?

Above and beyond being able to see high-resolutions in millions of colors, I'd like to use multiple monitors.

So what do the rest of you think?
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    vaiman
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    RE: What video card do you think is best for a DAW? 2009/02/15 07:35:25 (permalink)
    I'm not going to recommend any video cards as I am a gamer and I pay silly money for them (as I am a fool).

    What I will say is keep within your budget. Pick an amount and find the best solution from what you have available.
    It may seem obvious, but it is so easy to read reviews and before you know it you have added double to your budget.
    Also keep in mind the purchase of that second monitor (if not already bought).

    I wish I listened to my own advice sometimes
    #2
    vaiman
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    RE: What video card do you think is best for a DAW? 2009/02/15 07:38:07 (permalink)
    May be some use.

    http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/audio/articles/6836.aspx
    #3
    Jim Roseberry
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    RE: What video card do you think is best for a DAW? 2009/02/15 13:50:00 (permalink)
    How many monitors do you want to run?
    Are you running WinXP or Vista? GPU speed is more important when running Vista.

    Best Regards,

    Jim Roseberry
    jim@studiocat.com
    www.studiocat.com
    #4
    craigb
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    RE: What video card do you think is best for a DAW? 2009/02/15 16:04:38 (permalink)
    Win XP Pro with up to three monitors? I'm thinking a large LCD main one with two smaller ones on each side (only because I already own several extra monitors so put 'em to use!). Currently I think I have an old dual-head Matrox in there...

    In reality, I'll probably ditch all of my extra monitors (I have five CRT's that you have to turn off when recording anyway), get another large LCD monitor and stick with two. My main two LCD monitors (one's on my non-music PC) are both Samsung 21.3" SyncMasters that came with software to rotate between landscape and portrait. One base broke a while back and I found that the after market stands/arms are much better anyway so the monitors themselves no longer need to be able to rotate, they just need the software I already have since the new arms will make any LCD monitor rotate - not even sure I'd WANT to rotate a monitor on my DAW now that I think about it.

    So, silly dreams aside, the most practical would be two high-resolution LCD screens side-by-side.

    BTW - I used to be a gamer (ran servers too actually) and still have a nice gaming setup (see pic here: http://www.nwdreamer.com/Pics/GamingPC/HotSeat2.jpg) so I'm very familiar with trying to get excessive framerates out of a video card, but I can also see how none of that is important for a DAW (or stock/commodity trading platform as well).

    How DO they get more than two monitors going anyway? Multiple video cards?
    post edited by craigb - 2009/02/15 16:24:12
    #5
    vaiman
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    RE: What video card do you think is best for a DAW? 2009/02/15 20:58:24 (permalink)
    Yup, multiple video cards is the solution.
    I used to have this setup in my old place. My new home (office) is too small for 3 screens now.
    I also used this if it helps
    ultramon

    Post some pics when you get it setup and make us all jealous.
    Nice game setup btw. Ive recently just bought a Logitech G25 wheel and I'm making a cabinet for it... I really need a bigger house
    #6
    Jim Roseberry
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    RE: What video card do you think is best for a DAW? 2009/02/16 01:28:36 (permalink)
    How DO they get more than two monitors going anyway? Multiple video cards?


    - For three monitors, you can get a single triple-head unit (Matrox).
    - You can get a single quad-head unit (Nvidia Quadro - expensive ~$450)
    - You can run a pair of dual head video cards (most of the newest generation motherboards have two PCIe-x16 slots)

    Best Regards,

    Jim Roseberry
    jim@studiocat.com
    www.studiocat.com
    #7
    craigb
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    RE: What video card do you think is best for a DAW? 2009/02/16 03:35:08 (permalink)
    Thanks for the replies.

    When the time comes I'll probably be talking to you again Jim. Since the box will be dedicated only to being a DAW (probably with two monitors max and the option of adding a second video card at a later time), I'd prefer to get it right instead of having another compromise box. I know of others that have used your services so now all I need is... money! (Whoever said that money can't buy happiness didn't have any. ;-)
    post edited by craigb - 2009/02/16 03:40:43
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