Graphic cards

[neilwitr]

Could someone please tell me what would they consider to be the best graphic card for digital photo processing in my pc. Cheers Neil

[fo3nix]

just photo, not video? perhaps the nVidia GeForce 6200 (or above) range or graphics cards, one with 256mb

this may suffice: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProduc tID=288483

or you could go for one of the similarly-priced ATI models. I personally prefer nVidia, but some swear by ATI products.

Also note that ideally you'll have 1GB of main RAM too. 512MB will cut it, but 1GB is better. and a decent processor.

[fo3nix]

sorry, my point with the latter is that there's no point getting a really expensive graphics card if you're running a system with 256MB RAM, or a processor from a few years ago.

[neilwitr]

Thank you.That is very helpful I will be running an AMD 3000 processor and at least 1Gb ram on Windows XP.I need the card for fast image manipulation. Cheers Neil

[kempie]

Food for thought...

Since photo manipulation requires no 3D capability (texturing and lighting) nor the need of high frame rates the bulk of any processing is more dependent on CPU and system memory than the graphics card.

More important is the resolution you are working at and to this end an argument can be made that it is the monitor(s) which should concern you more. The greater the workspace you have the better and this could be achieved using dual monitors.

This could, of course, be a more expensive solution even if you used a relatively cheap card with dual monitor support because of the added expense of another monitor.