best graphics card for an audio workstation?

[Tadmac]

building a mac pro mini (i7, z77n, 16gb, ssd etc.) looking a for a good compatible graphics card was thinking of getting the 670 buts thats overkill for audio... any suggestions? right now im thinking about the 6870, is the 6870 an easy card to get working? any issues with it?

 

[emaf]

ATI 6xxx is working, but its not easy to install. I have one myself, and i am happy w it. But since you are doing audio, i guess HD4000 integrated graphics is more than enough. HD4000 can even handle some light gaming, its a nice chip IMHO.

You are planning to get an i7 so you should have HD4000.

On the other hand, you can try HD4000, and later if you feel it is not enough, go for a nVidia GT640 or GTX660 (seems to be supported well)

 

[Tadmac]

is the gtx 660 easy to set up? ive seen a few 660 issue threads. I will dual boot btw and do a little gaming.

 

[jimbo75]

For an "only audio workstation" the integrated graphics is the best. Reason is because there is no fan noise. HD 4000 supports up to 3 monitors. There is no benefit in a dedicated gfx card.

oh just read that you intend gaming..... The 6870 is good enough for gaming and my old 6850 (can play Bioshock infinite on ultra in 1080p fluently) was easy to set up in ML. I think there is not much difference.

 

[Tadmac]

ill be using a 2560 x 1440 monitor the onboard graphics (h77n) does not support that. which is why ill either be picking up the 650 or 660

 

[beelzebubba]

If you think you won't need a GTX 660 the GTX 650 ti boost is a pretty good value. Video can be a challenge on some builds but there are plenty of people that have used all the common GPUs. If nothing else if you have issues you can use the onboard video so you can at least troubleshoot until you can get the card running.