To CustoMac Video-Editors: What Specs Should I Look For in a Graphics Card?

[MrCarder]

My previous PC builds have been HTPCs, so specs weren't too important. This is my first attempt at a CustoMac/Hackintosh, which will be used primarily for video and 2D graphic work.

I have an old MacBook, which I had initially hoped to convert to a desktop - but after some research I found that wouldn't be worthwhile because of the limited upgrade options.

I've been drooling over the "High End Hack Pro" described on lifehacker. All of these builds seem to be more general than focussed on a specific purpose, which brings me to my question:

What should I look for when selecting a compatible Graphics Card? I have a pretty limited understanding of their role, but everything else for this build seems to be plenty for a jumping off point & my memory/storage can be upgraded a lot easier that a GC. I do pretty much everything that can be done with video, short of 3D animations.

I have a decent budget, but not big enough to go over board. This is why I want to understand which specs will fit me best - and hopefully be able to afford slightly more (just in case). The cost listed for the build is $2,000 but computer hardware fluctuates so much in price, that won't be exact. I'd say my budget for the total project is around that $2,000 mark, but I wouldn't cry over spending less.

A few of the components can be left for future upgrades. If I settle for a 1TB HD I can cut out the SSD & other HDs, saving around $700-$800. That would make the total ~$950 without a graphics card. Obviously, I don't want to have to sacrifice all of that space & I would love an SSD.

Thanks for any help you can offer and let me know if any additional information might help.

 

[Going Bald]

My previous PC builds have been HTPCs, so specs weren't too important. This is my first attempt at a CustoMac/Hackintosh, which will be used primarily for video and 2D graphic work.

I have an old MacBook, which I had initially hoped to convert to a desktop - but after some research I found that wouldn't be worthwhile because of the limited upgrade options.

I've been drooling over the "High End Hack Pro" described on lifehacker. All of these builds seem to be more general than focussed on a specific purpose, which brings me to my question:

What should I look for when selecting a compatible Graphics Card? I have a pretty limited understanding of their role, but everything else for this build seems to be plenty for a jumping off point & my memory/storage can be upgraded a lot easier that a GC. I do pretty much everything that can be done with video, short of 3D animations.

I have a decent budget, but not big enough to go over board. This is why I want to understand which specs will fit me best - and hopefully be able to afford slightly more (just in case). The cost listed for the build is $2,000 but computer hardware fluctuates so much in price, that won't be exact. I'd say my budget for the total project is around that $2,000 mark, but I wouldn't cry over spending less.

A few of the components can be left for future upgrades. If I settle for a 1TB HD I can cut out the SSD & other HDs, saving around $700-$800. That would make the total ~$950 without a graphics card. Obviously, I don't want to have to sacrifice all of that space & I would love an SSD.

Thanks for any help you can offer and let me know if any additional information might help.

GFX card you need really depends on whether your app(s) can take advantage of the processing power of the card or the CUDA cores.
How much rendering you do and how much number crunching you can farm to the gfx card to take some load off of the CPU is mostly determined in your apps. I would suggest going to the app(s) web site(s) and checking their recommendations for best graphics cards their app can use. If they have no recommendation, then chances are their app doesn't utilize the gfx card.

 

[MrCarder]

GFX card you need really depends on whether your app(s) can take advantage of the processing power of the card or the CUDA cores.
How much rendering you do and how much number crunching you can farm to the gfx card to take some load off of the CPU is mostly determined in your apps. I would suggest going to the app(s) web site(s) and checking their recommendations for best graphics cards their app can use. If they have no recommendation, then chances are their app doesn't utilize the gfx card.

Thanks for the tip! I'll try to answer this question as best I can, but my knowledge is limited on Graphics cards.

Could you clarify what "how much number crunching you can farm to the gfx card" means? Is this just shifting to the gfx card to do what the CPU/Processor would normally do?

I mostly use Adobe's Creative Suite (CS6) applications, which I would think should be able to take advantage. I won't upgrade to Adobe CC until they provide new features I have to have, so these should be the basis. I don't use ALL CS6 apps. My most used applications are Premiere Pro, After Effects, Illustrator, & Photoshop.

I would say Pr & Ae are the most intensive applications. I do quite a bit of Visual Effects work, some include dynamic 3D effects, but I rarely do true 3D work.

 

[Going Bald]

Pr and AE will really use all the GPU can give you- PS you can set how much you want to allocate to the GPU in Preferences.
If you need some homework reading try http://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/rendering-opengl.html