Is it recommended to have a discrete graphic card on a laptop for video editing?

I've been researching laptops as I need a portable PC for video editing.

My gut feeling is that a dedicated graphics card, as opposed to those
integrated with the motherboard chipset, is necessary. Unfortunately, quite
a few of the laptops that interest me are lacking only in this one area.
Anybody know the facts on this?



Thanks



Joe

 

Don't know hwat type of video you'll be editing that'd put any kind of
a heavy demand on the graphics card but video editing usually doesn't
require much in a video card.
As long as you have at least 16mb of video ram and 2d graphics it
should do fine.
My lowest editor only has a Nvidia geoforce2 with 64mb of video ram
and I'v seen some setups running really old diamond cards.

 

The issue is not related to the graphic chip itself, but the fact that
integrated graphic chips use a shared memory architecture. That means that
RAM bandwidth is being shared by the graphic chip and the rest of the
system. My concern is that this sharing may impact performance. I just don
't know enough about how video editing stresses a system to know whether it'
s an issue or not!



I should have stated that I'm looking at a centrino laptop, as I need a
lightweight laptop with a long battery life for other purposes. I know
there are better mobile platforms purely for video editing, but they don't
meet my other requirements.



Crow

 

You shouldn't have a problem.
I run a ram meter on my editing setup and have never seen any system
ram even utilized for video during editing.

A Centrino should be more than enough.
Test it by running some video through it.
A VCD or DVD with some AVI or Mpeg1 files should do.
I can't imagine a centrino giving bad video output.

 

A lot depends on the type of editing you're going to be doing. If you're
looking at something to do some low-level trim-and-splice type editing with
a few title overlays while you're on a plane or train, then Centrino will do
well for you, I'm sure. I do that kind of stuff on my Athlon600 desktop
system and my P-III 600 laptop and they eat it up, so anything that'll
qualify for Centrino certification should do great, too. If you're trying
to do some heavy stuff, though, like 8 video tracks and 15 audio tracks, all
with filters... you're still probably okay with a Centrino, just be sure you
have it plugged in.

As far as the processing, and as far as I can remember, most of the video
processing that is sent to the gpu is just for the preview, unless you have
a specific card for encoding, in which case your computer can utilise
hardware acceleration. My only recommendation, which I try to follow with
all my systems, mobile or otherwise, is to max out your RAM. If you're
beefy with your RAM, even if it is shared, and you're not trying to play a
game while you're rendering, you should be fine.

Good luck!

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Dave Schein II, CSO
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www.printergy.com
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Thanks Gothica,



Am I confusing the system load during rendering as opposed to editing!
Rendering must load the CPU 100% and probably saturate the memory buss,
whereas the CPU load & memory buss load during editing will vary a lot
depending on what you're doing.



I'm still perplexed though by your comment on not using system RAM during
editing. Where is all the edit data if not in RAM?



I think I'll just have to get a laptop with a discrete graphic card even if
just for peace of mind. I'll be using the system for software development
and audio purposes also and I don't want to take any chances. I hate
unnecessary bottle necks.



Crow

 

Our software suite currently require Dx7 class HW, and a Radeon/Geforce based core is recommended.
But I see a push toward advanced GPU processing in the next gen, so if you keep your laptop
for the next 2-3 years get one with a Radeon 9600 or Geforce FX.

Stephan Schaem
www.seriousmagic.com

 

Thanks Stephen,

I ordered an Acer centrino today which has a mobile Radeon 9700 with 64 MB.
I feel happier with that decision.

Regards

Joe

 

I forgot to mention that I'd been wondering earlier this week about software
that gives serious control over recording direct to a PC and you pop up with
the link below, which is for the producer of DV Rack. Very interesting
product. Out of my price range at the moment, but I'll file away the URL
for a later date.

Thanks for that.

Joe

 

You can download the product (its 10meg total in size) and
you will get a free 14 day license to test the entire software package.

Check also the field guide : http://www.seriousmagic.com/help/dvrackindex.cfm
(It cover many topics on how to shoot better video)

Caution, its an addictive product

Stephan

PS: I work for this company. (Not as a salesman, but as an enthusiast developer that love video

 

Great choice (I wish I had this config

I'm sure other software manufacturer are on the bandwagon, but I can tell you that
our 2005 software release will make great use of this laptop configuration.

Stephan