Phil O'Keefe Posted May 1, 2015 Share Posted May 1, 2015 Just out of curiosity, what are you all using for graphics cards in your PC computers? Right now, I'm using my i7 CPU's onboard Intel HD 4000 graphics and I was thinking about maybe adding a dedicated graphics card to my system. If anyone wants to make recommendations, I'd prefer something with a HDMI output in addition to standard VGA / DVI, and if possible, something either fanless or with a quiet fan. And relatively inexpensive - I'm not going to be using this for gaming - just DAW stuff, so I don't want to spend more than $150 or so on it. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlamoJoe Posted May 1, 2015 Members Share Posted May 1, 2015 I'm using a GeForce GTX 550Ti. But it only has DVI and VGA outputs on it. I think I paid $150 for it two years ago. I think to get all the outputs you're after is going to be priceier rascal though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted May 2, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 Unless you're doing video work, anything beyond the built-in graphics isn't likely to buy you anything. Or are you looking at getting a new monitor that can take advantage of a video connection format that your present system doesn't offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris Groegler Posted May 4, 2015 Members Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'd recommend one of these, mainly because you can run up to 4 monitors. I run 4 monitors at work and 3 at home and (for me) it makes a ton of difference in my workflow. GTX 650 Ti Boost (($119)GTX 750 Ti ($149)Radeon R9 270 ($149) Like it has been said above, I would imagine it depends on how many monitors you are running. Best,Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted May 4, 2015 Members Share Posted May 4, 2015 Nearly all cards will do high color. Main reason to use a quality card is to have additional ports, multiple screens or have get faster graphics. Many of the gaming cards have additional memory. This cuts down their need to use your main board memory and helps to speed the data. Other then allowing multiple monitors or adaptors there's really nothing a higher end video card will do for a daw besides consume more CPU. DAW graphics are pretty low end stuff. If you're doing video production however it might be worthwhile. If you do use another card and don't plan on using the on board video card, you might want to disable your on board video. on some computers this is done through Bios. In others you can do it through the Windows hardware manager. Use Bios if its available because then the drivers wont load. Windows will run both but if its not being used you can free up some main buss and IRQ resources by disabling it. The other item can be some IRQ sharing issues if you have other devices used for audio on the same IRQ. You can check for IRQ conflicts through Accessories, System Tools, System information, Hardware, Conflicts/Sharing. If you notice unusual glitches or crashes let me know. I have a long article on troubleshooting IRQ sharing issues I can send you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 If you do use another card and don't plan on using the on board video card, you might want to use the Windows hardware manager disable the on board video. Windows will run both but if its not being used you can free up some main buss and IRQ resources by disabling it. An excellent tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'd recommend one of these, mainly because you can run up to 4 monitors. I run 4 monitors at work and 3 at home and (for me) it makes a ton of difference in my workflow. GTX 650 Ti Boost (($119) GTX 750 Ti ($149) Radeon R9 270 ($149) Like it has been said above, I would imagine it depends on how many monitors you are running. Best, Chris Thanks Chris! I'm definitely a multi-monitor guy. Are any of those three quieter than the others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris Groegler Posted July 15, 2015 Members Share Posted July 15, 2015 Hey Phil! Sorry for my REALLY delayed response. The 650Ti I have in my work machine is really quiet. That's the one I would suggest. Hope things with you are rockin'! I need to visit again next time I'm out there. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted July 15, 2015 Members Share Posted July 15, 2015 You might want to contact a company like PC Audio Labs, ADK, or Studio Cat and find out what they use. I'm sure they've gone over graphics cards with a fine-toothed comb to find the ones that work best for a Windows-based DAW. But be forewarned it's a bit of a mine field. The Cakewalk forum is full of people who experienced problems with their systems that were traced to graphics card driver issues. Gaming cards can be problematic if they think no one cares if the audio is 50 ms late in return for squeezing out faster frame rates from the "Let's Kill Everybody IV" video game. Noel Borthwick, Cakewalk's CTO, found one video card driver that actually stopped streaming audio from the hard drive if it felt smooth video playback was more important. Also be aware that some cards install their own audio codecs for moving video over to a TV. These can interfere with existing audio drivers. In one worst-case scenario, an "HD Audio Codec" driver that was installed automatically with a graphics card update more than doubled the lowest latency I could use. When I removed it, there was a dramatic decrease in attainable latency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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