Is the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT sufficient for video editing?

[Simon Young]

I've decided it's time to buy a Mac Pro. I'm a freelance video editor and often work with a variety of video codecs, from DV to ProRes 422. I've set myself a budget of roughly £2000 and have decided upon the stock config (plus AirPort Extreme Card, obviously) with a 23" ACD. My 15% HE discount (I work for an affiliate of the local university) brings this within my budget. However, I could stretch to a little more if needs be.

My real question is this: will the stock ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video card do a half-decent job with video editing? I've heard that the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT upgrade has really buggy drivers, and actually performs worse in Final Cut Pro than the stock option. I'm not a gamer and I won't be doing any fancy 3D work (well, not yet). It's just video rendering and compressing that I'm interested in, plus reliable performance in FCP. Opinions?

 

[Tallest Skil]

Yeah, the HD 2600 is BETTER than the piece of crap 8800 GT for all things professional.

 

[UltraNEO*]

Yeah, the HD 2600 is BETTER than the piece of crap 8800 GT for all things professional.

Yeah... I'd agree!! With the exception of applications that off-load it's work load to the GPU but on the Mac side, those are few and far between.

 

[Simon Young]

Yeah, the HD 2600 is BETTER than the piece of crap 8800 GT for all things professional.

Really? I can't tell if you're being sarcastic...

Yeah... I'd agree!! With the exception of applications that off-load it's work load to the GPU but on the Mac side, those are few and far between.

Oh, OK. So the best option from the Apple Store is the HD 2600, and then perhaps upgrade manually if I ever need more GPU power?

 

[Mackilroy]

The 8800 GT isn't nearly as bad as Tallest Skill makes it out to be, but for Core Image-based computing the HD2600 will suit you better. Personally, I'd suggest upgrading to the HD3870 after you get the Mac Pro if you really want a faster card.

 

[fluidedge]

Tallest Skil has that effect on people.