Some questions about getting my system to run Adobe Premiere

[Kariudo]

not sure about openGL

but although AGP is faster than PCI, PCI-E (pci-express) is even faster than AGP.

the thing is, that you can't just put whatever you want into your motherboard...it has to have the appropriate slot for the interface.

if you could take and post a pic (upload it to www.imageshack.us) someone could tell you what your motherboard has (if you don't already know)

as far as the HD on the end of those techs...it just means that they are capable of doing what they do at higher resolutions (at least that's what I got from reading the info on tigerdirect)

[Kariudo]

info on openGL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL

from the sound of it...OpenGL2.0 vs OpenGL shouldn't be much of a concern (unless somethig actually uses the additions that openGL2 offers)

[Angeteen]

This should list all the information needed about my system.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/s ... tm#1101572

Also, I read the stuff on tigerdirect, and no, couldn't make any use out of it. As far as I saw things it was saying "this does this and that does that." Not exactly helpful I'm afraid. Can you translate what it's saying?

[Kariudo]

yep, you have AGP 4x (which means that you should get a 4x/8x card)

alright...I'll try to translate...
3Dc: makes it so that the 3-d images don't use as much memory
Smoothvision: makes the images (particularly the lines) less jagged, and makes the image sharper (generally increases visual quality)
Fullstream: uses resources (like the GDDR) to make streaming video look better
Catalyst: lets you customize video card options
SmartShader: makes game graphics look more lifelike

[Angeteen]

LOL! Informative and interesting, but not quite what I meant. Here; I'll post the information here so as to make things easier.


X800

Radeon X800 GTO
The Radeon X800 graphics technology set a new standard in graphics performance and visual realism. With up to 16 pipelines, higher clock speeds and breakthrough image enhancement technology, Radeon X800 Graphics Technology introduced a whole new gaming category called High-Definition Gaming.

3Dc™
3Dc is an exciting new compression technology designed to bring out fine details in games while minimizing memory usage. It is the first compression technique optimized to work with normal maps, which allow fine per-pixel control over how light reflects from a textured surface. With up to 4:1 compression possible, this means game designers can now include up to 4x the detail without changing the amount of graphics memory required and without impacting performance.

SMOOTHVISION™ HD
SMOOTHVISION HD is a set of technologies designed to enhance the image quality of any game using advanced, high-performance filtering technology. Anti-aliasing removes the distracting jagged edges that can occur on the outlines of 3D objects, and Anisotropic Filtering sharpens blurry textures and retains the fine details in the image.

DirectX 9.0C Technology
DirectX 9.0c improves the graphics, security, and performance of your operating system. Download and install this update for your Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, or Windows XP-based system.

FULLSTREAM™
The latest advancement in video processing technology, is a hardware accelerated filtering method that improves the performance and visual quality of streaming video playback.

CATALYST™
ATI’s all-new CATALYST™ Control Center goes far beyond traditional driver configuration software—it’s a feature-rich and stable 3D acceleration control application that puts you in complete command of your ATI visual processing unit

PCI Express Support
PCI Express is a new Intel bus architecture that doubles the bandwidth of the AGP 8X bus, delivering over 4 GB per second in both upstream and downstream data transfers.


Features

VIDEOSHADER™ HD
VIDEOSHADER HD is a key feature of the video processing engine that allows it to tap into the power of the programmable pixel shader units of the RADEON X800 3D core. This allows shaders to be used to accelerate many different video processing tasks, including noise removal (VIDEOSOAP), de-blocking (FULLSTREAM), adaptive de-interlacing, frame rate conversion, color space conversion, and much more. VIDEOSHADER HD also provides the flexibility required to support all of the latest video formats, including MPEG1/2/4, Real, DivX, and WMV9.
VIDEOSOAP™
VideoSoap™ provides advanced filtering to reduce speckling, improve sharpness and smooth blurry motion to provide high quality personal video recordings
3Dc™
3Dc is an exciting new compression technology designed to bring out fine details in games while minimizing memory usage. It is the first compression technique optimized to work with normal maps, which allow fine per-pixel control over how light reflects from a textured surface. With up to 4:1 compression possible, this means game designers can now include up to 4x the detail without changing the amount of graphics memory required and without impacting performance.
HyperZ™ Technology
ATI's HYPER-Z technology decreases the amount of information sent to the frame buffer, easing memory bandwidth limitations and allowing for ultra-high resolutions, full screen 3D acceleration in true color.


x1600

THE GAME IS ON!
Great Digital Entertainment & 3D Graphics
The Radeon® X1600 is designed to deliver outstanding entertainment and 3D graphics through its unique ultra-threaded core architecture and ATI’s Avivo™ video and display technology. The Radeon X1600 is a perfect way to connect your PC and consumer electronic devices together for an ideal home entertainment and gaming system.

CROSSFIRE™
Designed from the ground up with GPU sharing in mind, the Radeon X1600 series allows you to get incredible gaming performance by adding a Radeon X1600 Crossfire Edition graphics card for ultra fast performance that works with all games, all the time.

AVIVO™
Avivo™ redefines the ultimate visual experience for today’s PCs, and sets the stage for tomorrow’s exciting possibilities. Check your board for specific support of Avivo™ features. Avivo™ is a technology platform that includes a broad set of capabilities offered by ATI products. Full enablement of some Avivo™ capabilities may require complementary products.

SMARTSHADER™
A new technology developed by ATI, represents a new generation of visual effects for your personal computer. With SMARTSHADER™, game developers will be able to create immersive, life-like worlds by modelling the surface and material qualities of 3D objects with an unparalleled level of realism.

SMOOTHVISION™
Supports a High-Performance anti-aliasing mode and a High-Quality anti-aliasing mode. Both of these modes give users the ability to choose between 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 6x sampling, allowing for a total of 10 different anti-aliasing settings.

CATALYST™
ATI’s all-new CATALYST™ Control Center goes far beyond traditional driver configuration software—it’s a feature-rich and stable 3D acceleration control application that puts you in complete command of your ATI visual processing unit


Features
CineFX Engine
Powers cinematic effects beyond imagination. With advanced vertex and pixel shader capabilities, stunning and complex special effects are possible. In addition, increased horsepower delivers faster and smoother gameplay.
AGP 8X
Provides double the bandwidth of AGP 4X—2.1GB/sec. vs. 1.1BG/sec. AGP 8X enables more complex models and detailed textures, creating richer and more lifelike environments. Uninterrupted data flow allows for smoother video streaming and faster, more seamless gameplay.

nView Multi-display Technology
The nView hardware and software technology combination delivers maximum flexibility for multi-display options, and provides unprecedented end-user control of the desktop experience. nVidia GPUs are enabled to support multi-displays, but graphics cards vary.

DVI Support
Able to drive the industry's largest and highest resolution flat-panel displays with up to 1600x1200 resolution


There. As I said, this all sounds like a bunch of gibber-jabber, so it's kind of hard to figure out which is the best. Out of what hs been given what is the bottom line of both these cards? In other words, my goal isn't for gameplay, but instead, to make a desent AMV. Therefore, sice that is the case, then wouldn't either card be equally well off, or what? If so, then in that case, what of the X1600?

Also, wouldn't SMARTSHADER Technology, be slightly behind SMARTSHADER HD, or are they both relatively good, the only difference is, they do different things depending on what the user has in mind? In that case, wouldn't SMARTSHADER Technology be just what I need in order to make a decent AMV. Also, while I'm on a roll, what the heck is HyperZ?

[Angeteen]

This just occured to me; since the processor is going to be a little slow, that means the card is needs to be a little quick to make up for it. However, out of curiosity, will my system even be able to make any actual use out of the card's high defintion?

[Keeper of Hellfire]

Seems like you didn't understand the sense of my last post. A card that is specified for AGP 8x only will not work in an AGP 4x slot. It has to be specified for both modes to work in your motherboard. The reason for this is that, beside the speed difference, AGP 4x works with a voltage of 1.5V while AGP 8x uses only 0.8V.

So the X800 AGP will work:

Intel Pentium 4/III, AMD Athlon 64/7K/Athlon XP with AGP 8X (0.8v), 4X (1.5V) or universal AGP 3.0 bus configuration (8X/4X)...

That I posted you'll find no AGP 4x compatible card with this chip is the fault of the German ATI site, they list only the AGP 8x mode.

The X1600 will probably not work:

AGP 8x configurations also supported with AGP-PCI-E external bridge chip

In adition, though it may be compatible with the X800 series, it's not on Adobe's list. So the acceleration isn't guarantied.

And yes, the CPU that you linked to is the right one.

[Kariudo]

This just occured to me; since the processor is going to be a little slow, that means the card is needs to be a little quick to make up for it. However, out of curiosity, will my system even be able to make any actual use out of the card's high defintion?

that's not the way it works. a faster GPU does not compensate for a slower CPU.

as for the HD question, it depends on your monitor. If your monitor supports a resolution of 2048×1536 you should see a difference (perhaps better than another video card, but definately better than the same monitor at 800x600)

if you have a crt you'l have a better chance of getting that high resolution (as opposed to an LCD monitor...unless you have a very large, and expensive, model)

[Angeteen]

Seems like you didn't understand the sense of my last post. A card that is specified for AGP 8x only will not work in an AGP 4x slot.

*blinks*

Huh? Oh, yeah, I checked the list, and mine is a 4x. Still, looking at the website, the card they offer supports both, so I'm safe and in the clear. Heh! Looks like I learned something new that will save me from future headaches. Thanks!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=4858088

as for the HD question, it depends on your monitor. If your monitor supports a resolution of 2048×1536 you should see a difference (perhaps better than another video card, but definately better than the same monitor at 800x600)

I'm not a quality hog, so having something slight degraded isn't so bad. Besides; for a 640x480, 20MB per minute is all that it should ever be. Also, after some forthought, I thought of switching over to the X800. Simply put; how is this a better card? Also, when looking at it, I noticed that this isn't a x800, but instead, a X800 GTO. What? Are they the same thing, or if different, then is this a newer version of the x800?

[Angeteen]

I'm sorry is this is detouring slightly from the discussion at hand, but rather than creating a new thread, I need to ask a quick question; what is a ATI All In Wonder X800GTO? Is this somehow a step up from the X800 GT? The reason I ask this is because if this is sort of like a swiss army knife, wouldn't this be a bit better off, or would I be better suited for just the X800GTO?