Loved New computer-old card

I am building a new computer, and am confused about which graphics card to use.
New system -- Intel Core i7-7441, 16 gig memory, 250 gig SSD,, 2 HDD.
I have a PNY NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT I bought several years ago but never used. Is it worth using on my new system, or should I just spring for a new card? If new, which is my best option. I am a bit confused by all the various recommendations on the web and in the tutorials. I am using Movie Studio Platinum Suite vers. 12.

Thanks.

Here's the video card requirements for Version 12

NVIDIA

Requires a CUDA-enabled GPU and driver 270.xx or later.
GeForce GPUs: GeForce GTX 4xx Series or higher (or GeForce GT 2xx Series or higher with driver 285.62 or later).
Quadro GPUs: Quadro 600 or higher (or Quadro FX 1700 or higher with driver 285.62 or later).
NVIDIA recommends NVIDIA Quadro for professional applications and recommends use of the latest boards based on the Fermi architecture.

AMD/ATI

Requires an OpenCL-enabled GPU and Catalyst driver 11.7 or later with a Radeon HD 57xx or higher GPU. If using a FirePro GPU, FirePro unified driver 8.85 or later is required.

Hi pcampbell

Yes it is confusing !
Your old Graphics Card is very low powered, so won't be much help with today's level of software.
With a computer like yours, you should definitely invest in a new Graphics Card.

Both Nvidia GeForce GTX and AMD Radeon Cards will work in Movie Studio and Vegas Pro.

HOWEVER !
The latest AMD Radeon Graphics Cards, now work best in all Sony Software.
There are many reasons for this. One of the main ones is AMD GPUs come with better Drivers for Movie Studio and Vegas Pro, so you will get much better performance with these cards.
Nvidia has crippled their GTX series Drivers deliberately for Video Editing, Special Effects and 3D Modelling programs.
Nvidia GeForce GTX cards are mainly optimized for Gaming only now. Nvidia is trying to force people into buying the more expensive Quadro cards, if you mainly do Video Editing and Special Effects. Quadro Cards have optimized Drivers specially for Video Editing, Special Effects and 3D Modelling.

Sony Creative Software and AMD have been working closely together, to make sure AMD Graphics Cards work properly in Sony Movie Studio Platinum and Sony Vegas Pro.
To get a card that will actually be of benefit, you need to spend at least $150 and more.
The best AMD Radeon Cards include R9 270, R9 270X, R9 280, R9 280X, R9 290 and R9 290X.
Get the best one you can afford.

Older Nvidia Graphics Cards DO STILL WORK really well in Sony Software.
GTX400 and GTX500 series cards work very well, so if you can find a good second hand GPU, it will work !
GTX600, GTX700, GTX800 and GTX900 series cards use a different architecture now, and this has cause big problems. The Drivers for these cards are also crippled for GPU acceleration support. They will still work in Movie Studio and Vegas Pro, just not as well as they should. This is why I now recommend AMD Radeon instead. If you do a Google Search for benchmark testing of AMD Radeon Cards with Vegas Pro, you will find very good results. Anything that they say for Vegas Pro, also applies for Movie Studio Platinum.

*Please note that the latest AMD Radeon and Nvidia GPUs, do not work for GPU Acceleration with Mainconcept AVC/AAC profiles. The Mainconcept profile has been around for a very long time now and has not stayed up-to-date with modern graphics cards. People have been using Sony AVC/MVC profiles instead, which may work a little bit better.

Even though modern Graphics Cards no longer help speed up rendering times, they do help Playback in the Preview Window and for processing of Video FX plugins which are GPU accelerated.

I hope this helps you in getting some real world clarity.

Regards
Derek

Derek, thanks for your clarification. I bought an AMD r9 280, and it seems to work fine. Haven't rendered anything yet, but5 will in the next day or so. The only problem with this card as regards my computer is its size--it just barely fits in the case.

Thanks again.

That's a good point !
It is important to measure up before adding a proper Graphics Card to your computer.

Derek,

Thanks for the updated information about AMD's cards for use in editing. I have been scouring Adobe and Sony's sites, forums, and other web areas, and have not found much about this. I thought I was having a problem with the MSI GeForce GTX 760 in my machine, but only with Vegas Studio Platinum 12 & 13 Suites. Guess I'll have to start saving up for an R9 290!

Also glad to see you "up and about" creating more instructional videos. They are extremely useful. I keep an eye out in my e-mail for when you send out an update/new video.

Keep up the Great Work!

Mike O'Sullivan

Cheers

Just to add my thanks for this thread. Have been scouring the net looking for advice on 2nd hand AMD v Nvidia, and this is by far the best bit of information I've found. Thank you!

That's good to know.
Cheers