Vegas doesn’t need a honking big video card as it does it’s processing with ram and the MB processor.
Amen to that. Also, far as I know only premiere CS4 supports 1GB cards. You should check with sony first. A good 512MB card will get you through nicely. Another thing, if you’re running WinXP at 32-bit, the most RAM it’s going to see is 3GB! Another sticky detail is; many high GB cards are massive. Will the card you’re looking to buy fit without blocking essential ports or causing you to remove other cards?
On our latest NLE we had XP Pro 32-bit w/4GB and all it would see was 2GB! After we installed SP-3 2.5 was all we could get. Ultimately, we went with Vista Business 64-bit and now it sees all 8GB we now have installed!
Far as your computer ‘handling the pressure with two fans’, I wouldn’t recommend it. Our new NLE has 5 with one taking up most of the side of the case cover!
Lastly, you didn’t mention a sound card. Your video may look great, but crappy sound will nullify it because you didn’t take into account an appropriate card.
Truthfully, it sounds like you maybe should be saving to build another rig.
