I have been reading these boards for about 3 weeks tirelessly now. I have my MacIntel parts...I just need a graphics card.

I am making my rig for Video editing. I plan to use either Final Cut or Adobe Premier for the detailed productions, and for quick videos I currently use iMovie HD6/iMovie '08 (on my iMac ). Also, are there any things to be aware of for installing and running these apps on a MacIntel?

I need to see some benchmarks for just the graphics cards, particularly related to movie editing/film manipulation (this isn't Maya type stuff).

I'd like to spend $180 tops if possible.

I haven't been able to install OSX because my mobo has GMA x3100 onboard. Film editors' imput would be very helpful!

Well the 2 different topics: 10.5.1 vs. 10.5.2 graphic kexts is an interesting point, but can't help there. (haven't updated to 10.5.2 yet, if it ain't broken don't fix it!)

Regarding graphic cards for video editing: you should know that the demands of most editing programs are different than for all those 3-D gamer needs... which is good, as you do not have to pay extra bucks for a super-deluxe gamer card.

Editing programs do not use much gpu power, except for special compositing cards for e.g. AfterEffects or non-compressed HD video... so basically it comes down to getting a card that is most compatible with your MB and OSX. Nvidia in the 7300GT or 7600GT should usually do fine.

What is important is the processor: it does the rendering/real-time effects, which is why I opted for a quad core...

regards,
ninetto

you won't need a powerful graphics card as editing software is not demanding (gfx-wise).
you just need to have qe/ci enbled or else final cut won't start.
my 7600gt does the job perfectly, but even an older card would do.
i recommend ati hd3870 - affordable, yet fast, and most importantly image quality is WAY BETTER than nvidia's.
netkas has figured out how to get it working with full acceleration

no need for expensive 8800's, save the money for ram - you'll need plenty of it.