Graphics card for Photoshop & Premier Elements 9

Question

For the HP HPE580t computer (w/i7-950 quad processor & a 460 watt pwr. supply), which of the following gaphics cards (listed from least to most expensive)would be best to use primarily for video and photo editing with Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 & Adobe Premiere Elements 9?    No need for the card to support gaming.
          1GB Radeon HD 6450
          2GB GeForce GT 420
          2GB Radeon HD 6570
          1.5GB GeForce GT 440
If all are good for video and photo editing, are there any advantages going with the more expensive cards?  Also, is heat a concern with the likes of the Radeon 6450 since it does not have a fan?

Answer 1

As neither PSE, nor PrE uses aspects, like CUDA (some nVidia cards), or OpenCL (many ATI cards), there is nothing to be gained there.
In PrE, there are some GPU Effects, where the processing does rely on the GPU, but this is minimal, and I would wager (without the benchmarks to support it), that any good video card will do this, and little notice of an improvement, or slowdown, will be observed.
Now, things CAN change. PS and PrPro CS5 can use GPU aspects, for some activities. Will that trickle down to the Elements versions? Only Adobe knows. At present, CUDA and nVidia, are where Adobe is focusing. OpenCL was not fully developed, or deployed, when they did their development.
If one is contemplating going to PS, or PrPro, then a faster, CUDA enabled GPU would benefit down the road. If one is contemplating going to PS-Extended, with greater 3D capabilities, then either CUDA, or OpenCL should benefit. If one is looking at doing 3D with other programs, then there would be benefits there.
Personally, I think that current cards from nVidia and ATI would work well. The difference in VRAM will likely never be experienced. The biggest draw for me would be the driver support. Both companies are good at this, though a newer card might see more development work, related to drivers.
Given your details, I think that spending the $ now on HDD's would give you more bang for the buck.
Maybe someone, who knows Adobe's plans, will comment, and that could certainly get me to retract the above statement.
Good luck,
Hunt