I have an x1950 pro with 512mb of ram, and when I looked up the system requirements for AMC 3.0 it has a note that says only NVIDIA cards are compatible with avid.  Is this true or will my video card run it?

 Until about 7 months ago I was happily running Liquid 7.2 on and ATI 2900 card.
When I migrated to MC 2.8 (at that time) one of the first things I did was to order an Nvidia Quadro FX 3500 card. I tried running MC on the ATI card and it seemed to be running OK. By that I mean I could boot up MC and see the video in the source and record monitors etc. But I firmly belieived that somewhere along the line I would run into trouble with the ATI card. So I installed the Nvidia card.

It probably will depend on your situation and useage of MC. If you are an advanced hobbyist who likes tweaking and generally playing around with computer components.... go ahead with the ATI card.... maybe you will be happy. (But because of the need for a good open GL card - I doubt it)

If you are more depending on getting jobs done for paying customers you would be better advised not to stay with the ATI card.

Regards,

Douglas

 trying to run avid with an ATI card is hit-or-miss, at best.  some users have had luck running ATI with certain versions of avid (i for one), only to have major issues upon upgrading to another version of avid (again, my story).  anyone who's been around these forums for a while can tell you the odds are against you.

the amount of memory on your card isn't the main issue here, as it's the way in which the ATI cards process video information that will likely cause the eventual problem(s).  as Douglas suggested, if you're wanting to work for clients, profit, on a timeline, etc., save yourself the headache & purchase the least expansive nVidia vard approved for your version of avid.  you'll never regret it.  if you're just playing around, you can give it a try.  just look at the video card first if anything goes screwy.

shane