I recently got a Panasonic HD camcorder which Im loving, The problem comes when I try to use software on the pc. I got Cyberlink Powerdirector 7 with the PC which looks like a fantastic programme but when I go to clip (edit the length of a segment) then it will take around 15-20 secs to load and every slight adjustment I make whilst doing this takes just as long, This makes the programme un-useable. I also downloaded a trial of the Adobe C3 thing and that is even worse as it wont even accept most file types.

 So what I want to know what is the best graphics card that will make a noticeable improvement to how the software runs?

Is there any software that is less demanding on the PC that is just/almost as good?

 What will the improvement likely be the PC is only a year old and has 8gig etc the only thing its missing is a dedicated graphics card (will it get the adjustments down to around a second or two). ?

Pretty much, the more you spend on a video card, the better the results will be, really, I think.

Also, what CPU do you have?

Pentium Dual core CPU E5200 2.5GHz.

Is there certain cards that work better for video editing or are they all just to improve the graphical capability in general.

Software wise Try Sony Vegas.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Vegas-Movie-Studio-Platinum/dp/B001CPHTAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1260135383&sr=8-1

Edit: Dont own the program myself but a few of my friends own it and love it.

The more threads, the better for working with videos, so also, upgrading to a Core 2 Quad or something would also benefit you.

Using GPUs for things like video editing isn't mature yet on any application; you won't notice a difference. You should go for a very fast CPU, so either an upgrade to the Core 2 Quad Q9505 or, for serious video editing, get a Core i5 860 [because of the 8 threads].

(Yes, I can recommend Intel when it makes sense. But always consider AMD too.)