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using two different graphics cards

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  • Graphics Cards
  • HD
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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August 26, 2014 8:30:41 PM

i just bought an r9 290 reference model, and i used to have a saphire hd 7770 and i know that I can't use them in crossfire, but what I wanted to ask is it possible to have them both running and only use the 290 for games and at other times the hd 7770 in order to save some power.

More about : graphics cards

August 26, 2014 8:45:42 PM

from what I know you can have 2 separate graphics cards running in a system weather its 2x AMD 2X NVidia or one of each.
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August 26, 2014 8:55:17 PM

Baumy15 said:
from what I know you can have 2 separate graphics cards running in a system weather its 2x AMD 2X NVidia or one of each.


right but can I choose which one I want to use for gaming and the other just for displays
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August 26, 2014 9:03:49 PM

it should have 2 separate desktops (not sure if it works) and I think you would run the games on the one you want
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August 26, 2014 9:06:52 PM

make the 290 your main display and it will run of that gpu

if none of these work I don't think its possible
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a b U Graphics card
September 10, 2014 9:44:46 PM

Lol, do you mean you want to use the R9 290 for gaming and the 7770 for light applications? Like switchable graphics?

It`s not possible man. But you can make your software that enable this feature. :) 
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September 10, 2014 9:52:50 PM

Firstly, what the others said about it not being possible/easy.

Secondly, you wouldn't gain much. You'd probably lose more by having the second card sitting there idling then you gain by not running the R9 290 at... idle... while running desktop.

This link gives a chart of idle power consumptions for a single monitor

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290x-hawa...

The 290 and 7770 are not on there, but comparing the 290x and 7790, the overall idle power you gain by running the lower card is 10W. If you are in a typical power cost of 0.15c/kWh, that is is ~5$/year assuming you run 10 hours a day on idle.
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