using two different graphics cards

Mohith Kumar

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Aug 26, 2014
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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.
 
Solution
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-hawaii-review,3650-29.html

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.

Mohith Kumar

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Aug 26, 2014
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4,510


right but can I choose which one I want to use for gaming and the other just for displays
 

bluejayek

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Apr 3, 2013
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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-hawaii-review,3650-29.html

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.
 
Solution