Upgrade from GTX460 for 3 monitors (incl. 2560x1600)

grole · Jan 14, 2017

Hello, I'm looking to upgrade my trusty gtx 460 due mainly to the fact that I'd like to use 3 monitors (mine supports only 2), and probably due to the fact that one of them will be a 2560x1200 display (it's in the mail still). I mainly do photo editing in Lightroom, with file sizes up to 30mb. This works at the moment, but I suppose things could be faster. I do play some games, but generally not the latest and greatest. They will need to work on the new display though. Gaming on all three displays would be interesting but NOT necessary. (not sure if it works with the outer two being vertical?)

I know my motherboard/CPU are not the newest, but I'd like to postpone that upgrade till later, if at all possible, and transfer the new graphics card at that time. That worked well last time.

I'd first like to know if it's worthwhile purchasing another (used) gtx 460 (can get one for under $50) and connecting the two with SLI - assuming that will let me use 3 displays. Or if that's not worthwhile.

I've filled out the details below. Apologies up front for not being up to date on the lingo: the last time I researched cards was 2010.

Thanks in advance!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next month.

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Lightroom 5, gaming (eg. Dirt/call of duty series) note: new monitor has 2560x1600.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Gigabyte GTX 460 OC 1024mb DVI/HDMI. Thermaltake 480W (works fine so far, but could be a bit weak?)

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: Phenom II X4 Black 955 3x 3.2ghz (slightly OC), 4x4096 G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1333 CL9, Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Amazon.de (I'm in Germany)

PARTS PREFERENCES: None

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe (see above)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2x 1050x1680, 1x2560x1600

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'd prefer 3xDVI (one must be dual link). However, 1xDVI dual link + 2 HDMI would be ok, as long as there's no quality loss using an adapter? My monitors have only DVI.

Isokolon · Jan 14, 2017

for a setup like that I suggest
a) a GTX1080, a 1070 will do fine
b) a new PSU
c) if possible a new CPU as the 955 will bottleneck severely in some games

the GTX1080 would be perfect for that and give you a bit room.
however I wouldn't get one unless you're planning on upgrading your CPU really soon.
otherwise a GTX1070 is fine.

as for the models: forget about clock speeds, with Boost 3.0 they all perform within 3 fps usually.
get a decently cooled, cheap card.
usually in Germany Gainward Phoenix or Palit Gamerock are the cheapest and arguably best cooled cards
you can get a 1070 Gainward Phoenix for 450€ incl. tax., an Inno3d iChill x4 (kind of an insiders' tip) for 455€
if you want to stick with the big brands, EVGA is in the same price range.
the cards by ASUS/MSI/Gigabyte with a comparable cooling solution are somewhat more expensive in Germany, I'd stay clear.

2) get a new PSU. your current one is a design from before 2006 can only deliver 220W on the 12V rail (back in the day 5V output was more important)

you can get a Corsair Vengeance 550M for 63€ @Mindfactory
the Gold rated XFX TS G 550 for 73€ @Alternate
while the fully modular Seasonic G 550W is available for 77.85€ @Mindfactory

3) i don't know how hard photo editing is on the GPU, but video editing needs CPU power.
as for SLI: might be alright for editing at that price, for gaming it's definitely not.

grole · Jan 14, 2017

Thanks for the quick and detailed answer!

I suppose I didn't include a price range. I was hoping to avoid costs on top of the new monitor, but realize it doesn't necessarily work that way.

Would there be more of a budget option on the card? Let's assume I'm playing games which are 2-3 years old with moderate settings and only on the 2560 monitor. I'd want full res though, for sharpness.

New PSU: agreed and those prices are ok

New CPU: Could I try mine first and upgrade only if I notice a bottleneck? I take it my motherboard and RAM could be kept even if I upgrade?

On the 2x 460gtx SLI idea: Would that be enough to run (again not newer games, not high detail) at 2560, or would that not work at all? Also, would my current PSU also need an upgrade for that? And, would adding the 2nd card allow 3 monitors, when a single card only runs 2?

General question regarding the GPU hierarchy: I found a GTX 460 SE and 192 bit on there, and was surprised to still find it at all on the "current" chart. Does this mean my card is really only 3 lines below, say, the 750 ti? Or are those versions somehow much better than mine? Or have I understood it completely wrong.

Thanks again!

Isokolon · Jan 14, 2017

you can go for a Rx480 8GB and tune down settings.
they're ~200€ cheaper than the 1070

your current PSU would have problems supporting a single modern GPU.
220W aren't really that much.

of course you can. I'm just saying this as I upgraded myself from a 955 BE.
again I don't know about photo editing and how heavy this is on the CPU.
but the 955 is rather old by now and kind of outdated. a modern CPU with the same clockspeed outperforms it by a mile or two.

SLI: the problems with SLI are the followin
- not every game supports it. and by not support it, I mean you got the second 460 purely for decoration
- not every game supports it properly. this is the majority. usually a second 460 should boost performance 60-80% if implemented properly. however in many games you find only minor increases
- your PSU doesn't support it

"only 3 lines below the 750Ti" is pretty low. the 460SE is an overclocked model I think.

grole · Jan 14, 2017

Heirarchy: ok got it, I was just surprised that a 7 year old card was on the list still.

SLI: ok, seems like I should forget that option.

CPU: so would it really be worthwhile / feasible getting a new one for this board? What would be an example of a good upgrade for it?

I think what I'll do is hook up the new monitor when it gets here, plus one old one, to the current setup and just see how things work. If it's fine I'll just park the 3rd monitor for now. If and when I notice it lacking, I'll upgrade the PSU and get a card like the RX480 or equivalent. Then assess after that if I need the new CPU, based on usage.

Isokolon · Jan 14, 2017

SLI: well it depends. for gaming it's a waste of money mostly. but google "GTX460 SLI benchmarks" for some games you like and play mostly. maybe it's worth it for you.

CPU: nah, we're looking at an upgrade. the AM2+ socket has been dead for a long time. but the new AMD Ryzen should mix things up.

grole · Jan 15, 2017

I suppose I could get a good PSU in the short term, then pick up another gtx 460 used and see if that does it. Otherwise I'll have to do the proper upgrade of the works.

Another idea, assuming I can run the 2 monitors off the current setup for now: would it work to get some other cheap card which doesn't need a PSU connection and slap it in only to run the 3rd monitor (@1680x1050)? Can two cards work in parallel like that? It'd ONLY be for extended desktop: explorer etc. Not for games and not even Lightroom.

Isokolon · Jan 15, 2017

In theory yes.
In reality it leads to multiple problems especially with Windows.
All of them are fixable but are...Well...Better to go SLI.

But I'm not an authority in multi-GPU setups.

grole · Jan 22, 2017

Just a followup: I picked up a GT 710 with passive power/cooling to install beside the 460 and connect the two smaller monitors to. I'll be using them only for windows apps anyway. Now the 460 runs only the large monitor and it's working fine. I haven't tried any of the latest games but it runs, for example, dirt3 with high settings. Not sure about framerate but it looks fine to me.

So anyway, I'm happy with that and it'll let me postpone the computer upgrade for the moment.

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Upgrade from GTX460 for 3 monitors (incl. 2560x1600)

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