2 Monitors 2 Graphics cards but how do you make them work together????

Aldaris687

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Hi I'm not sure if this was posted on the forum before but I could not find anything that answered my question.

I recently purchased a HIS Radeon HD 2600 Pro (512 MB) and I have an older Sapphire Radeon X850XT (256MB). I was using dual monitors on the Sapphire card but the 2 screens caused my games to lag a bit. What I want to do is use my main monitor on the HIS Radeon HD 2600 Pro and run my second monitor on the Sapphire Radeon X850XT.

I know that it is possible to run individual monitors on individual cards but I could only get XP Pro to recognize one card. I know that both cards have 2 DVI ports but I'd like to keep the beefier card exclusively for my main monitor.

I'm Not sure if it helps but I'm running...
DFI LanPartyUT RDX200 CF - DR
Dual Core 2.4 GHZ AMD Processor
4GB Ram
 

hesskia

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The X850XT is significantly faster than the 2600Pro.

You should see no lag on games for using two monitors on one card--are you spreading the window across both screens?

 

Aldaris687

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Yes I'm using the second monitor as an extended desktop. From what I understand this setup basically splits my GPU memory between the two monitors equally. I figured that since i have the Sapphire card left over from the upgrade that I could use it on my second monitor and keep the entirety of the HIS card dedicated to the main monitor.
 

dagger

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Yes, the 2600 is faster, although still slow by today's standard. You didn't waste your money.
 

Aldaris687

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I don't see it in the CCC, I never uninstalled the original cards drivers or software I just installed the new card drivers and software and replaced the cards in the case.

I reinstalled the X850XT card in the second PCI-E slot just to make sure and it doesn't show up in CCC. Now however the fan on the X850XT card runs on high and does not stop :(
 

Wolfshadw

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Check you BIOS to make sure GFX Multi Function Mode is set to Enabled and that the PCI-E bandwidth settings are correct (GFX0 --> x16, GFX1 --> x1). This should tell your motherboard you are using two graphic cards not in a crossfire setup.

Link to manual

-Wolf sends
 

Aldaris687

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Ok so i went into bios and it did not have the "GFX Multi Function Mode" it did have a "dual slot configuration" which let me change the bandwidth settings to (GFX0 --> x16, GFX1 --> x1). but when i exited bios my monitors stayed in standby mode but my tower was still running.

The X850XT fan still stayed at full speed like it did before I changed my bios settings. Before with this card (X850XT) it would rev the fan to full then slow down when initially started but thats it, not stay on full like how it is now.
 

Aldaris687

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I did some more searching through the board manual and found where the "GFX Multi Function Mode" options is supposed to be but its just not there in my system bios. I've never updated the bios on this system before could that explain the lack of this option? or is it that my board simply cannot do what I want it to do :(
 

Wolfshadw

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You could probably check your current BIOS version and see if there is an update. If there is, check the release notes to see if it states anything about GFX Multi Function Mode.

I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't be able to do this.

-Wolf sends
 

Aldaris687

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I updated the Bios and dove through the DFI community forum again and still nothing. The only articles I can seem to locate are about setting up in crossfire :( The GFX Multi Function Mode was not in the release about the bios update and did not appear in my bios menu after updating it. Would there be any other reason why it would not work correctly??
 

Aldaris687

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Ok I finally got the graphics cards to work together!! Thank you all for your help! What would you recommend to be the best Dual Slot Configuration. 16x on GFX0 and 1x on GFX1? I originally set it as GFX0--> 12x and GFX1--> 4x.

But where one problem ends another begins. Now with the second card installed my computer freezes occasionally on start up right after the DFI logo but before anything else loads. I've disabled the second card for now, now that I have figured out how to configure bios for them to work