Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Solved

Can I swap out my cards?

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
Share

my current system specs

Operating System-WIN 7 PRO
Motherboard-Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 (Socket M2)
CPU- AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
RAM-8.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Graphics- ATI Radeon HD 5700 x2 (CROSSFIRE MODE) each card only has 1xHDMI, 1x DVI, 1x VGA.
Primary Storage-977GB GRAID SCSI Disk Device (SCSI)
Monitors-3x ViewSonic VA2231w-LED
PSU- Corsair 700 watt

Apparently when i got my 3rd monitor and plugged it into the second card, i took off crossfire mode as well. though only 2 monitors are reconised at any given time regardless of configuration.

this ant good! how the heck can a man play dirt 3?!

Is there a specific reason why this is so? i have the latest drivers as well. the cards are a year old too.

I was thinking of getting 2 HD-6870's and then put them in crossfire mode. as it has been confirmed that i can run up to 4 displays from that if one of them is from DVI to Display port.

Should i get the 2 new graphics cards? and then hope for the best? im not sure if my system is compatable for an upgrade.

or should i just buy one card? (how does this card compare to an hd 5770?





More about : swap cards

Register or log in to remove
Graphics card Expert

your wording is mildly confusing but just to cover my bases ill simplify.
unless you have a sapphire flex edition card you need an "active display port adapter".
this plugs into the displayport on your video card and gives you a DVI connector for your monitor to plug into.
the adapter needs to say "active" on it. an example
http://tommynation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Diffe...

passive ones only work with monitors in a non-eyefinity setup.

ive never played with crossfire so on that end ill just say its probabily best if you keep crossfire enabled when plugging a third monitor into it.

if your not quite sure about how to properly enable crossfire just ask and I or another will post links to guides or type a small essay.
Related ressources
Ask the community
Graphics card Expert

jp hack said:
Okay yes, i dont have a an active display port adapter. thus i think a new card will be better.

I will try with my current setup and see what i can do.


you will still need the active display port adapter regardless of which card you use, so a new card wouldn't necessarily be better.

But i dont have one on the cards i have now

each card as only a 1x HDMI, 1x VGA, 1x DVI

they way i had my dual card setup is as follows

Monitor 1>DVI>Graphics card
Monitor 2>DVI to HDMI>graphics card.

Monitor 3 i plugged it on the DVI on the second card, but it wont reconginse it

What am i doing wrong exaclty?
Graphics card Expert

i didnt realize that you didnt have displayport. skipped that part of your first post i guess.
also i didnt know that there were 5770s without it. as i knew that the 5000 series was first to support eyefinity. and figured all their decent enough cards to power it would support it.

but i looked into it, and your card wont do eyefinity no matter what. even with two cards. your better off getting one good card than two ok ones. then later get a second good one. when funds permit.

Yes when i first got the cards i though nothing of them. but until i wanted to buy a third monitor, then i realized i had a problem.

Right now im thinking of buying two HD 6870's. I know that one card is more then enough to run my three monitors and the latest games. but here are my questions

1. is a 6870 a good buy? or should i take it a step up and buy the 6970?

2. Will there be enough power?

I have a 700 watt PSU, and calculators say that i can run both no problem.

3. Connection problems.

Both cards i currently have have 6 pin connectors for each card. the new cards have two 8 pin connectors. i will check if i can see if i can add an adapter for making connections.

will i need to buy an DVI to displayport adapter?

4. i never replaced a card on an existing system.

How does on do this with out any driver troubles and unexpected pitfalls?
I'm not afraid of taking out my cards and messing on the inside of my case.

though I'm worried on how my PC is gonna react once i do the actual swap.

Best solution

Graphics card Expert

1. Skip the 6xxx series, the 7xxx series is out already ($ permitting)
2. 700 watt is good for any combination of cards you want.
3. You can add adapters from the molex to add more 6 or 8 pin pcie power connections.
4. You will want to uninstall the ATI software you are running, and then shutdown the PC. Then swap the cards, and fire it up. Reinstall drivers, and you are good to go. I have swapped cards out without uninstalling but thats asking for it.
Your PC will be happy after the swap :) 

KK, thanks for the quick TUT on how to swap them out on an existing system.

What do you mean to get the 7xxx series. i was looking at the charts that this website has and the 6870 are looking pretty good for the bets bang for your buck. unless you have another card in mind im all ears!

6870 is a great card, and still bang for buck even by today's standard.

However, there are some new cards bring along new tech by a few weeks from now ready to hit the market. The impact of these new cards are vary, starting from lower price of previous generation lineups to over the performance of what the previous gen cards could ever achieved at the same cost.

Either of way, it's a good thing.

Still, if you need for gaming is dire, go for it.

Yeah, for 170 dollars for 2 with a 10 dollars rebate for both, i think i got a great deal. i have also bought a DVI to DP active adapter for the third monitor. thus i think i will have more then enough power for triple monitor gaming, for about 5 years until its time to upgrade. but until that time i will have to upgrade my whole system or just a simple overclock.

Another question is that does anyone know of any good tutorials on to over clock my 1055t hexacore?
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Graphics & Displays categories
!