Running more than one video card without SLI or Xfire

[firefoxx04]

mainboard - asus m4n75td
gpu - HD 4350
ram - 8gb gskill ddr3
psu - 750w ocz
cpu - phenom II x2 560 (running only 2 cores. clocked at 3.8ghz)


I just picked up a 18.5inch asus display to go with my 15inch dell display. My current gpu runs skyrim fine (by my tastes) on the 15inch monitor but i fear that it wont be able to run it on the 15inch AND power the 18inch display for other things (internet surfing, cad, movies, bla bla) or vice versa.

Im not asking for a card recommendation but rather if its possible for me to run an nvidea card or ata card with the current card but not in sli or xfire. Id like to keep the current card and run a second one (one for each display) Im not to concerned about how future proof the card setup would be, otherwise id jump to a single powerful card to run both displays at once.

 

[inzone]

The thing is that when you have two (or more) displays and an extended desktop you lose mouse and keyboard control when a game is launched and the only way to regain control is to minimize the game.

 

[firefoxx04]

ahh i did not think of that! Thanks

I guess i wont have a problem then because i cant use both screens at the same time if im playing a game. I cant think of a situation that i will be in that requires a stronger card to run both displays (unless im playing a game. i dont do much that is intensive)

 

[po1nted]

The thing is that when you have two (or more) displays and an extended desktop you lose mouse and keyboard control when a game is launched and the only way to regain control is to minimize the game.

This is not the case if you run the game in Fullscreen Windowed mode, when available. You can easily transition between screens, like with any other app.

 

[firefoxx04]

^ good point.


so back to the original question.. can i run two completely different cards in the same system without problems

say i want to add my gt 240? (i think thats what it is.. its sitting around here somewhere. just a old card i have sitting around)

i know my board will accept them and the psu is more than capable.. but will the software play nice?

 

[inzone]

If it's a situation that you have the card and you want to know if it will work then you can just try it out. I just wouldn't go out and buy one to try it unless someone says it will work. As far as windowed mode when you have a small screen you more apt to play at full screen then trying to play a game with a small area unless there was something you really wanted to do on the other screen. You can set something on the other screen to be there while playing and I do that with things like task managers Performance tab to see what is being used and how much , network usage , and other performance screens.

 

[po1nted]

As far as windowed mode when you have a small screen you more apt to play at full screen then trying to play a game with a small area unless there was something you really wanted to do on the other screen.

There are three settings that most games support:

Fullscreen
Windowed
Fullscreen Windowed

Fullscreen Windowed takes up the entire screen at native resolution, borderless. However, it allows for direct control of other monitors simply by scrolling to that monitor. No having to tab out of the game or lose the center (gaming) screen.

Back to the OP:

You should be able to run a second video card with a second monitor attached. IIRC, I did this when running GTX260s for a while. I used the Nvidia Control panel to assign/position the displays.

 

[firefoxx04]

i think id be using a couple forums (car forum, paintball, computers and such) while playing skyrim. Its not a pain to jump out of the game to check my pages or anything.. just convience


but playing games is like 10% of what i use this computer for. I might have autocad up on the 18inch monitor while researching things on the 15inch. In this case i could just run both displays off of the one card if i really wanted to.

Currently i just have the one HD 4350. What if i bought a second HD 4350? They are pretty cheep and the single one i have does what i want.. and that is to play skyrim decently and perform tasks in CAD. thats as hard as i go as far as graphics goes.

i dont think the 4350 is crossfire capable so thats why i wonder if it will work (i would assume the AMD control center would detect it and just make it work)

problem is i only have an nvidea card sitting here that i could use.. but id have to run both AMD and nvidea drivers.. and something tells me that it wont work but i guess i wont know until i try.

 

[inzone]

Is there a budget amount that you are working with and since your not too into gaming then you could pick up two newer cards that support SLI/Crossfire. For under $200 you can get two of these in crossfire.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161379

 

[cumi2k4]

I don't think you can run both video card in the same system without SLI/Crossfire... The only solution is dump your old card and get a more powerful card.

 

[firefoxx04]

well i have ordered a vga to dvi adapter so i can run both displays off the current card.

there really isnt a budget at all right now.. maybe in the future i will upgrade to something better yet not up to date with current standards

back when i was keeping up on video cards.. the 4850 was the best bang for your buck. now it seems they arnt even on newegg anymore shows how long i havnt kept on on things.


so by the sounds of it, i cant run an ati card with an nvidia card and expect them to play nice together.

The card linked above would be overkill for me in crossfire. i would probably be fine with something equal to a 4870 with two vga/dvi ports on it. When i was into gaming, i had an xbox. i got rid of it but then skyrim came out and i made that my exception to game again and got it for PC. and the current card satisfies me but i havnt tried it with two monitors yet.