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Can two medium/low end graphics cards perform as well as a single high end one?

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  • Video
  • Graphics Cards
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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October 10, 2013 10:11:27 AM

Hi, I'm a first time builder. I was wondering if I could use several cheap graphics cards in tandem to replicate the effect of a high end card.

Also, if my motherboard/cpu has onboard video and I put in a graphics card, does the onboard video become useless or does it work in tandem with the video cards?

I was also wondering if it would be better to skimp on RAM and funnel that money toward a graphics card, since the card's memory frees up system RAM anyhow.

More about : medium low end graphics cards perform single high end

October 10, 2013 10:40:42 AM

No, 2 sub par graphic cards will not replicate one highend in most games. To be honest I do not know of any main stream games that currently utilize crossfire to its max capacity. Most of the time it is over-kill maybe a 2% increase in performance. I do not have any links but type in Crossfire versus single video card in the Toms hardware search bar. Many have asked this question before including myself.

Ex. 2 6870s will not replicate a 7970. Hands down. Just take your money and get the best gpu your money can buy. Get one SLI/ Crossfire compatible just in case you want to do that in the future.

Motherboard with onboard graphics. Almost pointless in my opinion. Let me explain why.

Only Mobo that it might be beneficial on for utilizing it you dont want its an FM2 with an APU and it will cross fire with a dedicated graphics card. But your performance will be lacking in comparison to a straight up CPU. Now for a motherboard with onboard graphics it could come in handy if say your gpu fails and you need to RMA but still use your computer. Only benefit I can see, and if thats the case no you cannot crossfire that. You need a gpu/gpu to cross fire not integrated graphics (except in the case noted above because an APU is a GPU/CPU).

Hope that makes sense I will summarize in the end, next point. Take a look at the recommended specs for games you want to play to adjust your RAM needs (generally 4 GB will suffice).

Word from the wise 4GB will be enough for gaming but other things (video editing for example) along with multitasking multiple applications you will see the effects of 4GB. ( I know I have a 4GB gaming system and 8GB granted one is dual channel and the other is quad)

Summary:

Personally if you can get all the cool features in a motherboard you want and I suggest the following features: UEFI Bios, Overclock features (you may not do this now but trust me you will), PCI-E x16, x16 or at least x16 x8.

Newegg displays this information on every motherboard I have looked at. So I usually go there and then price check at other sites. You can use pcpartpicker.com it will help, but I guess you can call me old school. and the Onboard video if you can. I happen to catch a sale at the time and bought a back-up video card for my 6850, which was a 6770 for only $60 so for me I opted for a motherboard with no onboard graphics because the one with the features I wanted didnt have it.

Also unless you are a mild gamer, like idk LOL, Runescape, Diablo 3, WoW do not get an APU, I hate APUs with a passion. the A10 Richland one is decent but you are kind of stuck with an APU and if you get a dedicated gpu you are not going to get the performance you would out of it, if it was paired with a straight up CPU. Next unless money is tight go Intel build I love AMD but intel is leading the CPU market right now.
October 10, 2013 10:43:29 AM

Let me know if you need additonal help putting a build together.
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October 10, 2013 11:52:52 AM

Hey, thanks for your excellent response. I don't see a "solved" button to click. Anyway, since I gather you enjoy/are interested in this kind of stuff, I had a couple of other ideas.

1. Same question for CPUs: if I buy a motherboard that supports 2 CPUs, and get two cheaper ones, can that perform as well as a single high end CPU? What is the largest number of CPUs supported by motherboards?

2. Which is more important: high clock speed/cpu quality/caches or the number of cores? Do the extra cores even get used by most software? Would it be a more efficient use of money, to, say, get something with only 2 cores but a high clock speed?

3. Why are CPUs overclockable in general? Why not simply sell them at overclocked speeds? Is it a more efficient use of money to do extensive cooling/OC or just buy a better processor?

4. If I get a weak CPU but work hard on "bottlenecks" like RAM, video card, SSD, etc., will I get good gaming performance? Would I notice a low clock speed/small number of cores in any applications?

5. What about getting a huge amount (32 gb) or RAM and making a Ramdisk? Is there some way to have all of windows 7 loaded into ram? Or is it a waste beyond 8 gb?

6. Is onboard sound OK? Are sound cards that much better?

Thanks a million
October 10, 2013 1:26:02 PM

11693054,0,1432154 said:
Hey, thanks for your excellent response. I don't see a "solved" button to click. Anyway, since I gather you enjoy/are interested in this kind of stuff, I had a couple of other ideas.

1. Same question for CPUs: if I buy a motherboard that supports 2 CPUs, and get two cheaper ones, can that perform as well as a single high end CPU? What is the largest number of CPUs supported by motherboards?

Personally never heard of it except maybe a server mobo which I have no idea about. I turn my old PCs into "servers" if you will to store mass amounts of videos, music, old documents etc. But in theory it would not be ideal too many issues would stem from 2 CPUs for everyday use. get a good mobo and good cpu

2. Which is more important: high clock speed/cpu quality/caches or the number of cores? Do the extra cores even get used by most software? Would it be a more efficient use of money, to, say, get something with only 2 cores but a high clock speed?

This can be up for debate, but here I go. Cores are irrelevant in some applications. To understand the need of cores, cpu quality and caches you need to understand how a cpu works.

Quick break down CPUs process data the speed in which that rotation works is the clock speed get it rotation---clock. Caches is too difficult for me to explain but basically how much it processes at that speed each rotation I could be wrong on that.

Ex. dual core Cpu @ 4.0 Ghz 2 MB cache, it will process data through 2 cores @ 4 ghz speed 2 mb per rotation. I think been like 3 years since I took a CIS class. a 4 core at the same speed and cache will be faster because it has more cores to complete the rotation. Get into hyper-threading and you are way out of my league. But supposedly hyperthread makes 2 cores act like 4 (intel cpus have this feature) but it is not a true 4 core cpu.

Most game applications from my knowledge are built around a dual core processor realize this will change since next gen is around the corner. Safe side get a 4 core CPU if you can. An exception to this is MMOs, or highly demanding RPG titles, they can be very CPU dependent, take WoW for example while it can run on anything I believe its recommended settings is a dual core cpu (WoW is not graphically demanding at all on Ultra) so imagine a more demanding title.

3. Why are CPUs overclockable in general? Why not simply sell them at overclocked speeds? Is it a more efficient use of money to do extensive cooling/OC or just buy a better processor?

When you overclock a CPU you void the warranty, if they can tell you overclocked it (generally by frying it lol) that is why they do not release overclocked CPUs. They do however release Black Editions, for the Overclocking enthusiats. Once upon a time overclocking was scary when you had to tweak your voltage and northbridge to get it stable. Now they make mobos that can easily overclock your cpu safely to a decent speed.

Ex. A while back I bought a Amd Phenom II x4 960T @ 3.0 GHZ Black edition, M5A97 mobo, my mobo has the OC features and core unlocker feature. Without tweaking anything (voltage, northbridge etc) I ended up with a 6 core processor (lucky for me 2 cores unlocked) running stable in Prime 95 for 24 hours at 3.7 ghz. Prime 95 6 hours @ 4ghz. Since then I tweaked the voltage and i have it running Prime 95 for 24 hours @ 4.0ghz safe temp I think maybe 34 C.

Overclocking also generally needs aftermarket cooling for the long term, whether you go air, liquid or water is up to you.

4. If I get a weak CPU but work hard on "bottlenecks" like RAM, video card, SSD, etc., will I get good gaming performance? Would I notice a low clock speed/small number of cores in any applications?

In a way yes, if money is tight I would get the best mobo (motherboard) I can find i think intel based is Z87 and AMD is AM3+ granted id wait on AMD since last I knew their mobos did not have PCI-E 3.0 yet. I could be wrong. With the most CPUs available for it and start with a lower end cpu. think i3 in a 1150 (if it supports that CPU idk I could find out) and toss my money @ a gpu upgrade that cpu later dual core is fine. or go with AMD get a FX Black Edition and hope you unlock a core.

SSDs wait for a good sale man, novelty item, it does increase you boot speed but in my mind 6 seconds vs 60 secs in comparison to $150 or $60 was worth the 54 second wait. (I have since upgraded to 256 GB SSD that was on sale for $120 oh yeah)

5. What about getting a huge amount (32 gb) or RAM and making a Ramdisk? Is there some way to have all of windows 7 loaded into ram? Or is it a waste beyond 8 gb?

No idea, but I wouldnt suggest it. last I knew RAM was temporary storage for processes from applications. I have no idea about RAMdisk, but unless you are working on editing a Hollywood film 32GB for games is overkill, PC would be uber fast paired with a good cpu but overkill.

6. Is onboard sound OK? Are sound cards that much better?

On board sound is good enough for now, unless you are an audiophile I wouldnt worry about it. Or you will be using this bad boy with a surround sound system. Most mobos come with HD sound

Solve button is located on the response so say you choose this one it will say pick as solution.

When building you PC dont worry about it being your first time. Trust me you will make tweaks down the road which will cost you more money.

My suggestions:

$1000-$xxxx Intel Build

$1000 and below AMD (my opinion)

FX-8350 i believe that is the right number are nice
8GB Kingston Hyper X Ram Blu- 1333mhz and cheapo 2x 4g=8 gb for

$70 cant or 2x2gb for $40-$50 get that if you are getting a mobo with quad channel which i suggest.

7970/GTX 770 Im a radeon fanboy because I bought 6 Nvidia GPUs way back and they were all DOA from Asus. But still I am bias, plus in my mind call me OCD but AMD belongs with AMD lol. I only stay away from Powercolor idk why just me looks weird (the logo lol)

MOBO- i stay away from AsRock just me personally but other folks have good luck with them I havent. I get Gigabyte or Asus UEFI Bios, PCI-E x16, x16 or x16 x8, Max Ram Capacity 64GB (you never know lol)

SSD-64GB for you OS and a game or two, 128GB if you are feeling special. Or unless you jump from game to game a lot. Personally I play 2 games faithfully at a time.

PSU- dont be cheap w/e you do. Cheap 400w are not really 400w. Get a good brand like Corsair or Thermaltake, OCZ. Modular. It may be more expensive but in the end it is worth it ( I bought a non- modular and recently bought a modular wish I had just bought it at first)

Last but not least the case- For cost reasons I suggest the Corsair 200R $50 on a good day with a mail in rebate sometimes of $20, go for the rebates, they really pay you. I personally bought my SSD with all the rebates lol. At least they are good for gas money. But Corsair makes a basic case with awesome ways to do cable management.
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