Can I use 2 Crossfire compatible cards to run four displays?

[Gassyass]

Hi all

I have just acquired two additional display, giving the potential for a four-display set up [four 24" DVI monitors @ 1920 x 1200].

I've read the really helpful descriptions of Crossfire in the site, but am not quite clear whether using two linked cards will allow me to run all four monitors as one large desktop, as the main focus seems to be on gaming.

I'm not a gamer, so don't need massive frame rates - system is used for music [Cubase & Wavelab] and graphics [Adobe CS6 suite] production, with occasional low-end video editing. It needs to be as quiet as possible for when I'm using microphones.

My mobo is an Asus P8P67 PRO Rev 1.xx. [manual says it is Crossfire-compatible]
It has a 3.3 Ghz Intel Core i5-2500K
I have 16GB of RAM

I have found a passively-cooled card [XFX HD 5450 1GB DDR3] here in the UK, and wondered if a pair of these would do the job, using HDMI-DVI converters where necessary.

Any help anybody can give would be really appreciated.

 

[lonewolf7]

You can use any dual cards to run 4 monitors setup, you can go with a single card as well provided it has four display ports to run the monitors. Or you can use 1 NVidia 1 AMD card for 4 monitor setup.

So basically you can go with any setup since Crossfire is not your concern, but to run 4 monitors. Good luck.

 

[huilun02]

Your board supports Crossfire. Two of those 5450 should do the job.

I'm not sure if Crossfire allows four displays, but you can always run them as separate cards and have them power 2 monitors each.

 

[giantbucket]

You should be fine. Just be sure to manually disable crossfire so that you can use both cards' outputs.

 

[Gassyass]

Thanks to all of you who replied for taking the time out to help me.

So, if I understand it correctly, Crossfire is a bit of a red herring in my situation? All I need to do is add another graphics card to the one in there already, and I'll be able to use all four displays?

I have an NVidia GForce GT430 installed, and have used the NVidia Control Panel to set up the 2 displays.

I have a spare ATI Radeon HD3400. If I install this plus drivers, too, will I be able to set up four displays as part of one large desktop via the Windows Control Panel Display settings?

Thanks again

 

[giantbucket]

Probably yes but there's no crossfire then. But it might get you 4 monitors.

I recently picked up (ordered, waiting on delivery) a pair of GT640 which should each drive 4 monitors. $100 or so. That might be another alternative for you down the road.

 

[lonewolf7]

Yes you can use different GPU's (NVidia + AMD)under a single OS(Win 7) for a quadruple monitor setup. But I don't know if that will act like a large desktop or not.

 

[giantbucket]

Here's the deal - you should be able to run 1/2/3 graphics cards on one mobo and as long as you turn off crossfire (or nvidia's equivalent) you should be able to use each card's outputs freely, up to each card's max capability. And what you'll have is a lot of screen space.

BUT - it won't be a single massive desktop like a banquet table. It'll be a bunch of normal tables placed next to each other.

Sometimes, this is better because when you maximize a window it stays within the one screen and doesn't span everything and break up your image with monitor bezels. I've had a card that does that and trust me it's annoying as f__k sometimes. Some apps automatically place a dialog window in the middle of your "desktop" and if that lands where two monitors meet, it gets split which is annoying to read.

Personally, I'd rather run 4 screens in NON-eyefinity mode and down the road buy a nice large 4k screen to replace the setup (when the cost is more manageable)

I currently run 7 screens, so yeah I'm itching for some 4k action.... I'd buy two at least.