Dual Monitors w/single GPU + onboard graphics

[R4in]

Hey all, I have a question about running dual monitors.

I just bought 2x 23" ASUS monitors to replace my single 24".

My configuration (as the pc isnt built yet) will be a GTX 570 and a motherboard that supports the SB onboard graphics.

I would like to run one monitor for my games and the other for web browsing, movie, etc. Is it possible to set up an extended desktop even though each monitor will be running from a different graphics option? I am hoping i can, for example, raid in WoW on the gaming screen from the 570 and have tankspot open on the other monitor from the mobo HDMI.

If this isnt possible then i see no problem running both monitors from the 570 though i have heard that the card wont throttle down when running 2 screens.

 

[wirednuts]

not sure if that would help you then. all that happens when you run a screen off a different video chipset is that video is processed by the main video card still, and its passed-through the 2nd video card. thats why you can use the cheapest shittiest cards to get more screens hooked up- all they are doing is providing the extra dvi port basically.

i have a 42" flatscreen hooked to my htpc, and above it are 3x19" mva monitors that are hooked to the computer via 3 different video chipsets... a 4870, an 8400gs, and the onboard i3 cpu video. i needed the 8400gs because i dont have any screens that use vga. it all works perfectly. no driver issues, i span across all 4 screens with ease. the top 3 normally just show 1 milkdrop visualization window across them, or just auto-updated pretty static images.... but during sundays its 4 different NFL games simultaneously.

i love it. so much more then my old 120" projection setup. multiple monitors really is better then 1 giant one, although i think it would be neat to have like a 160" projections screen that covers the whole wall, and through software you could split that up into multiple screens of the size and position you wish.... and for those times you want just make it a 160" tv

 

[R4in]

haha, true that mate

might i be better off running the 2nd monitor off my gtx 260 then? and if so, whats the difference in running from a 2nd GPU vice on board GPU?

edit: This is from a newegg review on the ASRock Extreme4 Gen3 board, the one im thinking of getting.

*You only need to run Virtu if you want to do video encoding with quicksync. Otherwise, the integrated graphics work just like having a second non-SLI/Crossfire'd graphics card installed. Without Virtu running you can run up to two monitors from the motherboard in addition to however many you can use with your dedicated graphics card(s), all in one display space.

 

[wirednuts]

im pretty sure if you run your 2nd screen by adding a gtx260, the gtx570 will still see the system as 2 monitors and the gtx260 would be sitting idle 24/7 as it just passes through the already processed video from the gtx570.

i would just hook both screens to your gtx570 and be done with it, because the overall result will be exactly the same no matter what other video cards you use. if you cant get your gtx570 to idle when its running multiple monitors, then buy a different gpu.

 

[R4in]

most certainly agree, like i said, i havent experienced for myself the non-throttling card, its something someone had mentioned happens to them. maybe just their card.

this would make extended display a for-sure

If i dont need to run off onboard then i may just cough up another $50 and grab the evga FTW board

 

[Binky]

A single dual output graphics card can do this without any problems. Just use the 570 with both monitors connected to it.

The only issue is with some games that don't like to run well in windowed mode. In WoW, you can run the game in "full screen windowed" mode and it works great. When you mouse to the 2nd monitor to check a webpage, it works seamlessly.

Some games force you to run in full screen mode, or they run poorly in windowed mode. With these games, mousing over to the other (web browser) screen might cause things like the game minimizing, or other annoyances.

 

[R4in]

nothing a simple, if available, pause couldn't fix.

like i said though, its not like ill be running game critical things on the 2nd monitor, hell it may come down to things like benchmarks, cpu/gpu monitors, etc stuff that doesnt require me to do anything once i start it

its good to know that i wont have to resort to using multiple outputs to do this. thanks for the help wirednuts and Binky

 

[wirednuts]

thats always been the bullshit part about multiple monitors. most applications just arent programmed to deal with it and it causes a lot of headaches. i wonder if the operating system itself could override that...

 

[R4in]

not sure if it can or not, it would be nice though considering trying to run fullscreen means being stretched across 2 monitors, which would just be a hideous experience.

 

[R4in]

I know it wont be a huge affect, if any at all, but will running 2 monitors from a single GPU have any degrading effects on the card? especially with only 1.2GB of VRAM?

 

[7earitup]

I know it wont be a huge affect, if any at all, but will running 2 monitors from a single GPU have any degrading effects on the card? especially with only 1.2GB of VRAM?

In my experience, not at all. They are built with multiple displays in mind these days.

 

[R4in]

Cool, only reason i was concerned was because in another post someone mentioned their 1gb card didnt play too well with their multi-display, but they may have also had like a full screen tri-monitor setup to lol

 

[7earitup]

Cool, only reason i was concerned was because in another post someone mentioned their 1gb card didnt play too well with their multi-display, but they may have also had like a full screen tri-monitor setup to lol

Just to be safe, you should search around and see if you can find other people with the same card running multiple displays and see what they say about it.

 

[R4in]

you should search around and see if you can find other people with the same card running multiple displays and see what they say about it.

Will do, hopefully it doesnt turn out to be a wide spread issue