Dual Video Cards, Dual Monitors, Non-SLI Question

[slick135]

I recently upgraded from a GTX 260 to a GTX 670. The GTX 260 still has quite a bit of power to it, so I was thinking of dedicating the GTX 670 to my main monitor and dedicating my GTX 260 to my 2nd monitor. I believe I will need to make sure the GTX670 is in the PCIe_1 slot and the GTX 260 is in the PCIe_2 slot, correct? Are there any drawbacks to this setup? Will the user experience be just as if I was running both monitors off of one card? For example, I assume I can continue to use both monitors as an extended desktop, I can drag stuff across each monitor, right? What happens if I play a movie and have it half on one monitor and half on the other?

Thanks in advance!

My Specs are:

ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
Intel Core i7 920
6GB DDR3 1600
GTX 670 & GTX 260
24" Monitor @ 1920x1080 and 21" 5:4 monitor @1280x1024
750W Corsair PSU
Windows 7 64bit

 

[mrpiggy]

For dual screen desktop use, there is nothing to gain by using both video cards. You will just waste power. Just use the most powerful one if you plan on playing any games.

 

[slick135]

Really? Even if I only ever play games on my 24" screen while browsing the web on my 2nd monitor? I was thinking that it'd at least help a LITTLE since the main card no longer has to render both screens?

 

[KingFatty]

There is a convoluted situation that could theoretically result in both cards being better, but I think it's so convoluted that it may not even be possible.

The issue comes down to two things. 1) using a 2nd video card results in added power consumption to power that 2nd card. You can check the minimum/idle for your GTX 260, but I think it's non-negligible and will use a noticeable amount of power. 2) Using one video card will use less power, but two monitors connected to one video card means that one video card will use slightly more power at idle because it has to operate its memory clock at a higher speed.

It comes down to whether the increase of powering an entire 2nd card is more or less than the increase in idle speed if you use one card with two monitors connected.

but it gets more involved, because you can use very easy keyboard shortcuts to toggle-off the 2nd display, so even if you use one card, you can recoup the improved idle performance that way, then just toggle-on the 2nd monitor when you need it and get the best of both worlds. For example, use Windows+P to toggle modes between single and extended monitors.

Even if you game on the 24" screen and do non-gaming stuff on the 2nd monitor, the card is not going to suffer much for the additional burden on the 2nd monitor, it's no sweat for that one card.

The only possible reason to use 2 cards is if you want to power more than 4 screens, or perhaps you want to run triple screens using something like SoftTH where you just use the 2nd video card as a dumb terminal while the first video card renders the entire scene for all 3 monitors and passes the info to the 3rd monitor by passing it through the 2nd video card: http://www.kegetys.fi/SoftTH/

 

[slick135]

Ah I see. Thanks a lot for the explanation!

I guess a solo GTX 670 it is. Its a shame for a good Superclocked GTX 260 to go to waste