how do you run 2 GPU?

[theomms]

i have a dell XPS with a PCI-E 16x 6800GTO

i am using the dual DVI output to run dual flat panels

need a third HD15 vga output for a DLP projector.

can i set this up by adding a PCI video card?

has anyone done this?
how will this function?
will all three outputs always be on?
will only one card work at a time?
will i have to reboot to switch between the two cards every time i wanna use the projector?

all monitors support 1600x1200 , but projector has no DVI input

 

[imported_Harbinger]

theoritically it should work. just adding a second pci graphics card etc . in reality though it might be a bit hard to work it out (various drivers to test with , various card maybe etc)

Just an advice. DONT add an ATi based card there. Unless you want your PC to say to you F**K you n00b

 

[theomms]

Originally posted by: Harbinger
Just an advice. DONT add an ATi based card there. Unless you want your PC to say to you F**K you n00b

hahaha:thumbsup: ^that is gonna look good in somebodys sig.

how about this card?

it seems too good to be true that i will just be able to plug it in and get a third output.

is there some software support for running three monitors?
all will be running at same resolution

some one must have done this before, without their comp saying "F**K you n00b"....right?

 

[CraigRT]

You should be able to use software/drivers to get the outputs setup the way you want without having to reboot.
last time I worked with a dual head card and 2 monitors, you could set it to act as 1 desktop, or 2 seperate screens entirely, or you could have 1 or the other off, so i can't see why you can't get it to do exactly what you want.

 

[BerzerkerJoe]

Read his post again:
He's using the dual DVIs to power two panel displays (I assume stretched desktop) for normal use. He also wants to be able to power up a projector. That means 3 devices.

As to the question:
I used to run two different audio cards at more or less the same time by enabling/disabling (NOT uninstalling) one driver or the other in Windows device manager. This was definitely a kludgy way to do it, but it worked well enough for me, and I don't see why it wouldn't work for video cards. There is probably an elegant way to go about this, but I don't know what it is. Maybe something like a KVM switchbox for one of the DVIs?

 

[theomms]

thanks joe

yeah i thought about the kvm route, but have you checked out the prices of a DVI kvm switch? they cost more than the video card i listed above.

can anyone tell me how systems with three monitors work?

has anyone run two similar but non identical GPU's?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: theomms
thanks joe

yeah i thought about the kvm route, but have you checked out the prices of a DVI kvm switch? they cost more than the video card i listed above.

can anyone tell me how systems with three monitors work?

has anyone run two similar but non identical GPU's?

Really, it works just fine. I don't know why you're flipping out over this.

Install the PCI card, get the drivers working, and go into Control Panels/Display/Settings, select the third display, and check "extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor". Bam! Three displays. You can drag windows back and forth onto the third monitor at will, just like you can with the two existing ones. You might want software like UltraMon to help manage the displays.

I've heard that two ATI cards do not always get along well in the same system (or at least they didn't a while back; maybe this has been resolved with newer drivers), but NVIDIA + NVIDIA, NVIDIA + ATI, and various combinations with Matrox cards should all work.

 

[imported_Harbinger]

nvidia + ati is not a good idea. It looks like forceware + cat = bad combo or something, thats what many ppl report.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Harbinger
nvidia + ati is not a good idea. It looks like forceware + cat = bad combo or something, thats what many ppl report.

There's a big difference between running both simultaneously and switching from one to another as your primary display (which is where you get into all sorts of problems). From what I've read -- at least a while back -- running ATI alongside NVIDIA in the same system, with one as your primary and one as the secondary display, works.

 

[theomms]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Really, it works just fine. I don't know why you're flipping out over this.

Install the PCI card, get the drivers working, and go into Control Panels/Display/Settings, select the third display, and check "extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor". Bam! Three displays. You can drag windows back and forth onto the third monitor at will, just like you can with the two existing ones. You might want software like UltraMon to help manage the displays.

I've heard that two ATI cards do not always get along well in the same system (or at least they didn't a while back; maybe this has been resolved with newer drivers), but NVIDIA + NVIDIA, NVIDIA + ATI, and various combinations with Matrox cards should all work.

lol, i will try not to flip out so much:laugh:
really though, i have had problems with two nics, two sound cards, two printers....etc.
basically running two of anything can get sticky. i just wanted to post here to find out what others had expierienced. didnt want to spend $88.00 for a video card (fx5200) that would end up being a paper weight.

im glad that i did too; turns out there are some possible resource problems as well as sound issues (really). most of these issues can be overcome.

i found out all the info that i needed and more HERE

is is a good place to "flip out" with all your crazy questions about running multiple monitors.

later