Multiple video cards -- NOT SLI or CrossFire -- for gaming?

[IndyColtsFan]

I have a question which is probably really basic, but I have never tried it. Right now, I have an Asus Rampage Formula board. I have a GeForce 8800 GTS 512 in one of the PCIe x16 slots and it is connected to 2 LCD monitors.

I also have a 42" 1080P plasma, and I was thinking it would be nice to be able to play games on it. I was thinking about installing a second video card in the other PCIe x16 slot and connecting it via a long DVI-->HDMI cable (or HDMI to HDMI if the card has it) to the plasma. Does anyone see problems with this approach? I think I would probably want to stick to another nVidia card to avoid issues, correct? Would 2 PCIe nVidia cards work in this system even though 1) I am not trying to SLI them and 2) the board does not support SLI, even if I wanted to?

I'm thinking I would just have a desktop extended to 3 monitors and I could play games in a window, drag them to the plasma, and then maximize them to play.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Anyone have suggestions or ideas?

 

[betasub]

OP: no, yes for a single video driver in Vista, yes.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Cool thanks. I might have a GeForce 6600 or 7800 to test with to see if I like it before I buy a new card.

 

[win32asmguy]

Windows will only give 3d acceleration to the card that has one of its ports set as the "primary" display. Otherwise, it switches to software rendering - regardless of if both graphics cards are of the same brand and series or not.