Using Onboard Video & Video Card w/2 Monitors

hcour

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I just bought a new 27" monitor, should be delivered Monday. On my desktop system I currently have a 24" monitor which I'll pair with my new monitor. I have an nVidia GeForce 8600 GT video card with 512 MB memory, one DVI port and one VGA (d-sub) port. I have a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard with onboard video and a DVI port. I have 4 gigs RAM, core i5 cpu, running Win 8.1 64-bit. I do not play games on this system.

Eventually I'll get a new video card with two DVI ports but that will be a while yet. Until then, rather than use the video card for both monitors, which means one would be on DVI and one VGA, would it be better to put one monitor on the video card DVI port and the other on the motherboard onboard video DVI port?

Also, if I do this, how much memory should I allocate to the onboard video? Options are 32 MB to 1024 MB.

Thanks!

Edit: Just to be clear, I'm pretty sure my mb will allow this. What I'm really wondering is if this will give me a better display on the secondary monitor using dvi rather than vga connection.
 
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I just bought a new 27" monitor, should be delivered Monday. On my desktop system I currently have a 24" monitor which I'll pair with my new monitor. I have an nVidia GeForce 8600 GT video card with 512 MB memory, one DVI port and one VGA (d-sub) port. I have a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard with onboard video and a DVI port. I have 4 gigs RAM, core i5 cpu, running Win 8.1 64-bit. I do not play games on this system.

Eventually I'll get a new video card with two DVI ports but that will be a while yet. Until then, rather than use the video card for both monitors, which means one would be on DVI and one VGA, would it be better to put one monitor on the video card DVI port and the other on the motherboard onboard video DVI port?

Also, if I do this, how much memory should I allocate to the onboard video? Options are 32 MB to 1024 MB.

Thanks!

Edit: Just to be clear, I'm pretty sure my mb will allow this. What I'm really wondering is if this will give me a better display on the secondary monitor using dvi rather than vga connection.
Hi hcour, you cannot use 2 GPU's to power 2 different monitors unfortunately, you can have 2 sound cards and 2 input devices but graphics cards are not something you can duplicate unless they are the same cards, you can use something called hybrid SLI if your onboard GPU is also nvidia but it won't use both monitors. Best option is to VGA and DVI them.
 

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    Dell S2409W
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For that to work, I do believe your motherboard has to support Hybrid SLI. If it doesn't the onboard will shut off as soon as a discreet video card is detected. I've used VGA and DVI on the same monitor and didn't notice any difference. If it was me I'd put them both on the 8600 GT.
 

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    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
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If your system supports it, you will have settings in your bios to enable Integrated Graphics multi monitor, or something to that effect

multi-monitor.PNG
 

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    8.00 GB DDR3 1600Mhz
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    PNY GTX 760
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    Dell S23O9W, HP L1710
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The only practical difference between the DVI and VGA signals (other than the audio capacity of DVI) is that VGA, being analogue, can be degraded by poor cable quality or very long runs of cable. The DVI signal, being digital, will either work perfectly or not at all.

I would just put the second monitor on the VGA cable - it will be fine.
 

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 pro 64 bit
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    Crappy old Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo e8500 3.16ghz
    Motherboard
    G33M02
    Memory
    3gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8600gt
The only practical difference between the DVI and VGA signals (other than the audio capacity of DVI) is that VGA, being analogue, can be degraded by poor cable quality or very long runs of cable. The DVI signal, being digital, will either work perfectly or not at all.

I would just put the second monitor on the VGA cable - it will be fine.

This is going to sound like nit picking but DVI doesn't carry audio, its video only. HDMI does video and audio though.
 

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  • OS
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    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
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    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
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Alphanumeric:

Oops :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 pro 64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Crappy old Dell
    CPU
    Core 2 Duo e8500 3.16ghz
    Motherboard
    G33M02
    Memory
    3gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8600gt

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
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