Weird Question, Duel GPU's

Jarminx

Orb Junkie
Member
Messages
172
Location
Louisiana, USA
Just a weird question that just popped into my head.. Is it possible to run two GPU's that are not even remotely the same on one system? Like, be able to choose which one you want to use for what..? I'd say it would be a power thing, have the lower one in use while on general personal use, like email, web, ect.. And the big card for gaming, rendering, ect.. Is that a possibility?

--AMD system
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64 OEM
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    My Own Build
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Desktop Processor
    Motherboard
    ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 AM3+ AMD Motherboard
    Memory
    16GB (x2 8GB) G.Skill Ripjaws 1866mhz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 980TI 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+
    Sound Card
    Built in HD Audio, THX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 48" 1080p LED TV, Dell 27" Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080, 3840x1080
    Hard Drives
    Two Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD's, Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm HDD, Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm HDD
    PSU
    Rosewill LIGHTNING-800 80+Gold Certified
    Case
    Azza Hurrican 2000 (Blue)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Liquid Cooler
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 MX Cherry Red Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    Average 5mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome, Firefox, Torch
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender
    Other Info
    Custom surround system: Pioneer receiver with DTS and Dolby Digital decoders, Sony speakers/sub (5.1)
Yes, you can use multiple cards, each for multiple displays. That's why you see some Flight Simulator folks running 4+ monitors. But they will not work together to render one scene (also known as crossfire).

Of course, you need the appropriate slots on your motherboard, each matching one of the video cards. Then there is the power issue. They both would always be 'on', hooked up to the monitor you want it to display on.

There's plenty of references about how to do it. You may even find one referencing your motherboard.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel I-7 860
    Motherboard
    Asus P7B
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 580
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer (Primary), Asus (secondary), Sony TV (third)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Kingston 128GB SSD Windows 8 Boot Drive
    WD Black 1 TB (2 ea)
    WD Red 3 TB
    WD Black 500GB
    Keyboard
    MS 1000
    Mouse
    MS Flip
    Internet Speed
    Verizon FIOS 35/35
    Browser
    IE 11, Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari
    Antivirus
    Windows 8 Defender (MS Security Essentials)
I suppose I need to simplify my question.. Two different GPU's on one monitor.. The ability to switch between the two for certain uses. Of course they won't work in crossfire/sli since they aren't remotely the same, and I'm not saying I'd want it to both run at the same time. I'm talking about one card running, one card off for simple stuff.. Then the other card on and that one off for heavier stuff like gaming and rendering..
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64 OEM
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    My Own Build
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Desktop Processor
    Motherboard
    ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 AM3+ AMD Motherboard
    Memory
    16GB (x2 8GB) G.Skill Ripjaws 1866mhz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 980TI 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+
    Sound Card
    Built in HD Audio, THX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 48" 1080p LED TV, Dell 27" Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080, 3840x1080
    Hard Drives
    Two Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD's, Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm HDD, Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm HDD
    PSU
    Rosewill LIGHTNING-800 80+Gold Certified
    Case
    Azza Hurrican 2000 (Blue)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Liquid Cooler
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 MX Cherry Red Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    Average 5mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome, Firefox, Torch
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender
    Other Info
    Custom surround system: Pioneer receiver with DTS and Dolby Digital decoders, Sony speakers/sub (5.1)
Your monitor would have to have two inputs. One of mine does and has ability to switch inputs manually (monitor control) or auto if it's set like that. I never tried doing it from 2 GPUs on same computer but used it with two computers. In the case of what you want to do, there would have to be a way to switch GPUs on the fly. In any case it would be really cumbersome.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
They make VGA switches.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
They make VGA switches.

I'm a gamer, so VGA would be kinda pointless for me :p I was thinking more along the lines of software that allows an auto switch to a lower GPU while the main, bigger GPU is not needed. It's an on the fly question, I've got the R9-270 for my main and a spare HD-5450.. Thought it would have been cool to not only save power by having it switch to the lower one but also prolong the life of the bigger GPU by cutting down the amount of use. I think it's an interesting concept, but I've never seen or heard of it being done before. I think that would be cool to bring to life though since it would potentially extend the life of your gaming GPU's :)

--My monitor has HDMI and DVI-D and so does both GPU's
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64 OEM
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    My Own Build
    CPU
    AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Desktop Processor
    Motherboard
    ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 AM3+ AMD Motherboard
    Memory
    16GB (x2 8GB) G.Skill Ripjaws 1866mhz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX 980TI 6GB FTW ACX 2.0+
    Sound Card
    Built in HD Audio, THX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 48" 1080p LED TV, Dell 27" Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080, 3840x1080
    Hard Drives
    Two Samsung 850 Evo 250GB SSD's, Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm HDD, Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm HDD
    PSU
    Rosewill LIGHTNING-800 80+Gold Certified
    Case
    Azza Hurrican 2000 (Blue)
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i Liquid Cooler
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 MX Cherry Red Mechanical Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Gaming Mouse
    Internet Speed
    Average 5mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome, Firefox, Torch
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender
    Other Info
    Custom surround system: Pioneer receiver with DTS and Dolby Digital decoders, Sony speakers/sub (5.1)
Laptops with dual graphics do that all the time. I don't think in this case you could achieve any significant power savings or wear and tear on GPU. Newer GPUs are scalable enough to use and to be used much less when all the power is not required.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
The increase in the longevity of the better card would be negligible at most. Despite switching your monitor to receive the output of the second card, the primary card would still be running. Cards use very little processing power when on the desktop and what not, and they already switch between 2D and 3D speeds etc, so are pretty optimised in powering down themselves.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965
    Motherboard
    ASUS Sabertooth x58
    Memory
    12GB Corsair Dominator 1600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX770
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DX 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2409W + Dell E207WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 + 1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB, Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB, Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB
    PSU
    Corsair TX850 Modular 850w
    Case
    Coolermaster CM690 II Advanced Nvidia Edition
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700 Nvidia Edition
    Keyboard
    Logitech G510s
    Mouse
    Logitech G500s
    Internet Speed
    40Mbps
    Other Info
    Logitech X-530
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
This is a dumb question but could you do SLI with a editing card and a gaming card
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 (Will go to 10)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15-n090sa
    CPU
    AMD A8-4555M APU
    Motherboard
    Hewlett Packard 216B
    Memory
    8Gb (2x4Gb) DDR3 @ 1366Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 7600G 768Mb @ 668Mhz
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" Smart Touch Display
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB 2.5" HDD
    PSU
    HP Battery..
    Case
    HP Pavilion 15, 15" Silver Shell
    Cooling
    2 Noisy Fans
    Keyboard
    GB Keyboard
    Mouse
    Dual Button Mouse
    Internet Speed
    1Mbps Down 100Kbps Up
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows FireWall
This is a dumb question but could you do SLI with a editing card and a gaming card
Two GPUs have to be closely matched for SLI to work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
Back
Top