techPowerUp! Forums

Go Back   techPowerUp! Forums > Hardware > Graphics Cards

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old Mar 18, 2013, 05:42 PM   #1
cctaylor88
5 Posts
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 18 (0.21/day)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

Graphics card that can sustain 3/4 monitors?

Hey guys, currently running a gtx 460 and looking to upgrade my gpu just a bit in order to run 3 monitors concurrently... mostly for desktop usage and multitasking. I game but only a very little bit, right now just gw2, starcraft 2, and bf3 all of which my 460 handles very well for my needs. But I would really like to run 3 or more monitors at once, if I can sustain "eyefinity" or whatever that would be fine and dandy but this really isn't my main concern.

Would like to spend no more than about $200, need a card that can handle 3 or more outputs at the same time, would also need 4 connection slots as I will need to switch over to my TV when watching movies etc.

What would you recommend? More than likely going to purchase something used unless there is a crazy good shellshocker etc.

My current motherboard only has a single PCIe x16 slot so... I also don't mind buying a PCI card but no one can give me a straight answer and people keep linking me to $70 PCI cards which is a joke, I would rather just buy another 460 for a few bucks more you know?

Thanks
cctaylor88 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 06:29 PM   #2
Delta6326
2000 Posts
 
Delta6326's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Iowa, USA
Posts: 3,291 (1.80/day)
Thanks: 558
Thanked 600 Times in 438 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Delta6326

System Specs

...so you want to play games with 3 monitors and spend $200 or less. I say good luck.

I would say your best option is buy a 670 and if need be sli them.
670 sli is only a couple % behind 680 sli and that's faster than Titan, but this is well over your budget. But if you only have 1 slot then you can't sli.

If fps isn't a problem then look for a 660 that's close to your price and I'm preety sure it can do 3screens.
Delta6326 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 06:32 PM   #3
Jizzler
2000 Posts
 
Jizzler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Geneva, FL, USA
Posts: 3,010 (1.42/day)
Thanks: 567
Thanked 606 Times in 487 Posts

System Specs

Sounds like you want a GTX 660. Find used or on sale for under $200. Will handle your three monitors and TV.
Jizzler is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 06:34 PM   #4
cctaylor88
5 Posts
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 18 (0.21/day)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

No, I said gaming would simply be a plus and will pay a few more dollars for 3 monitors while gaming. I really just want to go from my current 2+1 setup to 3+1 or just all 4 monitors at once..

How can you tell how many monitor outputs a GPU can hold anyways? b/c on newegg when you go to specs it simply states the "Ports" like my card for example has 3 ports but only handles 2 outputs..how can I tell the amount of outputs?
cctaylor88 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 06:39 PM   #5
Jizzler
2000 Posts
 
Jizzler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Geneva, FL, USA
Posts: 3,010 (1.42/day)
Thanks: 567
Thanked 606 Times in 487 Posts

System Specs

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desk...specifications

Multi Monitor:
4 displays

Standard Display Connectors:
One Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPort
Jizzler is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 06:45 PM   #6
theoneandonlymrk
2000 Posts
 
theoneandonlymrk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: republic of mancunia UK
Posts: 2,243 (1.91/day)
Thanks: 849
Thanked 371 Times in 310 Posts
Send a message via Yahoo to theoneandonlymrk

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by cctaylor88 View Post
No, I said gaming would simply be a plus and will pay a few more dollars for 3 monitors while gaming. I really just want to go from my current 2+1 setup to 3+1 or just all 4 monitors at once..

How can you tell how many monitor outputs a GPU can hold anyways? b/c on newegg when you go to specs it simply states the "Ports" like my card for example has 3 ports but only handles 2 outputs..how can I tell the amount of outputs?
Research the exact model of card online, manufacturers have more info and user manuals online so you can double check it will do what you want.
Radeon 7870 is my recommendation the tahiti version
theoneandonlymrk is online now  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 06:47 PM   #7
Delta6326
2000 Posts
 
Delta6326's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Iowa, USA
Posts: 3,291 (1.80/day)
Thanks: 558
Thanked 600 Times in 438 Posts
Send a message via AIM to Delta6326

System Specs

A 660 will do you just fine. Right now on newegg they have a Galaxy going for around $215 with mir its $190 plus a 10% off code.

I'm using TPU APP so I can't link right now.
Delta6326 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 07:17 PM   #8
cctaylor88
5 Posts
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 18 (0.21/day)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

Quote:
Originally Posted by theoneandonlymrk View Post
Research the exact model of card online, manufacturers have more info and user manuals online so you can double check it will do what you want.
Radeon 7870 is my recommendation the tahiti version
Why the 7870 over the 7850 and what exactly is the tahiti version?
cctaylor88 is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 08:01 PM   #9
theoneandonlymrk
2000 Posts
 
theoneandonlymrk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: republic of mancunia UK
Posts: 2,243 (1.91/day)
Thanks: 849
Thanked 371 Times in 310 Posts
Send a message via Yahoo to theoneandonlymrk

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by cctaylor88 View Post
Why the 7870 over the 7850 and what exactly is the tahiti version?
It has a bit more power, there are two types of 7870 the older one based on cape Verde version gpu which is good but the newer tahiti one is based on a cut down 7970 chip and has moer powers yet is reasonabley priced
theoneandonlymrk is online now  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 18, 2013, 08:36 PM   #10
Law-II
500 Posts
 
Law-II's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Mainland Britain
Posts: 892 (1.19/day)
Thanks: 718
Thanked 311 Times in 277 Posts

System Specs

Hi

be aware the 7870 requires ■Use of 3 or more displays with AMD Eyefinity technology requires a DisplayPort-capable panel or an AMD Eyefinity validated dongle. See http://www.amd.com/EyefinityDongles for a list of validated DisplayPort dongles.

Source - http://www.amd.com/us/products/deskt...n-7870.aspx#/2

atb (all the best)

Law-II
Law-II is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 19, 2013, 11:52 AM   #11
tokyoduong
200 Posts
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 414 (3.36/day)
Thanks: 24
Thanked 101 Times in 85 Posts

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by cctaylor88 View Post
Hey guys, currently running a gtx 460 and looking to upgrade my gpu just a bit in order to run 3 monitors concurrently... mostly for desktop usage and multitasking. I game but only a very little bit, right now just gw2, starcraft 2, and bf3 all of which my 460 handles very well for my needs. But I would really like to run 3 or more monitors at once, if I can sustain "eyefinity" or whatever that would be fine and dandy but this really isn't my main concern.

Would like to spend no more than about $200, need a card that can handle 3 or more outputs at the same time, would also need 4 connection slots as I will need to switch over to my TV when watching movies etc.

What would you recommend? More than likely going to purchase something used unless there is a crazy good shellshocker etc.

My current motherboard only has a single PCIe x16 slot so... I also don't mind buying a PCI card but no one can give me a straight answer and people keep linking me to $70 PCI cards which is a joke, I would rather just buy another 460 for a few bucks more you know?

Thanks
Triple monitor is easy on AMD cards. Should be easy on NVIDIA too but I think AMD solution is better past 3 monitors. Get eyefinity edition cards + dongles.
You probably don't want to play games running across all 3 monitors as it will be crawling. Anything under $200 will not run any new/recent game across 3 X 1080p without problems.
tokyoduong is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 19, 2013, 12:12 PM   #12
DarkOCean
1000 Posts
 
DarkOCean's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: on top of that big mountain on mars(e Eu)
Posts: 1,420 (0.90/day)
Thanks: 39
Thanked 272 Times in 234 Posts

System Specs

where do you live? for now i cant see anything better than this for the money http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131487
__________________
DarkOCean is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 19, 2013, 12:37 PM   #13
BarbaricSoul
3500 Posts
 
BarbaricSoul's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Southeastern Virginia
Posts: 3,738 (1.95/day)
Thanks: 370
Thanked 1,084 Times in 799 Posts
Send a message via MSN to BarbaricSoul

System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkOCean View Post
where do you live? for now i cant see anything better than this for the money PowerColor AX7870 2GBD5-2DHPPV2E Radeon HD 7870 GH...
That's the card you want OP. With some OCíng, it's capable of matching my core edition 7970 at stock speeds.
__________________
“Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.”

“Amd....definitely a blond female.....not much on the cpu side, but always strutting about showing off her gpus......wow that was bad. I apologize.” -ensabrenoir
BarbaricSoul is offline  
Crunching for Team TPU
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 19, 2013, 07:35 PM   #14
buildzoid
25 Posts
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 74 (0.36/day)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 15 Times in 13 Posts

+1 to the HD 7870 LE/XT/Tahiti basically 75% of the performance of a 7970 at 50% of the price
buildzoid is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 19, 2013, 11:54 PM   #15
lemonadesoda
Eligible for custom title
 
lemonadesoda's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,337 (2.17/day)
Thanks: 749
Thanked 960 Times in 710 Posts

System Specs

Get a couple of second hand FireGL v3800's or better off ebay. $30-40 each. Top quality output for desktop/workstation use. OK for basic gaming (similar to what u got today).
lemonadesoda is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old Mar 20, 2013, 06:03 PM   #16
shaneduce
5 Posts
 
shaneduce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9 (0.10/day)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

I would get a GTX 660 Ti spend a little exter money and you will not regreat it.
shaneduce is offline  
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Graphics card for 5 or 6 monitors spixel AMD / ATI 13 Jan 27, 2013 02:12 AM
Pro / Reliable graphics card that supports 4 x HD outputs davivid Graphics Cards 11 Mar 21, 2012 11:58 AM
Recommend me a sound card that can do this. Anusha Audio, Video & Home Theater 21 Aug 2, 2011 12:35 PM
Best video card that supports 4 monitors? kciaccio AMD / ATI 7 May 8, 2011 08:34 PM
Lowest end graphics card that can still play HD video? runevirage Graphics Cards 16 Apr 2, 2011 01:12 PM


All times are GMT. The time now is 07:22 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.6
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
no new posts