dual video cards, not sli?

Braveheart · Jan 26, 2009

ok so i have never liked the thought of paying double for two cards and not getting double the FPS that you would get from a single card...i also never liked that you connect the two cards with a piece of plastic...but im starting to look into it again, so im wondering if i can do like two GTX 285's on this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128369 and just hook up two different monitors, i have a 22" samsung 2232BW and I'll get another 21" asus 1080P...I'll put hook the asus up to the GTX285 thats in the x16 slot and the samsung in the x8 slot and use the asus for gaming and the samsung for Visual studio, school, etc....what do you think?

Jakl · Jan 26, 2009

You will only need 1 GPU... 1 GPU can do Duel Display... Its a waste of money if you buy 2 GTX 285 and not planning to SLI them... There will be no performance difference if they are not SLI'd . You can use a cheap $20 GPU if you want to have another GPU installed for duel display... You cant Duel monitor in a SLI Setup, but if you have a GPU not part of the SLI, then you can still duel monitor

Black Panther · Jan 26, 2009

DjJakl said:
You cant Duel monitor in a SLI Setup

I'm not 100% sure but I think that the latest Nvidia drivers had solved that? I'll check it out and get back with the info...

erocker · Jan 26, 2009

Wouldn't the 4870x2 you are using be the perfect card for using dual displays?

kysg · Jan 26, 2009

Doesn't matter, why buy the second card when 1 can do a dual display anyways.

worse case you can switch SLI on and off depending on what you need to do.

Jakl · Jan 26, 2009

Black Panther said:
I'm not 100% sure but I think that the latest Nvidia drivers had solved that? I'll check it out and get back with the info...

probably lol, I havent played around with my setup or with new drivers for a couple of months now since I sold my QX9650 system with 3 9800GTX's . I know you were able to have additional GPU installed that is not part of the SLI, you can use it to duel monitor.

erocker said:
Wouldn't the 4870x2 you are using be the perfect card for using dual displays?

lol Didnt see he had that... the 4870x2 is the best GPU you can have.

Charper2013 · Jan 26, 2009

DjJakl said:
lol Didnt see he had that... the 4870x2 is the best GPU you can have.

* erm I dont know how I double posted.. delete this please

Ehhh, No

GTX295 :slap:

s it all up and down the street

Black Panther · Jan 26, 2009

Yes I found it and yes you can! :toast:

Nvidia has just released a new set of graphics drivers for Windows XP and Vista with the WHQL stamp. This version, 181.20, brings support for the recently released GeForce GTX 295 and upcoming 285 graphics cards along with a slew of bug fixes and performance improvements in applications and games such as Age of Empires, Company of Heroes, Grand Theft Auto IV, Prince of Persia 4 and others.

The new drivers also enable SLI technology on SLI-certified Intel X58-based motherboards with all SLI-certified GPUs, SLI multi-monitor support, and apparently tweak power management for GeForce GTX 260 and 280 cards, too.

erocker · Jan 26, 2009

Charper2013 said:
Ehhh, No

GTX295 s it all up and down the street

Ehh, No we arent having this discussion. :rolleyes:

I am curious why the OP is asking about going with SLI when he already has a great card that can utilize dual display?

Braveheart · Jan 26, 2009

i ordered the 4870x2 when i changed my system specs...but i canceled it cause i missed the free shipping special...so i lied, i don't have a 4870x2 yet, which one is better? a 4870x2 or a GTX 295?

erocker · Jan 26, 2009

GTX 295 beats the 4870x2 in most (not all) benchmarks. The 4870x2 is cheaper. It's up to you to decide what is better really. There are a couple threads here already devoted to 4870x2 vs. GTX 295. Let's not turn this into one of those threads. Personally, I would side with saving money and getting the 4870x2. Unless personal benchmarking scores mean everything to you and you live or die by them, the cheaper card is the best choice.

Deleted member 3 · Jan 26, 2009

Braveheart said:
i ordered the 4870x2 when i changed my system specs...but i canceled it cause i missed the free shipping special...so i lied, i don't have a 4870x2 yet, which one is better? a 4870x2 or a GTX 295?

You don't like paying double yet you like paying a shitload of cash? If performance of a single cheaper card is enough just go for that.

Braveheart · Jan 26, 2009

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=4870x2&x=0&y=0 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=GTX+295&x=0&y=0 ...doesn't look too different in pricing...

erocker · Jan 26, 2009

So go look at benchmarks, find the games you play in those benchmarks and make your decision from that.

Braveheart · Jan 26, 2009

GTX 295 ordered.

erocker · Jan 26, 2009

Congrats! It's a beast of a card. :toast:

DarkMatter · Jan 26, 2009

Braveheart said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=4870x2&x=0&y=0 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=GTX+295&x=0&y=0 ...doesn't look too different in pricing...

It trully isn't, but people are still thinking about the pre-order (always inflated) prices on the 295 and the special (temporal, it seems) price cut of the Shapire X2 card, that put it at $399 after rebate.
As it stands now the GTX295 offers a considerably better performance/price, more so if you consider that the X2 consumes more than 50w more than the 295. Depending where you live that accounts for $25-$50 per year of normal use. Considering that you want it for work as well, that figure would probably be much higher, say $100 a year at $8 (EDIT: 8 cents, sorry

) per kwh. I make a lot of fun on the fact that people care about price, but not about power consumption. Power is money, unless you are not the one paying the bill. Well, I suppose is the case for many...

In any case as some have said already, both are probably overkill and will probably be for a long time at your resolution, unless Crysis 2, Doom4 or something similar is released in that period of time. I always think the third or the 4th options are the best and that's GTX285 or GTX260/HD4870.

I find this one very appealing personally: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127403 - Overclocked, with free game.

EDIT: Oh so you already decided. Congrats.

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dual video cards, not sli?

Braveheart

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Jakl

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Black Panther

erocker

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kysg

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Charper2013

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Braveheart

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Braveheart

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DarkMatter

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