2 monitos 2 graphics cards

[redxmoonx]

i have two monitors connected to my 2 gtx970s thru HDMI
problem is, only way for both to be on is either "activate all displays" which seems to disable SLI or "surround" which i dont particularly like.. is there a way to have both monitors on AND SLI? or am i missing something?

 

[giantbucket]

um, connect both monitors to the first card

 

[redxmoonx]

um, connect both monitors to the first card

i used to have it that way, but there's only one HDMI.. i dont have another DVI around

 

[giantbucket]

HDMI-to-DVI cables are so cheap on eBay, it's not even funny.

 

[redxmoonx]

HDMI-to-DVI cables are so cheap on eBay, it's not even funny.

you know what... i didnt even think about that either. i have one of those

 

[giantbucket]

i have 5-6 of them very handy since the signaling is compatible.

 

[redxmoonx]

i have 5-6 of them very handy since the signaling is compatible.

yea i have a bunch of display cables... just not the one i need lol
So they both need to be connected to the same card for sli to work, or im stuck with surround. i just put a hdmi to dvi but if i try to select the maximize 3d performance then it grays out the second monitor

 

[giantbucket]

as far as i understand, SLI uses the 2nd GPU only for processing power and not for outputs. but that might have changed or will change soon. so, typically you'd need to connect both/all monitors to the primary card.

as for Nvidia Surround, they might disable that feature with only two monitors connected because most people don't want a monitor bezel right in the center of their view. the graying-out might be a side effect of disabling surround.

as a complete alternative, if your CPU/mobo has its own DVI or HDMI output, you can run the primary screen from the card (SLI) and run the secondary monitor from the mobo. a quick trip to BIOS should re-enable the IGPU if there is one.

 

[redxmoonx]

as far as i understand, SLI uses the 2nd GPU only for processing power and not for outputs. but that might have changed or will change soon. so, typically you'd need to connect both/all monitors to the primary card.

as for Nvidia Surround, they might disable that feature with only two monitors connected because most people don't want a monitor bezel right in the center of their view. the graying-out might be a side effect of disabling surround.

as a complete alternative, if your CPU/mobo has its own DVI or HDMI output, you can run the primary screen from the card (SLI) and run the secondary monitor from the mobo. a quick trip to BIOS should re-enable the IGPU if there is one.

i see what you mean, i got it to work.. thanks for the info