Hey guys,
I recently upgraded my aging Pentium E5200 / 2x HD 4830 rig to Windows 8. I use three monitors -- a widescreen for my primary and for gaming, a dumpy old 4:3 LCD for my secondary, and occasionally our HDTV as a tertiary when we want to kick back and watch Game of Thrones or whatever.
Unfortunately (and yes, I should have checked this before I upgraded), it looks like AMD does not and will not support my poor old 4830s in Windows 8. I have always been frustrated with my inability to have Crossfire enabled and make use of my third monitor simultaneously (it being plugged in on the secondary video card), but without an updated CCC I can't even toggle CrossFire on and off to begin with, or fix the Overscan settings for the HDTV, etc., etc. It's looking to me like I can't really resolve this problem without rolling back to Windows 7 (which, given that I have already moved all my data into a Windows 8 Storage Space, seems like an especially unattractive task) or getting myself a new rig.
So basically what I'm looking at now is retiring the old girl to work as a media server and pdf console in some other part of the house and getting myself a new rig.
Now, my first thought when putting this thing together is gee, I wonder if I can avoid having to deal with the hassle of constantly flipping Crossfire (or SLI, I assume) on and off whenever I want to make use of my third monitor. Newegg tells me that there are only five cards available that house three DVI ports right on them. Four of them are variations on the GTX 690, a card which I'm becoming increasingly infatuated with, and the other one is a Sparkle GT 640, which my girlfriend is in favor of because it has the word "Sparkle" in it. (It is not in serious consideration.)
That being said, if somebody here can tell me that modern Crossfire or SLI can be enabled while simultaneously making use of all available video ports on the cards, I would be happy to just grab a couple HD 7850's or something and call it a day. (How do people get away with these six-monitor setups and whatever, anyway?) If not, then I'm going to be putting together my first rig based around a top-of-the-line video card, and I don't even know where to start. Do I need to be looking at exotic case cooling? What kind of hardware bottlenecks should I be watching out for? Can I just plug it into a recent System Builder Marathon configuration and call it a day? In a crazy universe where I'm dropping $1,000 on a video card, I would probably be willing to spend in the neighborhood of $2,500 on the whole system. Is that realistic?
lol halp
Approximate Purchase Date: This weekend, if possible
Budget Range: $1000-$2400 before rebates, after shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies, Internet
Are you buying a monitor: No
Do you need to buy OS: Yes, will be buying a new OEM Windows 8 Pro
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Must be newegg.com
Location: North Bay Area, California, USA
Parts Preferences: None
Overclocking: I Am Not Afraid
SLI or Crossfire: Preferably not, but can be convinced otherwise
Your Monitor Resolution: 2x 1920x1080, 1x 1280x1024
Additional Comments: 90% of my activity on this computer will be World of Warcraft, Crusader Kings II, and 720p/1080p mkv's.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: See above
I recently upgraded my aging Pentium E5200 / 2x HD 4830 rig to Windows 8. I use three monitors -- a widescreen for my primary and for gaming, a dumpy old 4:3 LCD for my secondary, and occasionally our HDTV as a tertiary when we want to kick back and watch Game of Thrones or whatever.
Unfortunately (and yes, I should have checked this before I upgraded), it looks like AMD does not and will not support my poor old 4830s in Windows 8. I have always been frustrated with my inability to have Crossfire enabled and make use of my third monitor simultaneously (it being plugged in on the secondary video card), but without an updated CCC I can't even toggle CrossFire on and off to begin with, or fix the Overscan settings for the HDTV, etc., etc. It's looking to me like I can't really resolve this problem without rolling back to Windows 7 (which, given that I have already moved all my data into a Windows 8 Storage Space, seems like an especially unattractive task) or getting myself a new rig.
So basically what I'm looking at now is retiring the old girl to work as a media server and pdf console in some other part of the house and getting myself a new rig.
Now, my first thought when putting this thing together is gee, I wonder if I can avoid having to deal with the hassle of constantly flipping Crossfire (or SLI, I assume) on and off whenever I want to make use of my third monitor. Newegg tells me that there are only five cards available that house three DVI ports right on them. Four of them are variations on the GTX 690, a card which I'm becoming increasingly infatuated with, and the other one is a Sparkle GT 640, which my girlfriend is in favor of because it has the word "Sparkle" in it. (It is not in serious consideration.)
That being said, if somebody here can tell me that modern Crossfire or SLI can be enabled while simultaneously making use of all available video ports on the cards, I would be happy to just grab a couple HD 7850's or something and call it a day. (How do people get away with these six-monitor setups and whatever, anyway?) If not, then I'm going to be putting together my first rig based around a top-of-the-line video card, and I don't even know where to start. Do I need to be looking at exotic case cooling? What kind of hardware bottlenecks should I be watching out for? Can I just plug it into a recent System Builder Marathon configuration and call it a day? In a crazy universe where I'm dropping $1,000 on a video card, I would probably be willing to spend in the neighborhood of $2,500 on the whole system. Is that realistic?
lol halp
Approximate Purchase Date: This weekend, if possible
Budget Range: $1000-$2400 before rebates, after shipping
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies, Internet
Are you buying a monitor: No
Do you need to buy OS: Yes, will be buying a new OEM Windows 8 Pro
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Must be newegg.com
Location: North Bay Area, California, USA
Parts Preferences: None
Overclocking: I Am Not Afraid
SLI or Crossfire: Preferably not, but can be convinced otherwise
Your Monitor Resolution: 2x 1920x1080, 1x 1280x1024
Additional Comments: 90% of my activity on this computer will be World of Warcraft, Crusader Kings II, and 720p/1080p mkv's.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: See above