Dual GPU Benefits?

[LDTheCourier]

Howdy.

I'm running into some computer problems, slowness, lag and such.

I found an old GPU. a GeForce GTX 650Ti Boost. I am hoping to add this
to make things run smoother when playing games, etc.

I currently have a MSI Aero GeForce GTX 1080 oc with two monitors attached.
What I would like to do (If its possible) is have one monitor attached to one GPU,
and the second to the other GPU. The powerful one for games and other high demand apps,
and the 650 to use for everything else, folders, chrome etc.

Parts:

Windows 7 64-Bit.
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS M5A97 R2.0
CPU: AMD FX 350 Eight Core Processor
CPU COOLER: Cooler Master HYPER 212X
GPU: MSI Areo GeForce GTX 1080 oc
POWER SUPPLY: Thermaltake DPS G Series 650 W
RAM STICKS: 16GB RAM x2 Ballistix Sport & Two others i am unfamiliar with.
OTHER: Asus Xonar DG Sound Card

Second GPU: GeForce GTX 650Ti Boost

I don't know much on having a stable computer, I just know how to piece them together.

 

[clutchc]

That should work fine. Load the driver for each card, as they may take different presets due to their GPUs.
But I gotta ask, a GTX 1080 with an FX-8350?

 

[jojesa]

Your FX 8350 might be showing its age.
Adding another GPU won't make your PC faster...it will only create more issues.
In which scenarios are you encountering slowness, lag and such?

 

[Wolfshadw]

Are you sure the graphics card is the problem? I'd be more willing to bet the issue is with your CPU utilization. You might be able to add the GTX 650Ti to your system without issue, but you are starting to cut it close on power:

Upto 125 watts CPU
Upto 225 watts GTX 1080
Upto 150 watts GTX 650Ti
Plus anything else connected.

Adding a second graphics card to that motherboard does not have an affect on the for PCI-Ex16 slot (still @ x16), but the CPU is going to have to work harder getting the right data to the right GPU output and if the CPU is the problem in the first place...

-Wolf sends

 

[LDTheCourier]

Are you sure the graphics card is the problem? I'd be more willing to bet the issue is with your CPU utilization. You might be able to add the GTX 650Ti to your system without issue, but you are starting to cut it close on power:

Upto 125 watts CPU
Upto 225 watts GTX 1080
Upto 150 watts GTX 650Ti
Plus anything else connected.

Adding a second graphics card to that motherboard does not have an affect on the for PCI-Ex16 slot (still @ x16), but the CPU is going to have to work harder getting the right data to the right GPU output and if the CPU is the problem in the first place...

-Wolf sends

I could try to add the GPU and see what happens. Is there a way I could go about testing the CPU if that's possible?

 

[LDTheCourier]

Your FX 8350 might be showing its age.
Adding another GPU won't make your PC faster...it will only create more issues.
In which scenarios are you encountering slowness, lag and such?

Oh no, what problems could it cause?

 

[LDTheCourier]

That should work fine. Load the driver for each card, as they may take different presets due to their GPUs.
But I gotta ask, a GTX 1080 with an FX-8350?

I'm not too sure on what parts go with what. Is there and CPU you'd recommend?

 

[jojesa]

Your FX 8350 might be showing its age.
Adding another GPU won't make your PC faster...it will only create more issues.
In which scenarios are you encountering slowness, lag and such?

Oh no, what problems could it cause?

More heat inside the PC case, more power and CPU usage.
In some instances, drivers might behave erratically .

 

[Wolfshadw]

Are you sure the graphics card is the problem? I'd be more willing to bet the issue is with your CPU utilization. You might be able to add the GTX 650Ti to your system without issue, but you are starting to cut it close on power:

Upto 125 watts CPU
Upto 225 watts GTX 1080
Upto 150 watts GTX 650Ti
Plus anything else connected.

Adding a second graphics card to that motherboard does not have an affect on the for PCI-Ex16 slot (still @ x16), but the CPU is going to have to work harder getting the right data to the right GPU output and if the CPU is the problem in the first place...

-Wolf sends

I could try to add the GPU and see what happens. Is there a way I could go about testing the CPU if that's possible?

You could use CPUIDs HWMonitor to check power consumption and CPU utilization. Check it with just the GTX 1080 installed (CPU Utilization) and then with the GTX 1080 and 650Ti installed.

-Wolf sends

 

[mgallo848]

An FX 8350 cannot adequately feed a GTX 1080. It's time to consider upgrading the CPU, motherboard and memory.

 

[LDTheCourier]

You could use CPUIDs HWMonitor to check power consumption and CPU utilization. Check it with just the GTX 1080 installed (CPU Utilization) and then with the GTX 1080 and 650Ti installed.

-Wolf sends

Power consumption is jumping from 36 to 42. max being 46, min 22.
Temp reaches it's max.
Fan is at its max.

I didn't add the 650 GPU as Jojosa said it could cause problems.

 

[dontlistentome]

"The powerful one for games and other high demand apps, and the 650 to use for everything else, folders, chrome etc."

Look at it this way: Your 1080 can handle anything videocard related, the 650 Ti can't help since it's so much less powerful it becomes irrelevant.

So, with the videocard not being a hindrance to you, what's left as the bottleneck? The CPU obviously. The 'everything else' you refer to really means "things that need CPU power and not videocard power".

edit: I'd like to add that you should make sure your computer is gaming optimized. This means check what is booting up with Windows and make sure it's only the minimum you need to use your computer. Various utilities and other programs that you might use can be manually started by you when needed. Check your CPU usage while you are idle on your desktop to make sure usage is very low. If the usage percentage is not near 0%, then check to see which process is sucking up resources.

 

[LDTheCourier]

An FX 8350 cannot adequately feed a GTX 1080. It's time to consider upgrading the CPU, motherboard and memory.

Oh dear, it seems I do need a new CPU. And I do have two old ram sticks along with two that are roughly 3 years old.
I was hoping to upgrade my ram in the future. Is it mandatory for a new motherboard?

 

[dontlistentome]

A new generation CPU will require a new motherboard AND DDR4 system ram, yes.

 

[LDTheCourier]

"The powerful one for games and other high demand apps, and the 650 to use for everything else, folders, chrome etc."

Look at it this way: Your 1080 can handle anything videocard related, the 650 Ti can't help since it's so much less powerful it becomes irrelevant.

So, with the videocard not being a hindrance to you, what's left as the bottleneck? The CPU obviously. The 'everything else' you refer to really means "things that need CPU power and not videocard power".

edit: I'd like to add that you should make sure your computer is gaming optimized. This means check what is booting up with Windows and make sure it's only the minimum you need to use your computer. Various utilities and other programs that you might use can be manually started by you when needed. Check your CPU usage while you are idle on your desktop to make sure usage is very low. If the usage percentage is not near 0%, then check to see which process is sucking up resources.

I do have an SSD to startup my computer, though it has my C drive there which I'm pretty sure should not be on there especially as it is only 120GB.

My CPU Usage idle is jumping from 7 - 16%
I do have a lot of processes open. Chrome is the only app using CPU. Jumps from 1 to 3.

I loaded up Fallout 4 as that is all I really play on my computer, it instantly jumps to 45 to 55 and reached 70 at one point. CPU Usage is from 64 to 70%. I do have Fallout on it's own 120GB SSD.

 

[Wolfshadw]

You could use CPUIDs HWMonitor to check power consumption and CPU utilization. Check it with just the GTX 1080 installed (CPU Utilization) and then with the GTX 1080 and 650Ti installed.

-Wolf sends

Power consumption is jumping from 36 to 42. max being 46, min 22.
Temp reaches it's max.
Fan is at its max.

I didn't add the 650 GPU as Jojosa said it could cause problems.

Adding the GTX 650Ti isn't going to cause any more troubles than you're already experiencing, but this is all you need to know:

Temp reaches it's max.
Fan is at its max.

It's time for a new core system (CPU/Mobo/RAM).

-Wolf sends

 

[LDTheCourier]

It seems I need a new everything, minus a GPU and potentially a PSU.

Thank you everyone for your help, It means a lot.
But now I must spend a ton of money on new hardware... So thanks.