How does using two graphics cards work? Non-SLI

[SpatzST]

Instead of selling my old card I figured I'd actually use it to power 2 aux monitors rather than triple monitor on one card.

First question- can I use two different gfx cards simultaneously?

Second- if I hook 3 monitors up across 2 non-SLI cards, do they all show up in nvidia control panel? I can configure them from there?

Third- does surround work? My guess is no but I don't really want it anyway.

Fourth- is 750w enough to power a 1080ti and a 970?

Last- would a GTX 970 be enough to power 2 1440p monitors at 60hz? Not for gaming, just web/Netflix etc.

Thanks

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, you can use multiple graphics cards NOT in SLI or Crossfire.

Surround should work, but only on the card that's connected to both or three panels. The other monitors connected to the other graphics card will work normally. You can't surround with separate monitors to separate screens, at least, not that I'm aware of.

If you're not gaming on both cards, which you couldn't anyhow, you SHOULD be ok as long as you are not also doing something terribly intensive on the monitor/card you are not gaming on. If you are using one to game on and one to simply browse with or a similar low intensity application, it should be fine. That being said, I can't tell you I'd recommend it because the cumulative power requirements for those two cards far exceeds 750w, going strictly off paper specs.

You stand a good chance of drawing more than that if both cards ever ramp up at the same time. Plus, a lot depends on the model of power supply as well. A VERY GOOD unit might still handle it, but a mediocre or poor quality unit definitely won't, and might create a real problem potentially.

GTX 970 is more than enough for watching dual monitors at 1440p, non-gaming.

 

[SpatzST]

thanks for the reply. I suppose I will just sell it and carry on with my life instead.

What kind of card would you recommend to run 2 1440p resolution cards that wont be overkill, power wise?

edit: I ran my specs through a power supply calculator and it came up with 625 as recommended

 

[Darkbreeze]

The recommended psu capacity for the 1080ti is 600w. The recommended capacity for the GTX 970 is 500w. That's 1100w. If you assume that maybe 200w (Being generous) is intended for the CPU and the rest of the system, that still leaves a recommended combined requirement of 900w, which is probably also at least a little bit overkill, because the 1080ti SLI only calls for 850w, which is what I'd probably like to see in any system using both these cards.

 

[SpatzST]

The recommended psu capacity for the 1080ti is 600w. The recommended capacity for the GTX 970 is 500w. That's 1100w. If you assume that maybe 200w (Being generous) is intended for the CPU and the rest of the system, that still leaves a recommended combined requirement of 900w, which is probably also at least a little bit overkill, because the 1080ti SLI only calls for 850w, which is what I'd probably like to see in any system using both these cards.

Hmm. Not disagreeing with you, just saying what I found.

GTX 970: System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 249 Watts
1080 Ti: System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 403 Watts

So At max load for both cards would be 652, subtracting out a common denominator for the CPU/other items, say 100 to be safe. Would that mean I'd need ~550 watts to run the system at full capacity? Either way, I don't plan on maxing out the 970, which apparently idles around 90 watts.

I will give it a try and see what happens, if anything I'll just get an 850 watt supply if need be.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I understand. I never use or trust those calculators because in nearly every case they've been found to be inaccurate when judged against actual real world testing using precise measuring equipment, which is what they do and how they get their recommendations (slightly padded of course, to account for the probability that many users will be using units that are not capable of supplying their actual labeled capacity) at RealHardTechX.

I generally recommend their findings because most of the time we don't actually know whether the unit in question is a quality unit, whether it can still provide it's rated capacity due to age degeneration or what the rest of the system requirements are. I've made the mistake long ago of basing recommendations on what I actually THINK the system needs, then found out they were running ten hard drives, liquid cooling for both the CPU and GPU, etc., etc., which of course resulted in a recommendation for a power supply that was much less than what was actually needed.

Also, you need to factor in the potential for unexpected spikes, surges and faults that cannot be otherwise accounted for. So, I've never underestimated the needed capacity by using this.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm