Question How to get two large 4k TVs working on HDMI

[DamianPhils]

I used to have 4 screens working on my current rig (will post specs below). I'm keeping the 43" Samsung 4K TV since the landlord owns that, but I've replaced 3 small screens (19", 22", 24") with one very large 55" Samsung 4K TV.

The issue is that now I can't run both screens as dual displays now. I can run one or the other. I tried an HDMI-->DVI-D adapter (two of them, actually) to get the 43" TV functioning alongside the 55" (the 55" 4K TV is now my main display).

The second TV cannot receive a signal. I just get generic "No Signal" screen on the second display using the DVI-D adapter.

The TV is not the issue, nor are the HDMI cables, and it's statistically unlikely that two different HDMI-->DVI-D adapters are both non-functional. (I swapped everything around to be sure. Only 1 TV or the other will work at a time).

So I'm thinking my older graphics card simply can't handle two 4K displays at once.

It's an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 with one HDMI port, 2 DVI-D ports, and a DisplayPort. It looks like it has 2Gb memory. With the 55" TV running, that GPU memory is at 72% capacity according to the CPUID utility I have running right now.

So my question is ...

Do I need a new card to run both the 43" and 55" 4K displays at once? Ideally I'd like to run them both via HDMI without using any adapters, so that means I'd need 2 HDMI ports.

The rest of my desktop specifications include ...

Motherboard: ASUSTeK Z97-Pro Gamer with 8Gb memory installed
CPU: Intel Core i5-1690K

To which graphics card should I upgrade? I'd like to keep the same motherboard/CPU if possible.

Let me know if any key information is missing here. I'm not too fussy about a budget but ideally I'd want a card less than $500.

Thanks very much in advance ...

 

[Obakasama]

From what I can tell Nvidia's 900-series GPUs don't support such a high pixel count. For example the GTX 980ti supports up to 5120x3200:
https://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-980-ti/specifications
With 4K being 3840x2160 or 4096x2160, double those pixels for two displays it will exceed the maximum count for the GPU.

A GTX 1050ti should be capable of running two 4K displays in terms of pixel count:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/10series/geforce-gtx-1050/

However, it does depend what you're doing with these two displays. You'd need to have some serious hardware if you intend to game; I would assume it's fine for more casual work or just browsing.

Using PCPartPicker's options will present possible graphics card choices with two HDMI outputs: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#H=2,3
But do a bit of homework to double check whether the GPU can handle that many pixels to drive two 4K displays.

 

[DamianPhils]

Thanks very much for the reply! I won't be using these for high-performance gaming. At most just some medium-intensity gaming from time to time.

Mostly I want to be sure my main desktop (the 55" TV) can stay up and running while I watch a movie or a game on the other wall-mounted TV. I just want to avoid the hassle of unplugging one display to use the other.

 

[Obakasama]

In which case it would depend on the sort of gaming you intend to do. 4K gaming places more workload on the graphics card, and typically it means the top tier graphics cards like the GTX 1080. Consider what games you currently play and likely to purchase to inform you what sort of GPU will suit you.

 

[DamianPhils]

Thanks again. I've done some research since your first reply (which clarified a lot of things) and I'm thinking a 1060 will be about right for my needs at this time. I don't need to game at 4k (unless it's a less demanding game), so a top end card is likely an unnecessary luxury.

If it turns out I want more later on (i.e. next year or so) then I now know the upgrade path that should work for me!

 

[AllanGH]

You may want to explore the option of using both graphics cards at the same time. Doing so could give you a decent performance boost overall, if they can get along together, that is.

 

[DamianPhils]

OK, I guess there's only one way to find out! It would be great if both cards could function together. I could keep the 960 for the 43" TV and use the super-duper new one for the 55" TV.

 

[AllanGH]

If you stay in the nVidia line, your chances of pulling it off are much greater than if you deviate to another brand, of course.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Does either display work with the DVI/HDMI adapter if you only have one display connected?

 

[DamianPhils]

For what it's worth, I eventually got a GEForce RTX 2060. It runs both screens simultaneously via HDMI (my main objective) and overall the display seems to be able to deal quite well with the many multiple windows I have open at one time.

I've also noticed the audio through the TV sounds that much better. I didn't think that would happen but it's a nice bonus.

I still have to check out how gaming goes with my super-duper new card (have been too crushed with work lately to even think about gaming) but I'm sure it will be awesome.

Thanks to everyone who contributed.