Upgraded GPU, can I still get use out of my old 7870?

[DigitalHoarder]

Hey guys,

I just bought a GTX 980 and wondered if keeping the 7870 could benefit me in any way? I'm not even sure if they'll both fit, but is there an practical reason to keep my 7870?

I was thinking I could run my 2nd monitor off the 7870... Good/bad?

 

[Zerk2012]

Sell the 7870 their no reason to keep it. Make sure to use a driver sweeper to get rid of all traces of the AMD driver.

 

[InvalidError]

Running a multi-display setup using multiple GPUs usually causes more trouble than it will solve unless you absolutely need to for some reason. For example, if you run applications with a video or 3D overlay in windowed mode across two displays connected to different GPUs, the part of the window on the "wrong" display may end up blank because the overlay can only target one GPU at a time.

 

[Entomber]

you cannot use two different GPUs in the manner that you describe.

 

[DigitalHoarder]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the fast responses.

 

[InvalidError]

you cannot use two different GPUs in the manner that you describe.

Yes you can - multi-display using multiple GPUs has been supported since Windows 95.

This comes with a few caveats and limitations but it works. I have done this from 1995 through 2004 using a mix of ATI Mach32, Rage64 and Rage128 cards. Back then, only the primary GPU and its attached display(s) supported video overlays and 3D acceleration but extra GPUs and displays worked perfectly fine for extra desktop space.