Multi-mon w/9800GX2 ???

Living Weapon

Living Weapon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 21, 2007
Messages
448
OK, so we all know "no multi-monitor support with SLI". However, with one GPU per card it has been possible to change display profiles - divorced for 2, 3, or 4 monitors / SLI for single-monitor gaming.

Anybody with a 7950 have experience with adding another nVidia card for additional monitors? Do you have to shut off SLI to get the 2nd card to work at all?

Could I use a non-nVidia card to keep my additional monitors alive while the primary card is SLI? Would mixing vendors prevent Aero from working?

I'd like a single system I can use for gaming (mainly FPS) and home office work, 3 monitors driven. I'm looking for maximum 3D performance on the primary display (the 30" Dell I already own), but the 2nd and 3rd panels will likely be 2D only - 19" 1650x1080 (rotated), as these match the height and pixel pitch of the 30.

I'd prefer to keep the side panels live while gaming, for IM and other ancillary squad activities - in the past I've used a 2nd PC for that stuff, with the dual and quad core machines so cheap I'm ready to consolidate. The GX2 card's alleged higher memory clock gives me hope for gaming at 2560x1600, on an Intel chipset - so I can get a low-maintenance OC (no monthly 680 motherboard RMAs, please).

Help me figure this out so I can post pix in the workstation thread :cool:
 
If you have 3 cards (or a X2 and single) you can run 3 monitors. 1 on the SLIed cards and 2 on the non SLI. The SLI doesnt have to be off for that to work. You can use a non-Nvidia card in XP but not in Vista. I tried it and had no luck whatsoever. Was told a different driver model is at fault.

As for 3 monitors with a 30in Id get 2x 20in non-wides since those match the best in portrait mode.
 
If you cared to read the specs of that two issues would have been fairly obvious:

1) It supports monitors of the same resolution.
2) The maximum is 3x 1280x1024.
 
lixuelai said:
If you have 3 cards (or a X2 and single) you can run 3 monitors. 1 on the SLIed cards and 2 on the non SLI. The SLI doesnt have to be off for that to work.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That's the bit that had me concerned.
You can use a non-Nvidia card in XP but not in Vista. I tried it and had no luck whatsoever. Was told a different driver model is at fault.
Click to expand...
I've read various accounts - from not working at all, to working OK but no Aero. At the very least, I'd want similar generation cards across the board - especially now that I know SLI doesn't preclude driving extra monitors with an extra card.
As for 3 monitors with a 30in Id get 2x 20in non-wides since those match the best in portrait mode.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I agree a 4:3 20" lcd is closer ... but a 1600x1200 20" would cost me twice what a 1650x1080 wide 19" does :(

For the record:
The calculated height of a 30" screen is 15.89997" (tough to measure with the bezel on)
19" wide - 16.12" x 10.07"
20" 4:3 - 16.0" x 12.0"

Since the 30' is 1600px tall vs. 1650px on the 19" widescreen, the height of 50px becomes relevant: 0.48" - or 1600px of the 19" are 15.63" tall when you turn it sideways. I guess for half the price I figure it is close enough :confused:
 
undertheradar said:
Get your SLI/Crossfire setup, and hook up one of these, and you are all set...
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/th2go/digital/home.php
Click to expand...

lixuelai said:
If you cared to read the specs of that two issues would have been fairly obvious:

1) It supports monitors of the same resolution.
2) The maximum is 3x 1280x1024.
Click to expand...
Yup, I looked at those back in the day - but 3 megapixel is ghetto compared to the 4Mpx I get from just the 30" by itself :p

...someday they will make a card that plays crysis at 4Mpx, but probably not before the 9Mpx displays arrive :eek:
 
Living Weapon said:
Thanks! That's the bit that had me concerned.I've read various accounts - from not working at all, to working OK but no Aero. At the very least, I'd want similar generation cards across the board - especially now that I know SLI doesn't preclude driving extra monitors with an extra card.Yeah, I agree a 4:3 20" lcd is closer ... but a 1600x1200 20" would cost me twice what a 1650x1080 wide 19" does :(

For the record:
The calculated height of a 30" screen is 15.89997" (tough to measure with the bezel on)
19" wide - 16.12" x 10.07"
20" 4:3 - 16.0" x 12.0"

Since the 30' is 1600px tall vs. 1650px on the 19" widescreen, the height of 50px becomes relevant: 0.48" - or 1600px of the 19" are 15.63" tall when you turn it sideways. I guess for half the price I figure it is close enough :confused:
Click to expand...

Apparently with the upcoming 8.3 Catalyst from ATI you can now run 2 monitors with Crossfire enabled. Probably wont make too much difference to you since you are going to do 3 and thus will be 2 cards one way or another. As for the cost of 20ins I got my Samsung 204B on ebay for like $150 so it isnt that bad if you look around.
 
lixuelai said:
Apparently with the upcoming 8.3 Catalyst from ATI you can now run 2 monitors with Crossfire enabled. Probably wont make too much difference to you since you are going to do 3 and thus will be 2 cards one way or another. As for the cost of 20ins I got my Samsung 204B on ebay for like $150 so it isnt that bad if you look around.
Click to expand...
Wow, I hadn't looked at 20.1" monitors - some are less expensive than 20" monitors lol - Thanks!
 
sounds like a good idea...

i know you already have a 30"er but can i just give something for everyone to drool over?

here it is:

http://digitaltigers.com/index.shtml

it is quite possibly the coolest site ever...

can't remember how i found it, but just look at the setups they offer! they are huge, but expensive...
 
neg2led said:
And, in that site, you may have finally found the reason for tri-SLI.
Click to expand...
How so, when SLI doesn't support any kind of multi-monitor setups? Unless you're talking Quadro SLI...?
 
lixuelai said:
If you cared to read the specs of that two issues would have been fairly obvious:

1) It supports monitors of the same resolution.
2) The maximum is 3x 1280x1024.
Click to expand...

I did read the specs, but since you know more than I do you should know that he doesnt really have any other options really on the gaming side since SLI doesnt support multiple monitors on its own. He's going to just have to run them all at the same resolution (another 19" LCD, or buy two more 30"s!). For that much monitor, its a given that he will most likely want SLI, or the framerates will take a dive. But for office stuff, then he will have to disconnect SLI and run seperate monitors in an office environment. The multi monitor office setup is simple, but the gaming side isnt easy to do... what else would he do, run seperate video cards for each screen? That wouldnt work out too well I think. The best might really be a tri-SLI, as mentioned, two for the main screen (or no SLI, just 2 cards with one for the 30" and the other running both 19's), and then the third for the other two, but I dont think you can span either side of the 30" with the other card like that... the software doesnt know that there is that other card rendering the center frame, so having one card do the far right and far left wont work, at least not to make one image. Thats why I say the matrox for games. Hell, when not gaming, turn it and SLI off and just use the multi-monitor office setup.
 
soundguy said:
sounds like a good idea...

i know you already have a 30"er but can i just give something for everyone to drool over?

here it is:

http://digitaltigers.com/index.shtml

it is quite possibly the coolest site ever...

can't remember how i found it, but just look at the setups they offer! they are huge, but expensive...
Click to expand...
Yup, that 30" + wings is what I'm planning to do - but I'm fabricating my own monitor arm (not rocket science). If I can get the two side displays for $4-500, even after what I paid for the 30" ($1100 - it pays to watch Dell promos), I'll still come out way ahead of $3750 :D
 
undertheradar said:
I did read the specs, but since you know more than I do you should know that he doesnt really have any other options really on the gaming side since SLI doesnt support multiple monitors on its own. He's going to just have to run them all at the same resolution (another 19" LCD, or buy two more 30"s!). For that much monitor, its a given that he will most likely want SLI, or the framerates will take a dive. But for office stuff, then he will have to disconnect SLI and run seperate monitors in an office environment. The multi monitor office setup is simple, but the gaming side isnt easy to do... what else would he do, run seperate video cards for each screen? That wouldnt work out too well I think. The best might really be a tri-SLI, as mentioned, two for the main screen (or no SLI, just 2 cards with one for the 30" and the other running both 19's), and then the third for the other two, but I dont think you can span either side of the 30" with the other card like that... the software doesnt know that there is that other card rendering the center frame, so having one card do the far right and far left wont work, at least not to make one image. Thats why I say the matrox for games. Hell, when not gaming, turn it and SLI off and just use the multi-monitor office setup.
Click to expand...

1) Have you ever ran 1280x1024 resolution on a 30in?
2) Have you ever even tried running 3 monitors with a 7950GX2 or any card for that matter?
3) Did you read the OP's post?

Its a simple problem and can be solved with a simple solution. A 9800GX2 or whatever cards SLI to run the 30in and a card like 7600GT to run the other 2 LCDs. You wont get all 3 monitors to be useable for a game unless you use SoftTH. Thats not what the OP wants either. The above scenarios solves all his problems. He doesnt have to disable SLI and his auxillary displays will display whatever he wants. The resolution of the auxillaries wont be changed either if he runs a game in a non-native resolution on the 30in. Finally of course it is possible to get the far left and far right to run on 1 card and the middle to run on the other. All you do is some dragging in display properties...
 
The IEEE simulator project at the university uses a SLI GTX setup to run a matrox triple-head on three 40" LCD's for the flight sim. So no, I havent seen 1280x1024 on a 30", only triple 40's. Considering the horsepower it takes to run three monitors, or 3840x1024, I dont see him being able to run many other games at much higher resolutions.

As far as I know, SLI doesnt allow for multi-monitor output still, so how is he going to run SLI on multiple monitors?
 
lixuelai said:
....

Its a simple problem and can be solved with a simple solution. A 9800GX2 or whatever cards SLI to run the 30in and a card like 7600GT to run the other 2 LCDs.


You wont get all 3 monitors to be useable for a game unless you use SoftTH. Thats not what the OP wants either. The above scenarios solves all his problems. He doesnt have to disable SLI and his auxillary displays will display whatever he wants. The resolution of the auxillaries wont be changed either if he runs a game in a non-native resolution on the 30in. Finally of course it is possible to get the far left and far right to run on 1 card and the middle to run on the other. All you do is some dragging in display properties...
Click to expand...


Are you saying that I can SLI 2 8800GTXs and also at the sametime run a 7600GT and have all 3 monitors display?

Are you sure about this? I currently have 1 8800GTX running the 30", and 1 7600GT running the 2 side 20" panel. I was "almost" sure that if I added a 2nd 8800GTX in SLI the 2 20" displays of the 7600GT would shut off.

Sorry, but I do have to ask, did you try this yourself?
 
Never had a mobo with 3 x16 slots. I played around with Quad SLI for awhile and that was a bust so I got rid of it. Anyway I dont see why it wont work on a 680i board. Only reason for the 7600GT to shut down would be if the x16 lanes are limited and since the 680i can run tri-SLI I dont see that as being a problem but that is pure speculation and driver might not be smart enough to know which to SLI. The safest option would be a PCI card. Iv actually tried that and it works with a 7950GX2 (used a 9200) so should work with any SLI setup. This is for XP though Vista will not work.

p.s. undertheradar, the OP isnt aiming to run SLI on all the monitors. Just the 30in... As for the 40in it makes no difference. You have to consider the distance to the monitor and the resolution.
 
i was gonna suggest running a second gtx, and if the 680i doesn;t work you could get a 780i
 
I'm planning a multi-monitor system too. My issue is for keeping an eye on stock trading while gaming. I asked similar questions to you, but I am starting from scratch, only owning laptops currently and big fan of Nvidia products.

What I have found is rave reviews of ATI products for Xfire multi-monitor and scaling: gaming on main LCD panel and 3D running happy on second & tertiary screens. I am waiting on reviews of the 9800GTX2 card when that comes out, but the recent 3dmark leaks were a lot less than I expected which is disappointing.

Right now leaning on X38 board (Asus or DFI) with 1 HD3870x2 to start with and expand from there. Beauty of ATI is tri and quad Xfires possibility

*You had really interesting comments on dot pitch and physical screen size matches, thats got me thinking. I don't plan to go over 24" for the main panel though.

Here are some reviews which I bookmarked while reading around this subject in the last week or so. I'll follow your build with keen interest. G'luck.

http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/faq.html

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3209&p=13

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3219

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5842&Itemid=1

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/391

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=546872&page=9
 
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