Is it possible to have two graphics cards to run in a PC at once?

Just wondering!

Is it possible to have two graphics cards to run in a PC at once?
Yes. This either allows you to drive two (or more) monitors or (with cards that support it) have multiple GPUs for graphics processing (to get really fancy and high resolution graphics in games).
Reply:If your motherboard supports either SLI or CrossFire, then you can fit a second card with a couple of riders:





SLI cards normally need to be the same type, while with CrossFire they can be different, though there are some which ATI recommend for pairing.





If your motherboard only has one graphics slot (either PCI-e or AGP), then the only option is to add a PCI graphics card, which will run considerably slower than the other one. You will also be limited as to your choice of card.





The question now is why do you want two? SLI and CrossFire enable graphics cards to be linked and perform as a single unit for games (though you can choose to run them as separate entities.) And if you need two monitors, then most modern graphics cards have duel output anyway.





Hope this helps.





JBV^_^
Reply:Definitely
Reply:Yes. I have two video cards in mine. I have a motherboard that comes with two pciex16 slots.
Reply:hi mate


theres two ways of looking at this,the first is running two cards using the sli or crossfire configuration,this invloves using two cards(same type) and running them on a sli/crossfire compatible motherboard,they are joined by a sli/crossfire bridge connector which joins the two cards to enhance your gaming experience


however sli and crossfire can work out expensive,especially if you use two high end cards,however more and more mid range cards like the geforce 7600gs and gt are sli compatible making it easier to set up a sli compatible p.c


the other way of looking at this is running two cards (agp and pci) or(pci and pci-express),this has been asked by many enthusiasts over the years and it could be done in a dual boot configuration,for example you would use one card for windows xp and the other card in windows 98,each os would be configured round each card


the first p.c to run two cards was a voodoo 2 graphic card nicknamed the Blackmagic voodoo 2 cards(picture:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:STBVo... split the screen into two(top/bottom) and each card was responsible for each segment,and this basically improved the graphics peformance by 100%,however these cards were a bit of a disaster,and they also cost around £400 when first sold,i have actually still got two of these,and thats another thing,they are extremely difficult to install


amd have also designed a high end gaming p.c called the "spider" which runs 4,yes 4 x radeon x1900xtx pci-express graphic cards,this is a awesome p.c and you can only imagine the speed it runs at,it also has a intel quad core extreme cpu and 4gb of ddr3 ram,its a pretty amazing p.c


you can see the p.c in action at http://www.geekzone.co.nz/freitasm/4083


hope this helps


good luck mate !
Reply:yes if you use nvidia card the its cald SLI if you use ati its called crossfire,


PS. you would need a crossfire mother board an Sli motherboard.
Reply:Yes. Install the second card, turn on the computer, and install teh drivers. Then go to display configuration. Note that computers often come with 1 AGP port for graphic card so your second card will have to be PCI-based.
Reply:you are thinking too deep.
Reply:entirely possible.


dual video cards are a good idea.
Reply:Your computer's motherboard has to have two slots for graphics. How they are used depends on your purpose.





If you want to play games, there are the previously mentioned SLI and Crossfire chipset motherboards.





Motherboards without this technology, but have multiple slots, are used for hooking up multiple graphics displays. So with two graphics cards, you can hook up four monitors.
Reply:Yeah! definetly just plug 2 8800GTX Ultras in and youve got the equiavalant of about 1 playstation 3 or 2 nintendo wiis