Computer video question...

J

jeffsback

New Member
Okay so I have this new system up and running though not yet loaded with software and I’ve been considering my video options.

I run two LG LCD monitors. The main screen is a 24” that I use for most applications, high quality graphics editing and games. The other is a 22” that is just an extension of my desktop for moving files, drag-&-drop text editing, etc and never gets used for any critical graphics at all.

My new system has a single high-end dual channel peripheral graphics card and an average two channel on-board graphics card (ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB ).

SO!

With gaming performance being my focus which of the following options would be best.

Connect both monitors to the high-end card and disable the on-board card to free-up system resources.

Or

Connect one monitor to each card and free-up the high end cards resources to focus on just the one monitor.

I'll be running XP 32 on a ASUS M4A78T-E, (AM3 2X 3.1Ghz) overclocked about 12%, 4GB Corsair PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz, EVGA GeForce GTX 280 Superclocked Edition Video Card - 1GB GDDR3, Raptor SATA 80 GB.

Thanks in advance…

JEFF
 
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Forgive my ignorance, but you said that the new system has onboard graphics, but with a 4870 card installed? Then, you say that you'll be running a GTX280?

Everyone has preferences and opinions on this sort of stuff, but if it were me, I'd disable the onboard graphics altogether and never fool with it, and only use the high-end cards. Also, I'd use the larger monitor for gaming (single display mode), and only use the dual-monitor setup for regular PC use... since you're 2 monitors are different sizes, I'd imagine that trying to play games on them both would be near impossible to get right, and a LOT of hassle... if it's even possible... Perhaps I'm not understanding exactly what you're trying to accomplish, but if you have 2 identical monitors, and want to play games on them, I'd do it using a SLi or Crossfire setup. Hope this helps...
 
Keep in mind that a lot of games don't offer support for multi-monitor setups. You may have to run a majority of your games in Windowed mode to get them to work right. What do you plan on running in the second monitor while you game? The only thing I used to run in my second monitor were resource monitors, but it's honestly not worth the trouble.
 
I just want to use one monitor for gaming.

The second monitor is just for business stuff.

The ATI Radeon HD 4870 IS the integrated on-board graphics.

So if I disable the integrated on-board graphics and attach both monitors to the GTX280 I will have to disable the second output channel (single display mode) each time I want to play a game? Kind of a hassle but worth it I guess if it will perform better. I’ll have to figure out how to select single display mode. Maybe my 7900GTX would have worked better if I had done that with it…
 
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