Adding 2nd Video Card in a NON Crossfire configuration

byrdawg

New Member
Can Vista support more than 1 GPU driver? I am running Vista Ult 64. Looking to upgrade to Windows 7.

I previously had an Nvidia 8800GT as my primary graphics card and also had an 8500GT installed as well on my dual boot XP/Vista PC. They worked fine and the computer recognized both correclty on both OS's I think I didn't have any trouble b/c as I found it all 8 series cards use the same driver.

I bought a new primary GPU, a ATi Sapphire 4870 1GB Toxic. I am NOT trying to run SLI or Crossfire, I need availability for 3+ monitors. Can I have two completely different video drivers? I was under the impression NO, but a computer parts guy said I can install an Nvidia & ATi driver as long as I do not install the supplemental software.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom I 9850be quad core clocked to 3.2Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M3N72-D
    Memory
    G.Skill 2x2Gig DDR2 1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATi Sapphire 4870 1Gig Toxic and Nvidia XFX 8500GT
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 37" HDTV, Samsung 23" LCD, Samsung 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    Various per monitor
    Hard Drives
    3 Seagate 640GB SATA drives in RAID 5
    1 Seagate 320GB for OS
    1 Notebook 250GB for OS backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX750w
    Case
    Thermaltake Full Tower Armor
    Cooling
    Swiftech H20-220
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic 4000
    Mouse
    Razor Death Adder
    Internet Speed
    DSL
That was an excellent link. Many thanks.

Please do not go digging, I can call up Sapphire Customer support, but if anyone knows off the top of their head I'd appreciate it.
Are ATi drivers similar to Nvidia in the way that all 8 series Nvidia cards use the same driver? If so, Then I'd just need to look for a cheap bottom of the line 4000 model card.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom I 9850be quad core clocked to 3.2Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M3N72-D
    Memory
    G.Skill 2x2Gig DDR2 1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATi Sapphire 4870 1Gig Toxic and Nvidia XFX 8500GT
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 37" HDTV, Samsung 23" LCD, Samsung 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    Various per monitor
    Hard Drives
    3 Seagate 640GB SATA drives in RAID 5
    1 Seagate 320GB for OS
    1 Notebook 250GB for OS backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX750w
    Case
    Thermaltake Full Tower Armor
    Cooling
    Swiftech H20-220
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic 4000
    Mouse
    Razor Death Adder
    Internet Speed
    DSL
hm.... i'm not sure.... what exactly are you trying to do?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer, Aspire M1201\Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
    Memory
    2x2gb Patriot Viper DDR2 PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel SLI Edition (4-4-4-12)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" Acer X223 Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1050
    Hard Drives
    320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
    500gb Seagate SATA II
    1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
    PSU
    ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
    Case
    NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
    Cooling
    1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm On GPU
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X6
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X5
    Internet Speed
    6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
    Other Info
    AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
    Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
I need another GPU for my computer. I have a ATi Sapphire 4870 and 3 monitors. The ATi 4870 will be hooked up to my 37" Vizio TV while the other two 23" Samsung Monitors will be hooked up to another card. I need the cheapest video card possible for just internet and word processing , but the driver has to be the same as the ATi 4870's driver.
Before I got the ATi 4870 I had Nvidia cards. I had an 8800GT and a 8500GT. Both always had the same driver so I never had a problem. So is the drivers for all the ATi 4000 series video cards the same? Can I buy a $30 Sapphire 4350 from Newegg and it will always have the same driver as the 4870 I currently have?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom I 9850be quad core clocked to 3.2Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M3N72-D
    Memory
    G.Skill 2x2Gig DDR2 1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATi Sapphire 4870 1Gig Toxic and Nvidia XFX 8500GT
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 37" HDTV, Samsung 23" LCD, Samsung 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    Various per monitor
    Hard Drives
    3 Seagate 640GB SATA drives in RAID 5
    1 Seagate 320GB for OS
    1 Notebook 250GB for OS backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX750w
    Case
    Thermaltake Full Tower Armor
    Cooling
    Swiftech H20-220
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic 4000
    Mouse
    Razor Death Adder
    Internet Speed
    DSL
um....... it might..... couldn't you get a splitter? or..... a 4850? i know you can get those for about $80...... a 4350 might work though.....
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer, Aspire M1201\Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
    Memory
    2x2gb Patriot Viper DDR2 PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel SLI Edition (4-4-4-12)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" Acer X223 Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1050
    Hard Drives
    320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
    500gb Seagate SATA II
    1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
    PSU
    ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
    Case
    NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
    Cooling
    1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm On GPU
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X6
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X5
    Internet Speed
    6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
    Other Info
    AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
    Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
With Vista you can have as many video cards installed as you have available slots, they just all have to use the same driver (ATI with ATI, Nvidia with Nvidia). And yes a cheap 4350 or any other cheap HD4xxx series will do.

Another option is to install Windows 7. The new WDDM 1.1 in 7 allows for cards that use different drivers.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Athlon x2 7750 BE
    Motherboard
    Asus M4A78 Pro
    Memory
    2x2gb Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 4830
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Xtreme Music
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer P221w and Acer 1916w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 and 1440x900
    Hard Drives
    2x80 GB Seagate 7200.10 in RAID0, 500 GB Seagate 7200.12
    PSU
    Antec Earthwatts 500W
    Case
    Antec Sonata III
    Cooling
    AC Freezer 64 Pro and a couple of 120 mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 v2
    Internet Speed
    10000/1000
Thanks. I guess I'll wait a couple weeks for Windows 7. I have it on pre-order so maybe i'll get lucky and be able to mix Nvidia and ATi. If not ill get a cheap 4350. I think they are even down to $25 with mail in rebate at newegg.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom I 9850be quad core clocked to 3.2Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M3N72-D
    Memory
    G.Skill 2x2Gig DDR2 1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATi Sapphire 4870 1Gig Toxic and Nvidia XFX 8500GT
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 37" HDTV, Samsung 23" LCD, Samsung 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    Various per monitor
    Hard Drives
    3 Seagate 640GB SATA drives in RAID 5
    1 Seagate 320GB for OS
    1 Notebook 250GB for OS backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX750w
    Case
    Thermaltake Full Tower Armor
    Cooling
    Swiftech H20-220
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic 4000
    Mouse
    Razor Death Adder
    Internet Speed
    DSL
Thanks. I guess I'll wait a couple weeks for Windows 7. I have it on pre-order so maybe i'll get lucky and be able to mix Nvidia and ATi. If not ill get a cheap 4350. I think they are even down to $25 with mail in rebate at newegg.
Post back and let us know how it goes. Of course by then, you will be posting on our sister site: Windows 7 Forums
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD AM2 6000+
    Motherboard
    Nvidia M2N-E SLI
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 7600GT
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    WD
    Case
    Cooler Master
    Cooling
    Three fans
    Keyboard
    Dell Quietkey
    Mouse
    Dell Optical
    Internet Speed
    10 MBPS
Well I got it all working. After I installed Windows 7 with my ATi 4870 installed and made sure all was well with other hardware drivers, I attempted to install an Nvidia XFX 8500GT in my open PCI-E slot. The task was as easy as 1-2-3. Before trying -as my luck normally goes- I expected it to blue screen with conflicts and I would have to restore a backup, but without a hitch it accepted both cards, and even both ATi Catalyst Control Center and Nvidia Control Panel. The only thing I do not like is on the Software side... ATi CCC shows the 2 monitors on the NVidia card, and the Nvidia control Panel shows the monitor on the ATi Card. However, device driver shows the correct monitors on the correct drivers and I have not had any BSods.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom I 9850be quad core clocked to 3.2Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M3N72-D
    Memory
    G.Skill 2x2Gig DDR2 1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATi Sapphire 4870 1Gig Toxic and Nvidia XFX 8500GT
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 37" HDTV, Samsung 23" LCD, Samsung 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    Various per monitor
    Hard Drives
    3 Seagate 640GB SATA drives in RAID 5
    1 Seagate 320GB for OS
    1 Notebook 250GB for OS backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX750w
    Case
    Thermaltake Full Tower Armor
    Cooling
    Swiftech H20-220
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic 4000
    Mouse
    Razor Death Adder
    Internet Speed
    DSL
this is a stupid question, i know, but does that mean you can get two ati cards not in crossfirex but still use one monitor and will it have a better gaming effect?

Dom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 5735z Laptop
    CPU
    2.0 ghz intel pentium dual-core processor t4200 800mhz fsb
    Motherboard
    Acer CathedralPeak Rev
    Memory
    4gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" HD CineCrystal LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    160gb stock drive. ATA
    Case
    Stock Notebook
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    PS/2
    Mouse
    Synaptics TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    No idea
this is a stupid question, i know, but does that mean you can get two ati cards not in crossfirex but still use one monitor and will it have a better gaming effect?

Dom

No. If the cards aren't crossfired, you only get the performance of one individual card.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    i7 3770K HT ON 4.7GHz
    Motherboard
    P8Z68 Deluxe Gen 3
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 2133mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Gigabyte GTX 670 OC WindForce SLI
    Sound Card
    X-FI Forte + ATH-AD900
    Monitor(s) Displays
    x2 Dell U2410 / 58" Samsung / "40 Sony
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1200 / 1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2x Intel 520 240GB * Crucial M4 128GB * 2x Samsung F3 1TB (RAID 0) * 2x WD Caviar Blacks 2TB (RAID 0)
    PSU
    Corsair AX1200W
    Case
    Lian Li PC-V1020A
    Cooling
    NH-D14: 3x140mm Gelid Wing 14: Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme
    Keyboard
    Topre Realforce // Ducky Shine Cherry MX Black
    Mouse
    Razer Imperator + Thermaltake Theron
    Other Info
    Laptop Specs:
    Clevo Sager P170HM //
    17.3 Matte 1920x1200 //
    i7 2720QM // 8GB 1333mhz //
    Dedicated GTX 485M //
    240GB Intel 520 + 750GB + Blu-Ray //

    Samsung Story 2TB USB 3.0
ok, thanks :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 5735z Laptop
    CPU
    2.0 ghz intel pentium dual-core processor t4200 800mhz fsb
    Motherboard
    Acer CathedralPeak Rev
    Memory
    4gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" HD CineCrystal LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    160gb stock drive. ATA
    Case
    Stock Notebook
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    PS/2
    Mouse
    Synaptics TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    No idea
I did it to add more monitors.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    AMD Phenom I 9850be quad core clocked to 3.2Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M3N72-D
    Memory
    G.Skill 2x2Gig DDR2 1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATi Sapphire 4870 1Gig Toxic and Nvidia XFX 8500GT
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Vizio 37" HDTV, Samsung 23" LCD, Samsung 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    Various per monitor
    Hard Drives
    3 Seagate 640GB SATA drives in RAID 5
    1 Seagate 320GB for OS
    1 Notebook 250GB for OS backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX750w
    Case
    Thermaltake Full Tower Armor
    Cooling
    Swiftech H20-220
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Ergonomic 4000
    Mouse
    Razor Death Adder
    Internet Speed
    DSL

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 5735z Laptop
    CPU
    2.0 ghz intel pentium dual-core processor t4200 800mhz fsb
    Motherboard
    Acer CathedralPeak Rev
    Memory
    4gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" HD CineCrystal LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    160gb stock drive. ATA
    Case
    Stock Notebook
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    PS/2
    Mouse
    Synaptics TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    No idea
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