Two different graphic cards in one computer

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1

Hello, this is my first post here.

I am wondering is it possible to have two different graphic cards in one computer. And if it is possible how do I control them.

I have a PNY Quadro 2000 1 Gb (for image editing) and would like to add Asus GTX Titan in the second PCIE slot for rendering in Blender.

The operating system is Win 7 ultimate and the motherboard is ASUS P9X79 PRO.Both of the graphic cards are NVIDIA.

Would appreciate some info.

2

Ati offers the Crossfire technology and Nvidia offers the SLI technology, obviously you can use 1 brand per PC, so no strange mix of the 2 brands, the problem is that in order to use this technologies you have to meet certain requirements:

  • motherboard supporting this technologies
  • the right number of slots that you wish to use
  • drivers supporting this technologies

But this is not a widely adopted solution because:

  • power consumption and heating are skyrocketing when using 2-3 GPUs
  • no real performance boost
  • drivers offer a real bottleneck and this kind of technology doesn’t offer a real edge in terms of performance after all
  • it’s maybe useful when you have an old GPU, you find a bargain on another GPU that is identical to the one that you already own, you can use them both and try to get something more from your old PC.

I also should note that the difference between a Quadro and a GFX is virtually not-existant and you also use the same drivers for both, the real difference is probably about the amount of memory on board which is something that you need only in very few special cases. There are also extra limitations because of the X86 architecture.

3

Thank you for your reply’s. I bought the Gtx Titan card and did not get both cards to work in the same computer. Maybe it could have worked with some tweaking. But for now I have only the GTX titan card installed and I ‘am very pleased with it. It works great even with AE, PS and other Adobe products. I can recommend it for all Blender users.

4

I work with two different cards on linux and windows 8 without problems but both GTX cards (see signature).
Remove all drivers, setup Titan without Quadro connected, remove Titan and setup Quadro, build in the Titan again with display connected to Quadro. SLI don´t work with Cuda software.

Cheers, mib.

5

Thank you mib for the information, Good to know.

I was surprised of GTX Titans quality (image, colour, speed). It is a nice card for a gaming card. I don’t play games so it was a risk to buy it. But when I tested it in Blender with 512 tile size it is fast. A professional card with those specs has a ridiculous prize tag.