Good afternoon everyone. I have a quick query and am having a minor issue finding the answer using Google. My current system is an Asus Sabertooth P67 with an i7 2600k processor and a MSI 580 GPU. I have just ordered a 780Ti and am considering using the 580 to drive my 2nd monitor (1920 x 1080) but I am concerned that this will cause bandwidth issues with the motherboard. I'm assuming that having a 2nd card installed will cause both lanes to drop to X8 , my query is how much this will effect the performance and if I would be better off just having the 780 running by itself? The main monitor is a dell 3007WFP and I run it at native resolution in all games that allow it, dropping the quality options as required to get a decent frame rate. Anyway thanks for taking the time to read this and any thoughts are appreciated. Mike
Just use the 780Ti matey. Running a second screen for 2D apps from another port on the card isn't going to take up hardly any resources at all. You could either keep the 580 for PhysX if you use enabled games/applications, install it in another machine or flog it. Currently you will get around £80-90 for it - but there's no need to have it in your main rig alongside the 780Ti unless you use PhysX.
As Sentinel-R1 said, just install the 780 Ti and tun both screens from that. Unlike the 5xx series and lower cards, the 6xx and 7xx series cards will downclock to 2D speeds when idling with 2 or more monitors connected. The previous generation cards just stayed at 3D clocks, increasing heat and power consumption.
Hi. First off thank you for the replies. Just one final quick query, wouldn't installing the 580 for physics cause the 2 PCI slots to drop to X8 exactly as if I was using the card for driving the second monitor? Thanks again Mike
Correct, so you might even end up bandwidth limiting the 780ti, as the others have said below, ditch the 580.
Generous! I was going to suggest getting 75 posts on here to access the marketplace and then flogging it
The only other option would be to flog your mobo & look at an alt. Well, as an example, i know that my P8Z77-V Premium can handle 16x - 16x (as well as variations on 16x 8x 8x, & also 8x 8x 8x 8x)... ...so i use 16x for my titan & two 8x for a raid card & a 2nd gfx card (an old single slot GTX 460). Even with also using the 460 for a 2nd 2048x1536 res monitor - though only running games on a single one (they're old, but decent, 22" CRT ones that i've had for years, to get a better colour depth & gamut for 'proper stuff' without spending a fortune) - maxing the settings out then i'm getting higher fps in the odd PhysX game using the 460 to handle that.
