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izzop

izzop

izzop

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Joined
7 Jul 2009
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Wiltshire
Hi,

I'm in two minds about either getting a 2nd monitor or a 2nd graphics card.

Current monitor and graphics card are a HIS HD 5850 with a Samsung B2430H.

Obviously I can see the advantage of a 2nd monitor however what are the advantages of a 2nd graphics card running in Crossfire and would I notice?

Thanks & Regards,

Andrew
 
You'll gain a lot more in regards to productivity with a second monitor. However, a single 5850 will struggle if you try to run games across the two monitors (which would be made to be honest as eyefinity with two screens kind of sucks).
 
Thanks for the reply.

I forgot to mantion that I don't intend to run games over the two screens, any game (COD Multiplayer) would just run on one.

Regards
 
I find it extremely restrictive with one screen. Recently had to RMA one of mine (excellent RMA service from Samsung BTW) and it was rather annoying with just the one. As I'm typing this I'm watching CSI Miami on the other screen.

For years I have purchased crossfire/sli mobos as I have always wanted to try duel gpu solutions for a tinker but by the time I need the extra power and can justify an extra card it's more viable to buy the newer generation. (as it happens pay day tomorrow and I recon a 6850 msi freezrIII is in order ;) )
 
well if you just want extra on screen real estate then a second monitor is the best choice but if its purely for gaming then i would get a second 5850, im guessing the monitor is 1920x1200 or 1080 and dont think 1gb of ram would hold these cards back at that res, if you want to know what 2 cards will do over 1 then google 5850 xfire benchmarks
 
I can't see you really needing a more powerful card to power your monitor. If you've never tried a multiple monitor setup then you really should as it is fairly awesome.
 
Eyefinity only really works with games when you have 3 monitors, tried it with 2 and the ridicule was between the bezels on the screens, most annoying.

Personally have 3 screens (Just waiting for my minidisplay port adapter to arrive) But the performance from my single 6950 will be depleted severely, So planning my next build in a couple of months where I can get crossfired 6950's and gain some performance back in eyefinity mode.

In your case I guess it would be wise to get the monitor first and see what the performance is like, if its not what you wanted then get another 5850?
 
harmony said:
No point to do SLI/CrossfireX with 1GB cards any more.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that! my GTX460 1GB SLI setup works great. I'd be surprised if you can come up with a better performing setup for the £240 it would cost now.

I think a second 5850 would be a great upgrade for the OP
 
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