SLI & Multiple Monitors..


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So, I've been thinking about this for quite some time now. 

 

In my bio, it shows I have 4 GPUs as part of my build, and 4x Monitors. How badly will each monitor tax the GPU? I'd like 4 - 8 monitors. 2 larger than normal ones (27"+) and 4 - 6 smaller ones. Is 4 Way SLI really necessary for that? The size of the monitors will never go past 30", I don't have the room for anything bigger.

 

I'm just wondering if I can drop to 2-Way SLI and still support that many monitors without having lag issues.

 

My next question is; how do I connect them all? 2 DVI, 1 Mini-HDMI and a Display port? Can you use all 4 at the same time? I'm just asking because my build is held up on the CPU/GPUs, everything else I've already have or is on the way.

 

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There are several products out there that use USB ports for displaying your monitors.  I have seen up to five monitors set up on a single computer using USB ports. . .just a thought. . .:)

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1 minute ago, Pam14160 said:

There are several products out there that use USB ports for displaying your monitors.  I have seen up to five monitors set up on a single computer using USB ports. . .just a thought. . .:)

I've used them in the past, but they always seemed to have flickering issues. Still worth looking into.

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Just now, BinaryData said:

I've used them in the past, but they always seemed to have flickering issues. Still worth looking into.

I have one of the new USB 3 devices and to date have not had this problem.

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a simple google search will show you how to connect monitors to SLI. it takes all of 5 seconds to search. Does this sound familiar BD?

 

Realistically, you've decided to drop that much cash on a computer build and don't know how to hook it all up? Or whether you have too much power, or not enough? Google could give you all the info you need, just as you have put it to a few other users here on Neowin.

 

"Can I run 4 monitors with 2-way SLI?"

The GTX680 and later cards can drive up to 4 independent displays off of a single GPU, though I think it will only do 3 of the monitors in a nVidia Surround setup; the fourth is limited to being an auxiliary monitor, typical of a "3+1" setup.

 

 

sli.PNG

Edited by Circaflex
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16 hours ago, Pam14160 said:

I have one of the new USB 3 devices and to date have not had this problem.

Must be because mines USB2.0 and came from somewhere in China, haha.

12 hours ago, Circaflex said:

a simple google search will show you how to connect monitors to SLI. it takes all of 5 seconds to search. Does this sound familiar BD?

 

Realistically, you've decided to drop that much cash on a computer build and don't know how to hook it all up? Or whether you have too much power, or not enough? Google could give you all the info you need, just as you have put it to a few other users here on Neowin.

 

"Can I run 4 monitors with 2-way SLI?"

The GTX680 and later cards can drive up to 4 independent displays off of a single GPU, though I think it will only do 3 of the monitors in a nVidia Surround setup; the fourth is limited to being an auxiliary monitor, typical of a "3+1" setup.

 

 

sli.PNG

I know how to put it together, I've never really dived into how SLI works, what the pros and cons are. I've read that for every 3 monitors, you should have a GFX Card but I've also been told that some GPUs handle 3 flawlessly. I'd rather not spend, you know, $800 extra when I could've put that towards a better CPU, more ram or what not. I find that Google can be helpful, but it can also cause more confusion. I find that not all answers are suitable nor trustworthy. Just because you found it on Google, doesn't mean it's accurate.  I've never messed with SLI since 9800GTX+ was the standard, and even then I didn't do a whole lot other than plug 2 cards in and that was it.

 

But whatever, keep being a jack***. I asked because the Google searches I found, didn't give me entirely what I wanted. Nor did your response, but I'll go Google it because apparently Google is the God of all Answers and I should trust everything on there. /sarcasm.

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Funny, there have been at least three recent posts by you suggesting that the OP was lazy and could've found the info they asked about through Google. Someone gives you the response that you have been giving and they are a jack***. Makes sense. 

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1 hour ago, Circaflex said:

Funny, there have been at least three recent posts by you suggesting that the OP was lazy and could've found the info they asked about through Google. Someone gives you the response that you have been giving and they are a jack***. Makes sense. 

Whatever man...

 

Thanks for the response, I didn't fully understand it, but who uses their full brain without coffee :)

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Quote

How many monitors are supported when running in SLI mode?

With GeForce R180 drivers (or later), standard SLI configurations for 2-way, 3-Way, and quad SLI support a maximum of two monitors. Additional monitors (up to 6 monitors total enabled) may be enabled by using either a motherboard GPU and/or a PhysX capable graphics card (GeForce 8 series or higher with at least 256MB of memory) that does not have the same GPU as those that are SLI enabled.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/sli/faq#s1

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If it means anything I'm running 3x 27 Inch Dells at 1440p on a single 980 Ti all via Display Port cables. I think as long as your not trying to run games on each monitor at a time it shouldn't be a problem on to run 6 monitors on 2 cards...

 

But don't you lose the monitor hookups on the SLI cards?

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Circaflex - the entire point of a forum is to encourage discussion on topics. Sure the OP could have just gone to google and tried to figure it out, but that's also why we have threads for this. perhaps there's more than one way to do it. putting your idea in a thread encourages people to think and post other suggestions that might not be quite as obvious.

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3 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

Circaflex - the entire point of a forum is to encourage discussion on topics. Sure the OP could have just gone to google and tried to figure it out, but that's also why we have threads for this. perhaps there's more than one way to do it. putting your idea in a thread encourages people to think and post other suggestions that might not be quite as obvious.

I am well aware how a discussion works, my post was mainly because over the last two weeks I have witnessed BD state the same thing to other users looking for help, or discussing a topic. His response has been "you could've easily googled this" or "5 second google search had the answer." Essentially giving him a taste of his own medicine so he can understand how rude it is to suggest on a forum to "google it."

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6 minutes ago, xendrome said:

If it means anything I'm running 3x 27 Inch Dells at 1440p on a single 980 Ti all via Display Port cables. I think as long as your not trying to run games on each monitor at a time it shouldn't be a problem on to run 6 monitors on 2 cards...

 

But don't you lose the monitor hookups on the SLI cards?

That's what I was wondering, xendrome. Is if I had to SLI 2 or 3 cards together. I only run 2 games at one time, and both of those can be ran full GFX on a 560GTX. EVE Online is the only one I'd ever do it with. So, I think I could get away with it. I thought the point of SLI was to combine the cards and share the load. Guess I'm not fully understanding something.

2 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

Circaflex - the entire point of a forum is to encourage discussion on topics. Sure the OP could have just gone to google and tried to figure it out, but that's also why we have threads for this. perhaps there's more than one way to do it. putting your idea in a thread encourages people to think and post other suggestions that might not be quite as obvious.

Don't worry about it Jason. I'll just Google everything, and then go to another forums when I need help. 

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15 minutes ago, xendrome said:

If it means anything I'm running 3x 27 Inch Dells at 1440p on a single 980 Ti all via Display Port cables. I think as long as your not trying to run games on each monitor at a time it shouldn't be a problem on to run 6 monitors on 2 cards...

 

But don't you lose the monitor hookups on the SLI cards?

Look one post above yours, I have addressed this twice in the thread.

 

 

Now BD wants to act like a child? Look through your posts, you have said the same thing to multiple members here, "google it" and now that is sent your direction and you want to have a hissy fit? Think about the members and how they felt when they asked a question and you said the same thing, heck some of them were new here and were greeted with "google it." Doesn't feel so great right?

Edited by Circaflex
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