Using 2 different ATI video cards

[JessePage1989]

I have a PC gaming setup. It includes a "gaming" video card. I also do 3d rendering and design in AutoCAD and Solid works. Gaming cards are not ideal for these programs. So my question is it is possible to use two different videocards on one computer? I would set up an A/B Switch for the monitors as if i were switching between 2 different computers. Here is my hardware:

-MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3+ AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

-AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX

-ABS SL series SL1050 1050W Continuous @50°C ,80 PLUS SILVER Certified

-SAPPHIRE 100290SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX

-CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9

-Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

the video card i would like to add is the ATI 100-505606 FirePro V4800 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Workstation Video Card

Its not the greatest workstation card but it should work for what i need it for.

answers/advice would be much appreciated

 

[Automata]

If they can use the same driver, it should work fine.

 

[JessePage1989]

If they can use the same driver, it should work fine.

I had read somewhere that windows 7 supports 2 different video drivers. (Windows Vista did not) So would it matter if the two video cards had different drivers? Perhaps they were mistaking or I am misunderstanding what this mean s..

 

[Automata]

I'm honestly not sure. If they use the same driver, it doesn't really matter what it "supports" -- it will just work. If they need different versions of the driver, I'm not sure if that will work at all. Sorry I can't provide an exact answer for you. I'd test it out if I had access to the hardware.

 

[CompuTamer]

I've run an Nvidia card and a ATI card next to each other, and it worked well. Certain GPU reporting apps would lock up during detection for a minute, but they worked in the end.

Trying to run a 5770 and a 4850 next to each other didn't work at all though... Windows would boot up, initialize the displays, and then crash, restart, and repeat. Never could get it to work.

 

[a c i d.f l y]

RADEON and FirePro utilize two separate drivers, so you'll need to be running Windows XP or Windows 7 (VISTA lacks support for multiple video adapter drivers). You'll just need to switch your active render device in AutoCAD once you've installed the FirePro's drivers.

Win 7 x64: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/fire/Pages/fire_win7-64.aspx
Win 7 x32: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/fire/Pages/fire_win7-32.aspx

Win XP x64: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/fire/Pages/fire_xp64.aspx
Win XP x32: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/fire/Pages/fire_xp.aspx

 

[JessePage1989]

Didn't work. I guess the video cards use different drivers. AMD ECC became corrupt immediately. I had to reinstall windows to get it back to normal. No matter what i did i couldn't get it to reinstall properly. I sent it back. I Ordered a Quadro 600. The Nvidia will use different software and shouldn't really conflict with Amd ECC. Will post results when it comes in the mail.

thank you for the replies btw!

 

[JessePage1989]

quadro 600

well just installed the quadro 600. Have to say I have no driver problems. I have the 5870 running one monitor and the quadro 600 running the other. The only real issue i have is autocad. I cant get it to use the quadro. Even if I run it on the quadro screen it still says that my hardware is 5870. I'm not sure how i can get it to run solely on the quadro.

 

[Niku-Sama]

try setting the quadro to the primary display in your desktop settings.

you know where you go to adjust the res and one monitor has a 1 on the diagram and the other has a 2.

shot in the dark but wirth a shot

 

[JessePage1989]

hey that worked. All i do is just switch my main displays when i am doing cad and my primary monitor is on the quadro and then viseversa when i play games. I was going to buy a monitor switcher but no need now.

 

[CrustyButt]

I needed to post that, nobody else did

 

[JessePage1989]

Well thank you!