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Question What is the purpose of dual graphics cards? (Posted by: Anonymous )

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In today's PC world many people have started using dual graphics cards for the age-old reasoning of "more is better". Now you may be wondering why someone would need two, wouldn't one top of the line graphics card be fine? To answer this question anyone considering dual graphics cards would need to sit down and think about what they will be running on their PC's. I personally have just one top of the line card and it suites my needs just fine but, I have a friend who has two top of the line models and again it is suited to his needs.

So, let me set down some pros and cons to having dual graphics cards. Let me start with the pros; 1. Yes, it is true in this case more is better, when you have two cards you will obviously have more video power in anything that you come across. 2. Let's be honest it just sounds cool to say that to a fellow nerd. 3. Well OK you got me there really aren't to many for this list. Now, for the cons list; 1. The price, in today's market you would be looking to spend around $300 at the very least on a graphics card now double that and your looking at $600. 2.

Honestly, you aren't even doubling the video cards at the very most you get 80% more and that isn't worth the money paid. 3. Dual graphics cards require certain parts that are not otherwise needed in a single card setup so it just is an unnecessary hassle. 4. If used in a gaming PC there are not to many games that can support and fully use dual graphics cards 5. Not really a con but, there was only one pro and four cons.

Now, I realize i mentioned I have a friend who happens to have dual graphics cards but, he works as a video editor and he all the footage he has is in HD so it is OK for him. Also, he didn't pay for his setup his company did and he went all out cause it wasn't his money. In my honest opinion the HD footage that he has runs perfectly on my PC with my single graphics card which proves the point of dual graphics cards are an unnecessary expense.

So, are dual graphics cards needed in any one persons computer? No, I strongly believe that you would just be throwing away your hard earned money if you made that purchase. I know there are some people out there that like to have the best of the best just to say they do, and if you want to do that go for it. All I am saying is maybe in the future basic computers will have dual cards but, at this moment in time the technology is ahead of its time and not worth the money spent for at most an 80% increase in performance. Thank you for reading this I hope that it helps in making your decision.

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Not a word nor peep about the difference between using dual graphics cards to support multiple monitors versus running dual cards in SLI or Crossfire to improve the performance of a single monitor. A great deal of wasted space and opinion. By Anonymous on 10-07-11 at 07:01pm
Well explained. Dual cards are definitely over-kill! By Anonymous on 23-11-11 at 05:11pm
One more pro could be additional displays? More cons would be that they produce more heat and noise, and require a lot more power. By Derek on 16-12-12 at 02:27pm
what if you decide only one card is for you and it runs everything you need fine, but 3 4 years down the road games come out that dont run so well. would buying another card for that extra 80% make playing the new games possible? so buying the
cards would prove to be worth it down the road? in other words futurizing your build. By Jared on 05-03-13 at 04:38pm
Yeah, the reason I have dual graphics cards is because I need the extra video ports for my HTPC. It has a 7" monitor built into the case, a projector, and a small
1" display for configuration settings and for watching TV when I don't feel like turning on the projector. And I have 1 spare port if I ever need it for something else. By Adrian on 22-03-13 at 09:05pm
seriously, 80% performance increase?! i'm getting me some of that sweet duality By dayuum on 31-12-13 at 12:51pm
Dual graphics needs can challenge your power supply. You can get one with high wattage but they tend to be expensive. ALternatively you can connect a second psu using connectpsu ( http://www.connectpsu.com ) By Sandra on 20-06-14 at 07:44pm
And you forgot to mention that that system sometimes comes in notebooks, and it is usually a combo of Intel HD something + a dedicated nVidia or AMD. It is usually used to save power: if you are browsing or some other "easy" task only the Intel HD is used and if you start using something that requires the dedicated graphics then it is used. By zFadil995 on 06-07-14 at 07:29am
That was a good explanation. I did not expect only a 80% increase in performance. By Anonymous on 31-08-14 at 01:55pm
Hmm. Dual-Graphic Cards. Is it able to run two sceens when having two cards ? By Anonymous on 16-10-14 at 03:17pm
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