# Can integrated graphics + new graphics card = 3 monitor set up?



## Arron911 (Jul 16, 2010)

Hi guys. Xmas is looming and i'm putting in an early request to santa. Could do with picking your brains for your tech wisdom. 

I have a Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 motherboard with integrated graphics (ATI Radeon™ HD 4250 GPU). I have dual monitor setup but also want to connect the TV (when connecting TV via HDMI it overrides the DVI). So how does this seem for a solution Novatech GeForce GT 240 512MB GDDR3

Would this 1) be compatible with motherboard, 2) allow connectivity of 3 monitors, 3) improve the graphics capabilities for gaming?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/...rds/nvidiagt240series/novatech/gt240512mb.jsp

Any ideas? Cheers


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

It works sometimes, the only way to know for sure would be to try. For best results, you would want to use to addon video cards of the same chipset brand (ie: 2 nVidia cards or 2 ATI cards).


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## dcsretro (Nov 21, 2010)

My answers would be 1) Yes, 2) highly unlikely, 3) Yes.

The reason for the highly unlikely is that the vast majority of integrated graphics cards are disabled when you insert a new GPU into one of the PCI-E slots. As Dogg points out, the only way to know for sue is to try it but that is a) an expensive experiment if it doesn't work and b) still highly unlikely as the two grahics cards aren't from the same manufacturer.


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## Arron911 (Jul 16, 2010)

Thank you for your responses. I emailed asus, the motherboard manufacturers and they said:

"The motherboard supports Hybrid CrossFireX technology which allows you to make the on-board graphic unit work with independent graphic cards. About the multi-screen display, it depends on the ports of the graphic cards, and as you mentioned DVI can not work with HDMI as they use the same channel, but VGA+DVI or VGA+HDMI can work normally."

Will this CrossFireX apply to all graphics cards inc GeForce GT 240. I'm none the wiser with their answer. I they saying yes I can have a 3 monitor set up or not?

I appreciate your help on this matter


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

It seems like they're saying yes the onboard could be used with a card at the same time. But just explaining that your card would have to have dual outputs.


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## Arron911 (Jul 16, 2010)

Asus have since got back to me saying the following:



> Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
> 
> Sir, thank you for your reply. First of all, I should apologize for my ignorance because I've made a mistake: "Hybrid CrossFireX technology which allows you to make the on-board graphic unit work with independent graphic cards", this means that on-board graphic unit can help the independent graphic card work better, but it doesn't mean that they can support displaying at the same time. If you want the on-board graphic unit and independent graphic cards to display at the same time, you will need "Surround View" which allows you to use the internal graphics as the secondary display if you set the PCI-E device as the primary display. Fortunately, M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 supports "Surround View" as well, you may enter BIOS--Advanced and then find the "Surround view" listed below.
> 
> ...


So the good news is that the board supports this feature and it has a name called 'Surround View'. The bad news is they still havent said whether this only works when the graphics card is an ATI or whether this will work with Nvidia too.


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## ajmo64 (Aug 9, 2011)

Did you ever get this resolved?
I've got the same onboard card - but want a cheap solution to add my third monitor (not really interested in gaming, etc) was hoping to go for a cheap graphics card.


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## Arron911 (Jul 16, 2010)

ajmo64 said:


> Did you ever get this resolved?
> I've got the same onboard card - but want a cheap solution to add my third monitor (not really interested in gaming, etc) was hoping to go for a cheap graphics card.


Hi Ajmo. I went for an ati graphics card to be safe. 

word of caution tho my friend. It wasnt the slick set up i was hoping for if you want to quickly switch between tv and 3rd monitor with your remote. 

From having used it as a 3rd monitor to then switch it back to a tv i have to disconnect the tv within the control panel as the tv channels wont work for some reason. 

Not the end of the world but for me is one extra step to far lol and i dont think i've used it more than once. 

If you do go for Nvidea please let us know how it went


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## ajmo64 (Aug 9, 2011)

Hi Arron - Been tinkering with it for hours - still no luck.

Here is my setup:
- ATI Raedon 4250 (built in IGP - same as your's)
- ATI Raedon 5450 (Buy.com - ASUS EAH5450 SILENT/DI/1GD3(LP) ATI Radeon 5450 1GB DDR3 Video Card)

In the BIOS:
- I've got set to SurroundView - "Enable"
- I've got set to PCI-xxx (PCI primary)

I've tried a bunch of settings but the darn 3rd monitor doesn't seem to be working- I can still only get 2 monitors to work at a time out of my IGP.

Any advice is much appreciated - BIOS settings even better! Which graphics card did you end up going with the - GeForce GT 240?


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

If the drivers are installing properly for both cards, you should be able to setup 2 monitors per video card.


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