Why would I need 2 graphics cards?

[waterjug]

Okay, might seem like a dumb question, but what are the real benefits of having 2 GPUs? I mean you can run a game fine with only one, but why would you need multiple grahpics cards in a personal gaming rig? Is it worth the investment? 

[shadowbyte]

because you want the best experience possible, usually at crazy high resolutions

[Enderman]

For people that have the best GPU in the world but still want more performance for 4k.

[captain cactus]

For more fps in games that properly support a dual GPU setup either via SLI (nVidia) or Crossfire (AMD).

 

I'd stick with a single more powerful GPU over two weaker ones though. Some devs flat out don't even bother with multi-GPU support which can actually result in lower fps compared to a single GPU setup.

[LukaH]

short answer no. usually games are not made to use multi GPU solutions so one GPU is usually just sitting there idling. but if a game has a good CFX/SLI profile you can see some massive fps gains. how much depends on the games optimization and the general rule is CFX yields more gains than SLI. People who run more than one GPU are usually enthusiasts that run at 4k resolution or just because they can/looks badass but you have to put up with the extra noise and/or heat. This could change in the future where dx12 and vulkan will have the ability to use more than 1 gpu even if it is from the another company but that will take some time. Now if you were folding at home/bitcoin mining etc... you can use each individual gpu to do its own thing no need to have cfx/sli profiles.

[Shiv78]

Multi-GPU isn't a need its a want

[Daniel22]

19 minutes ago, wii8cookies said:

Okay, might seem like a dumb question, but what are the real benefits of having 2 GPUs? I mean you can run a game fine with only one, but why would you need multiple grahpics cards in a personal gaming rig? Is it worth the investment? 

3d effects editing or video rendering

[Mick Naughty]

Has nothing to do with most of that.  A single card cant do what two can. Quite simple. Its a need for me as I cant play a game with high frame times and shitty graphics.

 

Most people can get by with "fine" but I'm not on of them. The question is why not two cards.

[KenjiUmino]

8 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

Has nothing to do with most of that.  A single card cant do what two can. Quite simple. Its a need for me as I cant play a game with high frame times and shitty graphics.

 

Most people can get by with "fine" but I'm not on of them. The question is why not two cards.

never heard of this - how does having two cards improve frame times ? and what monitor do you need to benefit from that

[scottyseng]

50 minutes ago, wii8cookies said:

Okay, might seem like a dumb question, but what are the real benefits of having 2 GPUs? I mean you can run a game fine with only one, but why would you need multiple grahpics cards in a personal gaming rig? Is it worth the investment? 

I also have to say GPU rendering. It really does go faster as you add more GPUs to the mix.

[Mick Naughty]

Just now, KenjiUmino said:

never heard of this - how does having two cards improve frame times ? and what monitor do you need to benefit from that

Frame time has nothing to do with the monitor per say. You can turn graphics down and get better times or add another card. Depends on the game and your need.

No one hears about it because they don't pay attention and llt don't talk about it in their videos. They just number chase like everyone else.

I use precision xoc and monitor everything for each of my cards. That way I notice what the patches are doing to ruin the game or how my oc'ing effecting anything. Then running multiple monitor setups I can see what works best. 

[Equlizer]

IF you want to pump out high fps on a 144hz monitor then you will need 2

[-rascal-]

ME: ~75 FPS on Ultra with some settings turned down is good enough

INNER SELF: No, you want 200+ FPS with Ultra-max settings

 

* 3 months later, drop another $500 on a 2nd graphics card *