Extra ports without an extra gpu?

[TekkyTG]

At the moment, I don't need this, but I am very curious if there's anything out there that exists of this sort. Is there any type of PCIe card that you can install in your motherboard along with your GPU that does nothing but add an extra output (or two or three or four) connector? Obviously I know you can run SLI or Crossfire and have extra outputs, or even two different GPU's so long as your motherboard supports it, but I'm curious if there isn't a PCIe card that will still use the included graphics card to generate the graphics, but simply add more video outputs.

[RadiatingLight]

Not really. Most people just use cheapo GPUs for that.

However, DisplayPort does support multiple streams over the same physical connection (so does Thunderbolt IIRC) so you could get a displayport dongle as long as the displays you're trying to drive are at a relatively normal resolution and refresh rate.

[AndreiArgeanu]

I think that's just called a gpu, you can get like a 750 or 1030 for more ports as long as your motherboard has the slots for it. You can also use the extra gpu to offload some of the workload from apps like chrome

 

[mariushm]

There are used video cards for sale which support 2-4 monitors and they're cheap, like 10-15$.

For example, see the old Radeon HD 5450 , HD 6450, R5 230, R7 250 (and similar codenames), cards from those generations...

 

See for example AMD Radeon ATI-102-C26405 (B) Graphics Video Card HD 6450 | eBay

[Slayerking92]

If the video card supports MST, you can get a DisplayPort MST Hub.

 

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Port-DisplayPort-MST-Hub/dp/B00XXPYTAG

 

 

[TekkyTG]

No no no, thanks for the feedback, but none of you seem to understand. I'm curious if there's not simply just a PCIe display adapter tha ADDS more outputs, but runs off the same gpu. I'm never going to use this, I'm just very curious if it exists. I'm not looking to do this myself in any way here. The goal is not to get more monitors, I just want to know if this exists. I'm saying that the PCIe card would actually utilize the GPU that's already in place, but just add a few more outputs. I already know that you can easily throw in another cheap graphics card (so long as the motherboard supports it) and use it that way, but of course that graphics card would be running everything off of itself, not the main graphics card.

[TekkyTG]

This idea is really just kind of one of those crazy ideas that "could" work, in fact may be somewhat ridiculous, but at the same time peaks curiousity, kind of like LTT's video about powering an entire computer with a bicycle lol.

[mariushm]

18 minutes ago, TechPrince said:

I'm curious if there's not simply just a PCIe display adapter tha ADDS more outputs, but runs off the same gpu.

Any pci-e card would need to have some chip that takes the digital signal from other pci-e cards (video card) and format it into the outputs of the card. At that point, you may just as well have an actual video card.

 

Something that would be what you're looking for may be matrox's quadhead, triplehead, dualhead etc ... they take one displayport/hdmi/dvi signal and split it into multiple outputs ... so you can output 4K and split it into 4 outputs or something like that

See https://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/

 

[DanielNS84]

56 minutes ago, TechPrince said:

This idea is really just kind of one of those crazy ideas that "could" work, in fact may be somewhat ridiculous, but at the same time peaks curiousity, kind of like LTT's video about powering an entire computer with a bicycle lol.

They also made a video about making that headless mining card work remember? And the old Freesync on an Nvidia GPU video or w/e...basically these things are possible because Windows 10 can route the video output of a card through any physical output. I am in fact using an onboard DisplayPort for my 4th monitor and my 2080 TI plays through it just fine, fully accelerated by my GPU. Just make sure you have all the latest updates and the GPU you grab supports the resolution and refresh rate you want and all is well. I installed a 1050 in a customer PC the other day to add an output to their Quadro system and this even works for SolidWorks/CAD and uses the main GPU.

[TekkyTG]

1 hour ago, DanielNS84 said:

They also made a video about making that headless mining card work remember? And the old Freesync on an Nvidia GPU video or w/e...basically these things are possible because Windows 10 can route the video output of a card through any physical output. I am in fact using an onboard DisplayPort for my 4th monitor and my 2080 TI plays through it just fine, fully accelerated by my GPU. Just make sure you have all the latest updates and the GPU you grab supports the resolution and refresh rate you want and all is well. I installed a 1050 in a customer PC the other day to add an output to their Quadro system and this even works for SolidWorks/CAD and uses the main GPU.

That's super interesting! Good to know.

[DanielNS84]

8 hours ago, TechPrince said:

That's super interesting! Good to know.

Yeah it's pretty neat, I have noticed performance issues when using an external USB video output but with anything remotely modern and PCIE I haven't noticed any difference. I don't think my onboard port supports any sort of adaptive sync so I have my G-Sync display on the main card but I thought I read newer Intel stuff may support it soon (probably since it's gonna be bundled into HDMI/DP ports so they may have to).

 

Edit: Now that I think about it newer USB/TB3 in some cases support DisplayPort too and can be used for a monitor either natively or with an adapter if you're into that. Most Type-C ports iirc can be used for this including the port on newer 20XX series Nvidia GPU's. I'm using mine for an 8K output for testing with the stuff below.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F17ZHJY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B079736Z53/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[papajo]

I was in search for the same thing because I bought a P106 (the mining card that has a 1060 GPU on it ports on it) like dirt cheap back when a 1060 had a 250-300 pricetag but I didnt need it for my main rig I just wanted to see if it would run... and by mistake I got an i3 rig second hand (the cheapest I could find to test the card) and it turns out that it had only a VGA out... bugger... 

 

The GPU works but unless I buy a new mobo I cant have a digital output... and I searched  and searched and search I did but couldn't find anything of the sort... I remember back in the day some mobo manufacturers used to give you a PCI (or AGP cant remember really) card that wasnt a GPU it was just an adapter to connect your monitor into... but because I forgot the model names of those old mobos (back in the Pentium 4 era maybe core 2 ) I couldnt keep on with my search to buy such a thing second hand.. keywords for that didnt help much... 

[mariushm]

Just because there were in the past such cards, it doesn't mean those cards still work with more modern hardware.

It's quite possible those cards depended on features of the chipset or they were specific to some motherboard and they wouldn't work on modern hardware.

 

For example, here's a card that creates a DVI connector : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-FH868-0FH868-Sil-1364A-ADD2-N-PCI-Express-DVI-D-Low-Profile-Adapter-Card-x1/283089184665?hash=item41e96e2799:g:4xEAAOSwqz9bZ~4b

 

BUT, it will NOT work with any hardware... it's specific to Dell with a specific chipset, the chip on the card simply connects the DVI output to the digital output of the chipset on the motherboard. It doesn't magically create a DVI output for any video card.

Here's the Intel page about ADD2 cards and which chipsets support them : https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005747/graphics-drivers.html

 

If you just want outputs, your best option is to just buy an old video card for 10-15$ ... they probably won't support that pass through feature, so probably won't be able to play games on the mining card with no  outputs and redirect to these ancient cards.

[papajo]

7 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Just because there were in the past such cards, it doesn't mean those cards still work with more modern hardware.

It's quite possible those cards depended on features of the chipset or they were specific to some motherboard and they wouldn't work on modern hardware.

 

For example, here's a card that creates a DVI connector : https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-FH868-0FH868-Sil-1364A-ADD2-N-PCI-Express-DVI-D-Low-Profile-Adapter-Card-x1/283089184665?hash=item41e96e2799:g:4xEAAOSwqz9bZ~4b

 

BUT, it will NOT work with any hardware... it's specific to Dell with a specific chipset, the chip on the card simply connects the DVI output to the digital output of the chipset on the motherboard. It doesn't magically create a DVI output for any video card.

Here's the Intel page about ADD2 cards and which chipsets support them : https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005747/graphics-drivers.html

 

If you just want outputs, your best option is to just buy an old video card for 10-15$ ... they probably won't support that pass through feature, so probably won't be able to play games on the mining card with no  outputs and redirect to these ancient cards.

If its a nvidia one e.g a GT 710 or something it would work (setting the 710 as main display adapter via the drivers and use the p106 as the GPU) but  I am not from the US and where I am from those cards even second hand cost more than 20$ and that's for the crappiest versions like GT 510 or something with 1GBvram which I dont want to spend for such a thing... if they where around 10-15$ I would have bought one yesterday !  

[DanielNS84]

What country are you in and what GPU/Motherboard do you have?

 

Edit: Saw the GPU you have, just need your motherboard info.

[tdkid]

45 minutes ago, DanielNS84 said:

What country are you in and what GPU/Motherboard do you have?

 

Edit: Saw the GPU you have, just need your motherboard info.

motherboard info was also posted in the first comment from OP. ASRock B450M Pro4-f Motherboard (No Wifi)

 

16 hours ago, TechPrince said:

At the moment, I don't need this, but I am very curious if there's anything out there that exists of this sort. Is there any type of PCIe card that you can install in your motherboard along with your GPU that does nothing but add an extra output (or two or three or four) connector? Obviously I know you can run SLI or Crossfire and have extra outputs, or even two different GPU's so long as your motherboard supports it, but I'm curious if there isn't a PCIe card that will still use the included graphics card to generate the graphics, but simply add more video outputs.

I want to say yes and no because I have no idea honestly. I have heard of NVsync and mosaic but that was only for GPUs like the quadpro and you had to have more than one for it to work.

[DanielNS84]

Just now, tdkid said:

motherboard info was also posted in the first comment from OP. ASRock B450M Pro4-f Motherboard (No Wifi)

Ah okay, well if that's the system in question then that 2060 Super may have a type-c port you can use. Since the CPU he has doesn't have an iGPU then it looks like that or a 2nd card is the only option besides a USB adapter or MST hub.

[tdkid]

3 minutes ago, DanielNS84 said:

Ah okay, well if that's the system in question then that 2060 Super may have a type-c port you can use. Since the CPU he has doesn't have an iGPU then it looks like that or a 2nd card is the only option besides a USB adapter or MST hub.

that could work except the type C port on the GPUs is used for computer ran VR like the Oculus rift. it more than likely will not work as another HDMI or DP for a monitor but then again I do not know as I just ordered my new GPU a few hours ago and will not get it for a week or more.

[DanielNS84]

Just now, tdkid said:

that could work except the type C port on the GPUs is used for computer ran VR like the Oculus rift. it more than likely will not work as another HDMI or DP for a monitor but then again I do not know as I just ordered my new GPU a few hours ago and will not get it for a week or more.

Fully functional USB Type-C and DisplayPort actually...I use it all the time, even for flash drives and such. Ironically it's not currently used as a VirtuaLink port since no headsets support it yet. You can use an adapter to convert it to HDMI to use it for VR if needed but the easiest way to use it is with a USB-C cable to a USB-C monitor since it supports DisplayPort natively.

[tdkid]

yes its fully functional but being on the GPU its designed to be the spot where you plug in the USB C cable to the port on the headset as most VR videos show us what the person wearing the headset sees on a screen since the VR in those instances are computer controlled. there are stand alone VR sets but sometimes they are underpowered depending on the specs. and I am saying all of this as I have no idea because I have only tried VR once and I got a massive headache from it so its something I will probably not be doing again.

[DanielNS84]

3 minutes ago, tdkid said:

yes its fully functional but being on the GPU its designed to be the spot where you plug in the USB C cable to the port on the headset as most VR videos show us what the person wearing the headset sees on a screen since the VR in those instances are computer controlled. there are stand alone VR sets but sometimes they are underpowered depending on the specs. and I am saying all of this as I have no idea because I have only tried VR once and I got a massive headache from it so its something I will probably not be doing again.

It's a USB Type-C 5Gb/s Port With DisplayPort Alt Mode (See images, sorry for the mess, quarantine and all)...it works great for display stuff but if it was a 10Gb/s port I'd use it more for my externals. Anyway, I have 2 VR headsets and what I was saying is that they haven't implemented VirtuaLink yet (that's what the port was originally for) so the only way to use it for VR is through an adapter to convert it to HDMI so it's easier to just use your HDMI for that and use this port for other stuff. In any case, they make USB-C monitors now that use the port or you can use the adapter I linked to plug a DisplayPort device into it.

 

[tdkid]

3 minutes ago, DanielNS84 said:

It's a USB Type-C 5Gb/s Port With DisplayPort Alt Mode (See images, sorry for the mess, quarantine and all)...it works great for display stuff but if it was a 10Gb/s port I'd use it more for my externals. Anyway, I have 2 VR headsets and what I was saying is that they haven't implemented VirtuaLink yet (that's what the port was originally for) so the only way to use it for VR is through an adapter to convert it to HDMI so it's easier to just use your HDMI for that and use this port for other stuff. In any case, they make USB-C monitors now that use the port or you can use the adapter I linked to plug a DisplayPort device into it.

 

ll like I said, I have no idea as I don't have one. I just ordered a GPU that does but wont be here for about a week or more. the GPU I currently am using is an AMD radeon HD 6770 from 2012/13 before VR was even thought of in terms of modern computing. 

[DanielNS84]

3 minutes ago, tdkid said:

ll like I said, I have no idea as I don't have one. I just ordered a GPU that does but wont be here for about a week or more. the GPU I currently am using is an AMD radeon HD 6770 from 2012/13 before VR was even thought of in terms of modern computing. 

I thought maybe that was the case, was just trying to let him know that the port itself is just a normal USB Type-C and DisplayPort that he could use if his GPU has it.

[tdkid]

well you have let them know and me as well. so thanks. I don't think I will ever try VR again. same feeling when you sit too close to the screen for too long.

[DanielNS84]

15 minutes ago, tdkid said:

well you have let them know and me as well. so thanks. I don't think I will ever try VR again. same feeling when you sit too close to the screen for too long.

Just so you know, this is a common thing with headsets connected to a PC that can't maintain 90FPS consistently. Try again with a newer PC with a good GPU (Especially with VRSS enabled to raise the resolution dynamically) and you may like it more. Newer headsets even push up to like 120Hz which makes it even more comfortable. Don't let a bad experience turn you off of it completely. My 6 year old daughter loved it so much I built her a 2060 system just for VR that she plays every day, it doesn't take much horsepower to do it right if everything is setup well, I played it with an original Oculus Rift and an RX-480 and it worked great. 

 

Side note for previous topic: The difference between the 10Gb/s ports and 5Gb/s ports is noticable even with SATA SSD's...with that Samsung 851 Enterprise drive I used above it gains like 100MB/s plugged into a 3.2 Gen 2 port (and it's a normal type-A port). I wish they'd used the newest standard or maybe even a 2x2 port for 20Gb/s but oh well, at least it supports 8K60 video using the DisplayPort alt mode.

 

Edit to Include Image: