Gtx 680 as main gpu with gtx 660 as render gpu

[Erlend]

Hi, im new to the world of "sli" and "dual gpu's."

I currently own a gtx 660 and got a good offer on a gtx 680. Im wondering if it's possible to use the 680 as a gaming card and the gtx 660 for it's cuda capabilities.For example rendering the stream for obs or if i should put it in my secondary build. 

 

Current specs: i5 3570k 3.4 ghz @4.2ghz

16 gb ddr3 1300mhz @1600mhz

msi z77a-gd45

gtx 660 @1.15 ghz

Corsair 750w silver rated psu.

 

In advance: Thanks =)

[mark201200]

Put it in your secondary build

And Welcome to LinusTechTips forum!

[Erlend]

Put it in your secondary build

And Welcome to LinusTechTips forum!

I think i'll give it to my little brother as an x-mas gift. Is there nothing i can use it for my own system though? (Besides a phys-x card)

[mark201200]

isn't a 680 fine for you?

[Erlend]

isn't a 680 fine for you?

A 680 should do just fine, but i like to stream some games and such with obs. I was wondering if I could use the nvenc(?) codec on the gtx 660 while running the game on my 680

[Varsh]

I have just upgraded from a GTX680 and I wouldn't recommend encoding a game in NVENC as the card's speed isn't quite there to handle both at the same time, so I would use CPU encoding instead. You could instead grab a GTX970 which will then be able to do both. The CUDA cores in the GTX 660 isn't too shabby so it might be worth having it as a render card.

 

How much are you spending for the GTX680?

[Erlend]

I have just upgraded from a GTX680 and I wouldn't recommend encoding a game in NVENC as the card's speed isn't quite there to handle both at the same time, so I would use CPU encoding instead. You could instead grab a GTX970 which will then be able to do both. The CUDA cores in the GTX 660 isn't too shabby so it might be worth having it as a render card.

 

How much are you spending for the GTX680?

Im only spending 68$(possibly less) compared to the price 350$ for the cheapest 970. 

[Varsh]

In that case then I would grab the GTX680 and use the the GTX660 as a render card or for PhysX. You should have plenty of headroom with your PSU.

[Erlend]

In that case then I would grab the GTX680 and use the the GTX660 as a render card or for PhysX. You should have plenty of headroom with your PSU.

Thank you! I appreciate it! Do you by any chance know how to set it up? Software wise that is.

[Varsh]

For setting the GTX660 as a PhysX card go to the Nvidia CP and under "configure SLI, Surround, PhyssX" set the PhysX dropbox to GeForce GTX 660. For the rendering this depends on the software you're using. What software are you using for rendering?

[Erlend]

I don't do much rendering, but i do stream a bit =) There i use Obs =)

[Varsh]

I'm going to try this out myself as I use something else.streaming. I'll tell you how I set it up if I can figure it out.

[Erlend]

I'm going to try this out myself as I use something else.streaming. I'll tell you how I set it up if I can figure it out.

Thank you! You're a saint!

[typographie]

I currently own a gtx 660 and got a good offer on a gtx 680. Im wondering if it's possible to use the 680 as a gaming card and the gtx 660 for it's cuda capabilities.For example rendering the stream for obs or if i should put it in my secondary build. 

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but the GTX 680 should be faster in CUDA applications as well as games.

[Erlend]

Maybe I'm missing something, but the GTX 680 should be faster in CUDA applications as well as games.

Yes. But im wondering if its possible to use my gtx 660 in the same system so i can run games on the 680 and (example) Streaming via obs using the 660 as a decoder.

[Varsh]

Well I've given it an extensive go since getting back from work and unfortunately there is no way of setting it so that the broadcast is rendered by the other card. What is actually happening is that when you play a game or use whichever software, the image is already rendered to the screen. OBS asks which video adapter you want to use to capture the video and broadcast and it's the screen that is being used for the game or software. For example:

 

I have 2 graphics cards, G1 and G2. G1 is where the monitor is being used and G2 has no monitor attached to it. In the settings setting G2 as the display adapter renders and broadcasts a black screen while setting the display adapter to G1 gives the game and the correct broadcasting (whether using x.264 or NVENC. Setting it so that you record the playback too will result in the video adapter doing all of the work, this cuts down the framerate considerably.

 

I was broadcasting Diablo 3 during the testing in both SLI and single mode and only the primary card would work, the second card would always be blank and could not be selected for any type of rendering be it screen capturing or broadcast rendering. Sorry for the bad news in that regard. The GTX 680 is still a very strong card for modern games though. It seems the only time I have come across the ability to use a secondary card for rendering is with video editing (Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas) and 3D apps (3ds Max and Maya). Bit of a shame really.

[Erlend]

Well I've given it an extensive go since getting back from work and unfortunately there is no way of setting it so that the broadcast is rendered by the other card. What is actually happening is that when you play a game or use whichever software, the image is already rendered to the screen. OBS asks which video adapter you want to use to capture the video and broadcast and it's the screen that is being used for the game or software. For example:

 

I have 2 graphics cards, G1 and G2. G1 is where the monitor is being used and G2 has no monitor attached to it. In the settings setting G2 as the display adapter renders and broadcasts a black screen while setting the display adapter to G1 gives the game and the correct broadcasting (whether using x.264 or NVENC. Setting it so that you record the playback too will result in the video adapter doing all of the work, this cuts down the framerate considerably.

 

I was broadcasting Diablo 3 during the testing in both SLI and single mode and only the primary card would work, the second card would always be blank and could not be selected for any type of rendering be it screen capturing or broadcast rendering. Sorry for the bad news in that regard. The GTX 680 is still a very strong card for modern games though. It seems the only time I have come across the ability to use a secondary card for rendering is with video editing (Adobe Premiere and Sony Vegas) and 3D apps (3ds Max and Maya). Bit of a shame really.

Thank you anyways! It's a shame. I'd hate for my old card to be unused. I think i'll give it to my little brother for christmas then. Thank you for your help! Maybe LTT could make a video on this. I really wish nvidia would allow dual gpu setups for atleast videocards off the same generations.. (6xx series, 7xx series, 9xx series in examle).