When people purchase a second monitor, one of the most common questions that pops up is if they should be connecting it directly to the GPU or to the motherboard.
As a general rule of thumb, you want to connect your monitors to the GPU rather than the motherboard’s or CPU’s integrated graphics because the GPU will provide much better visual performance and frames per second. An exception to that rule is if your computer isn’t used for resource-intensive tasks.
So, as you might understand, the answer to this question depends on what you’re using your computer for. If you’re heavily into gaming applications or power-intensive applications such as video editing, then you’ll want to connect the second monitor directly to the GPU.
Many other questions arise for people that are considering connecting their second monitor to the GPU or motherboard, and you’re going to want to keep reading to ensure you have the best setup possible.
Can You Use the Integrated and Dedicated Graphic Card at the Same Time?
If you’re wanting to set up a laptop or PC with dual graphics cards, you might be curious if an integrated graphics card and a dedicated graphics card can complement each other and work at the same time.
Looking at things from a theoretical basis, it is quite possible to use each of them at exactly the same time. If you’re wondering if they can work together, that all depends on what kind of integrated card your laptop or PC has installed in it.
For computers that contain an Intel HD or UHD graphics GPU, then you’re in luck and will be able to use each card at the same time. If you’re using an AMD APU, then you won’t have the same amount of luck with that particular setup.
In a nutshell, it all boils down to the type of processor that you have. Intel is a little more compatible when it comes to this particular scenario. It also depends on what type of configuration you have, as well as your BIOS settings.
There are certain laptops on the market that have the ability to alternate between each graphics card depending on if they are relying on the battery power, or if they are plugged in.
There are also laptops that you can configure on your own to suit your own desires.
Why Two Graphics Cards?
The main reason why people would want to run integrated and dedicated graphics cards at the same time is that dedicated graphics cards have their own RAM. This is called VRAM.
VRAM is much stronger in comparison to the integrated GPU counterparts. So if you’re into video editing and gaming, you’ll want a dedicated graphics card.
If you’re into energy conservation, then you might want to steer in the direction of an integrated graphics card because of the lesser power consumption.
It’s important to note that integrated graphics cards are built right into the computer. Each card has its own set of tasks to do.
If you’re only doing light computing duties such as word processing, your computer will rely on the integrated card for that.
If you decide to load up a demanding video editing application, the dedicated graphics card will be relied upon.
How to Run Dual Monitors Off the GPU and Motherboard Together
Setting up dual monitors to run off of the GPU and motherboard isn’t too complicated if you follow a couple of straightforward steps. The first thing you’ll need to do is figure out if your motherboard can support a dual-display setup.
You need to ensure that your integrated and dedicated graphics card is compatible with your particular setup. You’ll need to take a look at your output types to ensure your monitors will work with them.
Once you’ve figured out that things are compatible, you’ll proceed to connect the monitor to the motherboard and connect the GPU to the other monitor.
There are some motherboards that support many more monitors than only two, so the directions will be quite similar for those seeking additional monitor connections.
To recap:
1. You’ll need at least one free port on your GPU and/or motherboard that is compatible with the type of cable used by your monitor(s).
2. An extra VGA or HDMI cable (or whatever type of cable your monitor uses) if you plan on using the motherboard’s port as well as a port on the GPU.
3. A splitter cable if you want to run two monitors off the same port (typically only works if you’re using HDMI or DVI cables, but can be done with others if you’re using an adaptor).
Once you’ve got all of these ready, simply plug your first monitor into whichever port you’ve chosen and the second connection into the corresponding port.
Is It Best to Connect a Monitor to the GPU or Motherboard?
As you now know, there are two ways to go about connecting your second monitor to your computer: either via an available PCI-E slot in your motherboard or through a secondary graphics card.
The first option is easier and more convenient, but the second offers better performance, especially if you’re using your computer for extremely power-intensive applications.
Connecting through the motherboard requires only a single video output port on your computer.
The downside of this option is that the motherboard’s onboard graphics chip will be responsible for outputting content to both monitors, which may result in slower performance than when running through a dedicated graphics card.
Connecting through a secondary GPU (graphics processing unit) is a bit more difficult. You’ll need to install the card itself into an available PCI-E slot and connect two monitors using DVI, HDMI, or DisplayPort ports on the back of your computer case (depending on what kind of connectors you have).
This option is generally regarded as superior because it allows you to use your primary GPU for gaming or other intensive tasks while using your secondary GPU for media playback or other less demanding operations.
How Can You Tell If a Computer Can Support Two Monitors?
There are a few things you should know before you go ahead and start connecting two monitors to your computer. For the best experience, make sure that:
- Your video card has two video outputs. Most new computers come with this feature, but some older models may not.
- Your video card can support dual monitors. This is a separate feature from the number of video outputs; if your card doesn’t support it, you won’t be able to use both monitors at once.
- You’re using the latest version of your operating system and have updated all your drivers for your hardware.
If your PC doesn’t have two video ports, you can still use two monitors. Most video cards these days come with two, three, or even four separate ports, each of which can support a monitor.
If you’re lucky enough to have the right kind of video card and ports on your PC, then it’s only a matter of connecting the cables.
You may also be able to add more video ports by installing an additional video card in your computer.
Depending on whether your PC/laptop has onboard graphics or a dedicated graphics card, you may be able to install another one on top of it for more video outputs, and more video outputs lead to the ability to support more monitors.
For those that are puzzled about how to check if their computers can support dual monitors, you can usually tell if your computer can support two monitors by looking at the back of your computer tower or laptop. There should be a video output port (this is what sends information to your monitor).
Some common types are VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort. If you have a video output port on both your built-in graphics card and your CPU, then you can have two monitors.
If you’re the type of person that enjoys multi-tasking with two different displays, you’ll quickly find that two monitors are better than one.
And with the advent of cheap and inexpensive multi-monitor video cards and accessories, it’s become easier than ever to have multiple monitors connected to your computer without having to completely break the bank.
However, if you’re not sure what all the extra ports on your motherboard are for, or how to connect a second monitor to a computer with only one video output port, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with things a little bit further to ensure you’re doing things correctly.