Hey, I just had a few questions about the Gigabyte 6850. 1 - Gigabyte states that it "Features Dual-link DVI-I / DVI-D / HDMI / DisplayPort". Does this mean that it has one DVI-I and one DVI-D? Is that what they're saying? And will it affect quality or anything when used with one monitor attached to each (probably a stupid question). 2 - My motherboard (Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3) has two PCI-E slots, and both of them, when occupied with a card that takes up two slots, block off another lane. One blocks off of the tiny PCI slots (cant remember what they're called, I think it's x1) and the other blocks off a reguar PCI slot. I would like to put the graphics card in the place next to the mini PCI slot because chances are I'll never use it. motherboard that might help (Asus reccomends using the blue slot): http://www.ixbt.com/mainboard/asus/m4a890gtd-pro-usb3/board.jpg 3 - Is Gigabyte a good pick of brands? 4 - How does this card run with dual monitors? And is the 6850 generally a good card? Thanks a lot guys
Here's how it's broken down: that card has 4 display ports; DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI, and DisplayPort. Both I and D DVI connections are "Dual Link", which means you can display resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600, as opposed to DVI single link which can display a resolution of 1920 x 1200. Not sure what you're asking for here buddy... care to elaborate? Because your options are limited here. Either you use up both pci-e x16 slots, which will reduce the speed of both slots by half (x8) and will block off the pci and pci-e x1 slot, or, you can use up on of the pci-e x16 slots and utilize full speed, at the cost of another slot block (either the pci or pci-e x1). Definitely. They've been in the market for quite sometime now, for both motherboards and gpu's. Great reviews. Great products. Yes, 'tis definitely a good card to have atm. Especially if you have two... you'll be able to play at high resolutions at good frame rates. I don't know how it will run with dual monitors, but i know that you can certainly connect more than 2 screens with no problem! You're welcome! And welcome to the forum! Stick around chap...
Thanks for the reply Sorry, a chunk of text must have been somehow cut out from my second question there, but basically what I was trying to ask was, with only one GPU installed, is one of the slots better or faster than the other (because that's what it sounds like Asus is trying to say). This screen shot from the manual might help explain it:
Got it. Basically, if you want to utilize x16 speeds, you'll have to install the vga card in the PCIe x16_2 slot and also install the switch card in the PCIe x16_1 slot. What this switch card does is it allows you to use up all 16 lanes on the second slot, hence giving you x16 speeds. If you don't install it, you'll be running at x8.
