Recommendation for a PC graphics card (2 x 4k) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 05:39:54 pm
content: Colleagues!I've just bought two new monitors for my W10 Windows workstation - 32 inch with 4k resolution (Dell S3221QSA). My ancient graphics card chokes when they are both plugged in (the PC won't even boot) so it's time for a new card.My workload involveszerogaming, so I have no interest in cards designed for gamers. Mostly I run Office apps, photo editing, audio and (occasionally) video editing, software development, some CAD (but only hobby level). So a pretty undemanding workload. The monitors are placed side-by-side and I want the desktop to be extended horizontally giving me a workspace of 7680 x 2160. The monitors support a maximum 60Hz refresh rate.My research into suitable cards runs into two main difficulties. Firstly, almost every review goes on about the gaming capabilities of the card, which I don't care about. Secondly, I cannot find in the published specs for any of the cards I've looked at whether the card will supporttwo4k monitors simultaneously. They all describe the resolution/refresh rate combinations achievable, but they don't say whether these are just for a single monitor or two monitors.Can anyone recommend a suitable card that will support two 4k monitors simultaneously? 60Hz refresh rate is all that's needed.Thanks in advance. 👍

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 05:45:40 pm
content: Most graphics cards with two output ports are OK for two 4k panels these days. You have to look back more than 10 years to find graphics cards that cannot scan a 4k panel at 60fps. Quite a few video ports on motherboards newer than that could only scan at 30fps, but I think those have all gone. If you want 2 HDMI ports the options can be really limited. If you want two DP ports there are plenty of options.

author: radar_macgyver
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 05:58:43 pm
content: Get a low-end pro card, like an NVIDIAT400orA400(about $150-200), both support dual 5k displays at 60 Hz. You may see some acceleration of video encoding/decoding.

author: coppice
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 06:13:04 pm
content: Quote from: radar_macgyver on December 03, 2024, 05:58:43 pmThose are fine, but you can still find things like an nVidia 1050 card brand new for considerably less, that will do they job just as well.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 06:49:12 pm
content: i'm up to date with amd cardsRX 550 cards are close to rx470 in performance and usually come with 2 displayport + something else , both dp can do 4k/60example cardshttps://www.ebay.com/itm/226370342456orhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/225732069624orhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/126600509612for more performanceI would say an AMD RX570 or RX580 , doesn't matter if it's 4GB or 8GBThey usually have 3 video outputs, 1 dvi/hdmi and 2 displayportYou can buy new rx580 for around $120, less if used.Modern enough to have windows 11 drivers.Radeon WX 5100 would be the equivalent workstation model , usually coming with 4 displayport connectorslink with specs :https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-pro-wx-5100.c287380-100$ on ebayWX 4100 is cheaper and is equivalent to a RX 460 but comes with 4 miniDP connectors so if you have to get cables it's not worth going cheaper to this onelink :https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-pro-wx-4100.c2874

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 06:59:12 pm
content: Radeon WX 5100 (4x dp video's) is a good choice, need display port to hdmi cablesas you know Radeon WX are made for work, no problems to have up to 4 monitors in real time (no gaming)as written, even standard videocards now can do 2 - 3 monitors, i do like to have max memory to sometimes listen to a video conferencenow on a low profile rx550 4gb, on dual 32" monitors, absolutely no problems with it

author: SteveThackery
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 07:14:24 pm
content: Hey, thanks for the responses! Clearly you guys can relate to my situation - I appreciate it.I'm going to use your suggestions to kick off another round of research. I didn't appreciate that there was a whole class of "work" or "professional" cards designed for users like me. I'm pretty certain I'll be buying one of the cards you suggested.Thanks again. 😁

author: Postal2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2024, 07:18:58 pm
content: If someone could point me to an Nvidia document on shader cores supporting bit instructions for polynomial calculations, that would be very helpful. I know that Kepler does, but Pascal doesn't, and I don't know anything about newer ones.I think this knowledge would be extremely useful when choosing a new graphics card, in addition to the supported resolutions.