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Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 4:04 pm
by FireFox-89
Hey,

I didn't notice any other topics (although didn't look very thoroughly) regarding 2 different video card manufacturers in a single machine. My idea is to install both of my Quadro K4000 (GK106) video cards in Anubis alongside the Sapphire Radeon RX 580 Nitro+ even though each card is only capable of around 35-40,000 PPD which isn't much but at least there is an additional 2 compute devices chewing through work units. I've been told that it's as simple as installing both NVIDIA and AMD drivers but I can't help thinking that they would conflict with each other.

Has anyone here done this and if so how did you go about it.

Thanks fellow folders :D

Re: Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 4:09 pm
by bruce
Yes, folks have successful installed both the AMD drivers and the nVidia drivers in the same OS. It tends to be a difficult installation and the order that the steps are taken seems to be part of the challenge, but it can work.

Re: Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 4:11 pm
by FireFox-89
bruce wrote:Yes, folks have successful installed both the AMD drivers and the nVidia drivers in the same OS. It tends to be a difficult installation and the order that the steps are taken seems to be part of the challenge, but it can work.
Ohh nice, have you tried it or is it more hassle than it's worth haha

Re: Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 4:13 pm
by bruce
Not personally, and maybe.

Re: Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 9:25 pm
by Paragon
I've done this and it wasn't too bad. You want to start with what you think your "main" card will be. This is not necessarily the fastest card in the system, but the one that has the output on the back that will drive your primary display. Basically, get the machine up and running with this primary card first (be it either Nvidia or AMD). Here, you just follow the installation like normal...usually the automatic installation settings work fine. Make sure you get the system stable in this config before going farther. By this, I mean all OS updates installed, latest driver version installed, etc. Make sure it recognizes the card and folds.

Next, it is worth making sure your motherboard BIOS won't be fighting you. Typically this just means updating it to the latest version...check your motherboard manufacturer's website for any updates.

With the latest BIOS and a stable system, you are ready to install the card from the other GPU manufacturer. Do a fresh reboot just to make sure all updates / settings are working, then shut the rig down. Install the second card. Make sure when you reboot, your monitor output is connected to the first card (same output plug if possible).

Upon reboot, you should still have no issues with the graphics...you should have display at your intended resolution. Depending on the OS, it might pop up with an installer for the new device that it will have detected.

Here, you want to kill that and install the latest drivers for the second card manually. Download them from the vendors website and run the installer. Do not install anything other than the driver (use the advanced install options to select driver only. Skip any fancy control panels, adrenaline software, audio drivers, etc.). You just want the bare driver for the card, so that it is recognized as a device.

Once the install is complete, reboot the machine. With any luck, you should just find that your graphics work as they had previously, but you have a new device listed in your device manager that shows up as the make / model of the second card you added.

Re: Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 10:14 pm
by FireFox-89
Ohh nice, gonna try and give it a shot tomorrow, the PC in question doesn't have a display as I connect to it via TeamViewer which the idea do have it connected to the wireless network and only having a power cable plugged in her.

Re: Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 10:32 pm
by JimboPalmer
if you run Linux, you also need the OpenCL driver installed. Both should be by the vendor, not open source.

Re: Video Card Question

Posted: Sun May 17, 2020 11:26 pm
by Paragon
JimboPalmer wrote:if you run Linux, you also need the OpenCL driver installed. Both should be by the vendor, not open source.
That's right. If this is going on Linux, you'll need the Nvidia proprietary drivers from the PPA, and then separately install OpenCL. AMD provides their own install of their proprietary drivers, with info on how to install OpenCL. It is a bit of a pain, but doable.