Two Video Cards — Nvidia 3070 ti & AMD

[philexile]

Hello,

I had a quick question: I’m running Windows 10 and wanted to see if it was possible to run both a Nvidia 3070 ti for modern games, and an older AMD VGA card for GroovyMame.

Is this something that can be done?

Thank you

[buttersoft]

How would you like to be a test-case, lol?

In theory it works. In practice there can be a lot of hiccups. I haven't done it myself, i've only seen the complaints.

So, again, how would you like to be a test case?

[philexile]

Haha, well, what kind of hiccups?

[Calamity]

2 gpus -> 2 monitors, super easy

2 gpus -> 1 monitor (i.e. Nvidia for rendering, AMD for output), can be done, but it's complicated. I think RA can do it. I wouldn't want that setup for me or for any loved one though.

[philexile]

2 gpus -> 2 monitors, super easy

Great! This is exactly what I want to do. I have a very powerful i9 build and I want to use it for both Groovy and modern games. (Though mostly Groovy!)

2 gpus -> 1 monitor (i.e. Nvidia for rendering, AMD for output), can be done, but it's complicated. I think RA can do it. I wouldn't want that setup for me or for any loved one though.

I've never heard of this... what use would this be?

Thanks again!

[Sereosh]

It works, I did that for a while with my PC with a GTX 970 with two monitors plugged in and a 6450 that had my CRT TV connected to it. Some fiddling around will have to be made in mame so it shows up on the correct monitor, but I never had issues playing games.

I didn't keep that setup because I prefer the convenience of a dedicated arcade PC, but it works if no other alternatives are available.

[philexile]

This is good to hear. I will primarily use this for arcades, but i have a 48” OLED that’s I’d like to utilize for modern games as well.

My next question is: what is a good, basic AMD card? I have a more advanced card now and I’ll like to downgrade to save on wattage. I recall that some people recommended to avoid cards with a ribbon connected to the VGA port, but I wasn’t sure if that was hearsay or not.

Thanks

[buttersoft]

IDK specifically what errors ppl are getting. I've heard ppl talk about problems installing, and windows not knowing which driver to use. I'd imagine things are getting better, so go with what Calamity says on that

[philexile]

Yes — I’m following Calamity’s guidance, always.

So, quick question: my AMD Groovy video card is an R9 380 and it a fairly sizable card. Between it and the new Nvidia card, there isn’t much room in my case or between the cards.

Does this high-powered AMD card help with Groovy or could I downgrade to a more modest smaller AMD card, like an HD 5450?

Groovy is my main priority here, and if I need to instead downgrade my Nvidia card for something smaller, so be it!

Thanks

[buttersoft]

It helps, you can use higher frame-delay. A better CPU is more important, but the GPU does matter.

[philexile]

Thanks!

Are these technical details typed up anywhere?

Also, is there any concern about the dot clock and newer cards?

Thanks again

[buttersoft]

Are these technical details typed up anywhere?

Also, is there any concern about the dot clock and newer cards?

Not typed up in one place, Calamity has mentioned it though.

yes, for RX 500 series cards. No dot clock problems reported with R7/R9 300 series AFAIK.

[philexile]

Hi again,

We need some of this stuff typed up! There is a very pervasive perception out there that any junker PC will run MAME (or Groovy) and that clearly isn’t the case if you want to get close to arcade-perfect emulation.

When I bought the R9 a few years back it was the best, or one of the best, Groovy cards. Is this still the case or has something else eclipsed it at this point?

Thanks again!

[buttersoft]

i like a card with an analog output and no dot clock lower limit, myself. I suppose an RX 580 is going to be more powerful - I think that's as high as crt_eumdriver supports now. But you need to make sure you get a compatible hdmi- or DP-to-VGA dongle that can handle 15kHz and also composite sync, if you need that. A lot of cheap newer dongles don't work. I bought like a dozen different ones from Ali and eBay and only one worked. The Tendak adapters won't. The fricking HDMI Fury 2 won't either. That said, a lot of generic older AG6200-based dongles will. Some new ones still use the same old setup, so will work also - you generally have to go brand name like uGreen or Belkin or Comsol or something, but testing one is the only way to be sure.

[fuchi_jeg]

Some modern games, especially online games, will complain that test signing must be turned off to play online. It interferes with some anti-cheating software.  A better option is to use dual boot. One instance of windows for CRT, and one for steam/modern games.  In the CRT boot disable the nvidia gpu,  and in the gaming boot disable the CRT gpu. Works for me in windows 10/11.

[Rion]

i like a card with an analog output and no dot clock lower limit, myself. I suppose an RX 580 is going to be more powerful - I think that's as high as crt_eumdriver supports now. But you need to make sure you get a compatible hdmi- or DP-to-VGA dongle that can handle 15kHz and also composite sync, if you need that. A lot of cheap newer dongles don't work. I bought like a dozen different ones from Ali and eBay and only one worked. The Tendak adapters won't. The fricking HDMI Fury 2 won't either. That said, a lot of generic older AG6200-based dongles will. Some new ones still use the same old setup, so will work also - you generally have to go brand name like uGreen or Belkin or Comsol or something, but testing one is the only way to be sure.

The question is, does it support Interlaced resolutions via DP2VGA