Beef Up Your Gaming Pc On A Budget With Multiple Graphics Cards

By Author: Gregg Housh
Total Articles: 18
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Every gamer wants a powerful system. Unfortunately, building one can be wildly costly. As the graphics card often dictates the in-game performance of your computer, a high-end GPU is considered a must for a serious gamer. The latest graphics cards can be very expensive. They also become obsolete after several months.

However, with the emergence of multi-GPU technology, it is possible to combine multiple cards to achieve better performance. This could allow you to purchase less expensive graphics cards for use with your gaming computer. As you come across more money, you can purchase another card to share the workload with your current hardware. This will give you a quality experience with even the newest games that was previously only available on a specialty graphics card.

Nvidia's SLI and ATI's CrossFire technologies offer multiple card support. If you are looking to put together a system based on this strategy, you should be careful to get the correct pieces. If you want multi-GPU support, you must have a motherboard that supports it. Most newer gaming motherboards will offer this. Also, you will need a tremendously ...
... powerful power supply to pump out the voltages necessary to run multiple cards. These SLI-ready power supplies are not necessarily expensive. However, you don't want to have to upgrade your power supply when you get a new card.

If you use this strategy to build your gaming system, you can purchase decent graphics cards that are a few months behind the newest releases. These are much cheaper cards. However, the addition of future cards will give you a similar boost in performance to one of the newest, pricey cards. You can save up money for these improvements at your leisure without having to throw out old parts.

Be careful that you plan your purchases around the limitations of multi-GPU technology. For example, an Nvidia SLI rig will require you to use multiple cards of the same chip set. If you intend to use a GeForce 9800 GT, for example, you will need to get the same card when you add a second. ATI's CrossFire technology allows you to use different cards from the same series. These are hardly limitations, but you don't want to accidentally purchase a card that won't work with your setup.

If you play massively multiplayer online games, you might want to weigh using a single powerful card instead. These games tend to be very processor intensive, and there are often support issues for multi-GPU arrangements. However, for other games that really work your graphics card, multiple cards can vastly improve your performance.

High end graphics really show the awesome power of the desktop PC. Gaming does not require the huge budgets of the past. If you choose a smart build, you can get smooth frame rates on the latest games at a reasonable price. Multi-GPU technology allows you to upgrade your machine at your leisure.
Gregg Housh is Technician Manager at Geek Choice. At Geek Choice we fix computer problems like: Slow Computer, Virus Removal, Spyware Removal, Computer startup problems, Printer not printing, Not connecting to the Internet, Scanner not working, or the "blue screen of death."