Will a second graphics card increase VR framerate if used for monitor

Lesthegringo · May 21, 2024

Partly theoretical question here, but maybe with a more practical use further down the line

I have VR for my race sims, but of course have to use a standard monitor so that I can navigate Windows and do all the setups etc. However once in the game, the image ported to the VR headset is at least partly mirrored by the monitor. As both monitor and headset are connected to the same GPU, does this mean that the GPU is having to work harder in order to provide both outputs?

My thinking is that I have a 1070 card sitting in my now unnecessary Win XP desktop that I used for Solidworks before transitioning to the latest online version. If I was to install that in the PC alongside the current 4070 Super card , and use the 4070 for the VR output and the 1070 for the monitor, would that allow the VR framerate to increase slightly?

I'm not struggling for framerate at the moment so I'm not desperate to improve performance, but maybe further down the line it might be nice to have it in the wings

Les

RasmusP · May 21, 2024

Lesthegringo said:
As both monitor and headset are connected to the same GPU, does this mean that the GPU is having to work harder in order to provide both outputs?

Nope. It's just a copy-paste data stream, not actual GPU workload.
Probably sub 1 fps performance cost!

Lesthegringo said:
My thinking is that I have a 1070 card sitting in my now unnecessary Win XP desktop that I used for Solidworks before transitioning to the latest online version. If I was to install that in the PC alongside the current 4070 Super card , and use the 4070 for the VR output and the 1070 for the monitor, would that allow the VR framerate to increase slightly?

No.
But in more detail:
If you would run another 3D application on the monitor (or a second monitor), then it would make sense to connect that monitor to a second graphics card.