Author

Topic: Using different GPUs in the same rig? (Read 997 times)

newbie
Activity: 56
Merit: 0
July 04, 2017, 11:42:55 PM
#7
I have two Zotac GTX 1060 AMP cards and two RX 480 8GB from different brands on the same system. Form my experience, I would say do not mix Nvidia and AMD if you are not savvy enough to troubleshoot when problems occur. Here is a summary of what I have been seeing:

These points are specific to mixed mode.

Advantages of NV:

1. You don't need to connect it to a monitor to overclock or monitor the card for temps etc.

Disadvantages:

1. Driver may crash if you close and open the miner for any reason or use a different to mine another coin. Sometimes, you don't have to restart the PC, just reapply settings using Afterburner. But most of the times, you have to restart the PC to use the card again. Windows 10 seems to be better than Windows 7 when it comes to handling driver crashes.
2. The PCIe x1 to 3 X1 switch multiplier (One you use to connect three cards in one PCIx1 slot) does not support Nvidia cards.

Advantages of AMD cards:

1. Driver does not crash often. Even if it does, you can reapply settings with Afterburner without restarting.
2. You can use the PCIe X1 multiplier.

Disadvantages of AMD cards:

1. Must be connected to a monitor or a dummy plug for Overclocking, tuning, and monitoring to work correctly.

If you use Sgminer or any of its variants (like garelessgate miner) in a mixed setup, you may need to use the --gpu-platform {0 | 1} option so that it detects the right GPU. Few miners like Claymore eth miner have the capability to handle mixed mode correctly.

If you absolutely have to go for a mixed setup, be prepared to troubleshoot.
hero member
Activity: 1036
Merit: 606
July 04, 2017, 05:30:55 PM
#6
Mixing any Nvidia card with any other one is fine, same goes for AMD.

However mixing AMD and Nvidia is generally not a good idea. You should save you the troubles and build separated rigs.

No problem at all mixing AMD & Nvidia cards on Windows 7 or 10. I just installed the latest driver and it works out of the box. Both with the Claymore dual miner and EWBF.
legendary
Activity: 1498
Merit: 1030
July 04, 2017, 05:28:18 PM
#5
If it's the same GPU and same memory, no issue at all but you have to be more careful when setting overclocks, modding memory, and watching temps to be sure you're on the RIGHT card.

 Mixing GPU models can be a bit of an issue, but normally works if it's in the same generation with only a small stability hit - just have to be careful when setting overclocks etc.

 Mixing generations will be a noticeable stability hit but will still work as long as you can use one driver to support all of the cards.
 This is a LOT more of an issue with AMD, as they don't write drivers any more to support their old Terrascale cards and they don't seem to TEST their current drivers much if at all on R9 3xx series and older GCN cards.

 Mixing manufacturers = major stability hit but CAN work, much easier to get working under Windows though (one of the VERY few things Windows does a lot better than LINUX).

newbie
Activity: 3
Merit: 0
July 04, 2017, 05:32:52 AM
#4
Mixing any Nvidia card with any other one is fine, same goes for AMD.

However mixing AMD and Nvidia is generally not a good idea. You should save you the troubles and build separated rigs.
sr. member
Activity: 518
Merit: 250
July 04, 2017, 04:20:40 AM
#3
Absolutely no problem, you can put totally different GPUs of one manufacturer in one rig (bear in mind, that paring AMD with Nvidia can occur some problems).
hero member
Activity: 1498
Merit: 597
July 04, 2017, 04:05:01 AM
#2
you can build a mining rig with different vga cards , nvidia / amd  ,from different manufacturer ,  you can use ,mix any cards in your build with 3-4-6-8-11GB of mem
full member
Activity: 184
Merit: 101
July 04, 2017, 03:37:30 AM
#1
Hi,

what do you think/know about using different GPUs in one rig?
For example using EVGA 1060 and MSI 1060 in the same rig?
Or mixing 3GB and 6GB modells?
Or even use AMD and NVIDIA cards in the same rig?

Will one have disadvantages, when mixing GPUs or is it absolutely no problem, cause every GPU is mining for it's own?
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