a: don't know.

b: Intel graphics with that chipset is actually integrated on the CPU. So, no, it won't reduce the workload on your graphics card. I'd like to say it'd increase the workload on your CPU but I don't really know if that's true -- maybe the GPU portion of the CPU is more independant than that. But I doubt it.

Another thing about the Intel Onboard graphics is that (I think) it supports two ports concurrently. Not all three.

As far as I know, once you install a discrete graphics card the onboard graphics will be disabled and that HDMI port will be dead. If you're going NVIDIA and want three monitors you'll still need two cards.

But don't rely on my says so. I might be wrong about the intel onboard graphics being disabled when you install a card.

Rob Mack

it is mentioned here but i dont understand it:


http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PRO/#overview


Universal Switchable Graphics
LucidLogix® Virtu's GPU virtualization technology assigns tasks to the best available GPU, allowing dynamic graphics switching between integrated graphics and NVIDIA® or AMD graphics cards.

There is a setting in the BIOS of my Asus P8Z68 M Pro that allows IGP and a discrete graphics card to run together.

I could not get LucidLogix® Virtu's GPU virtualization technology to work with Vegas. I always had to select the discrete card as primary graphics to get the GPU to be recognised and Virtu needs it the other way around.

If I remember correctly I could have both the discrete and onboard to display on attached monitors though. I did not try the HDMI port. Currently my GTX 460 is in another machine and the ASUS V-Pro only uses the onboard Intel graphics which works fine - but no GPU acceleration.

Willem.

I haven't turned on the onboard video yet (via BIOS), which may explain why LucidLogic Virtu won't load. Sadly, there's so little support info out there about it, or Sandy Bridge in general (unless you're a developer), that we're kinda wandering in the dark. I should have some time tonight to work on it, so I'll give it a stab and report back.

If you can run video out of one of the integrated graphics ports and the ports on a discrete card that'd be great. Nvidia cards give you two outputs so that third would be nice to support a third screen. And in that case then the third screen being driven off the IGP wouldn't be putting the discrete card to work.

Keep in mind that there's nothing super special about that HDMI port. You could just as well use a DVI-HDMI adapter and get the same picture. Yes, there are some differences but there's no special TV-voodoo going on that makes the picture better through that HDMI port. So maybe a BMD card would offer some better features as a monitoring source.

Anyway, the primary goal of the exercise is to get three displays going and to have the HDMI port act as a professional monitor source. It sounds like you can do the first of the two, at least. See Sebaz' recent complaints about output quality to TVs, though.

As for LucidLogix Virtu, there's a few articles on the TomsHardware site. It appears that what it does is allow you to use the processing features of both (actually, it's "either"rather than "both") the integrated and discrete GPUs and to switch back and forth between them. This is an internal thing--obviously it doesn't require someone with a single display to patch it from one port to another. So essentially the Virtu feature wouldn't come into play in the question of supporting three screens (unless it blanks the IGP output when it's being used for the Discrete output--and that's not what I'd call a feature).

Basically, it looks like Virtu gives you access to Quicksync when using certain transcoders outside of Vegas. Nice, but it doesn't bear on the question at hand.

It's possible that the P8Z68-V-Pro will suport 3 screens. I currently have the DVI & VGA ports connected to 2 dis-similar sized monitors. There is also a HDMI output available which may support a third screen.

Geoff

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/CS-031040.htm#11

This applies to "2nd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics 3000/2000 "

"Can I output video to three display devices, not just two?
No. Intel® graphics products can output to one or two display devices at the same time. More than two display devices can be physically connected, but only two display devices can be used at any time."

There's more
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/CS-031040.htm#8

"Can I install an external PCI Express* graphics card and use it in parallel with Intel graphics?
No, Intel graphics cannot be used along with an external PCI Express* graphics controller. Installing a PCI Express graphics controller will disable Intel graphics. "

Rob