All;I am running FS9 on the following:P4 3.0 GHz1 Gig RAM250 Gig SATA HD512 Mb ATI Radeon x1300 dual monitor support cardIt works great and all my settings for FS9 are maxed out. I rarely get a stutter.I want to add a third monitor and will add a second video card and was wondering:1. Should my two cards be the same?2. With the third monitor, will my rig run OK?3. Can I mix PCI, AGP, etc for the cards are do they all need to be the same type?4. Do I need 512 Mb for the second card for just the third monitor?Many thanks.John

>1. Should my two cards be the same?No but life will be much easier if both cards are ATI and easier still if they are both x1nnn series ATI cards.>2. With the third monitor, will my rig run OK?I lose some FPS when I enable my second card and third monitor.>3. Can I mix PCI, AGP, etc for the cards are do they all need to be >the same type?You can mix.>4. Do I need 512 Mb for the second card for just the third monitor?No.R-

Ron;Thanks.What is the best way to "speed" up the FPS? Is it RAM, video memory, or is it just a fact of life with the extra monitor?Also, how much memory on the second card would you recommend?John

I'm afraid that I have no answer to these questions. I use the program MemStatus to monitor RAM and VRAM usage but it does not show the second video card's useage or if any RAM shared memory is used.If anyone knows of a program that can provide more info on memory utilization, I'd like to know about it.R-

The easiest way to increase FPS is with CPU not GPU... If you have a visual IQ you are happy with it is CPU that will maintain that IQ yet pump out more FPS. Also, for the 2nd card do not go crazy on the memory. Remember, every bit of video ram impacts the amount of memory available to the system. If you are playing with a fragile FS9 or X that is already teetering on an OOM error then less video memory is better.Just a consideration... Also, see the link in my sig below to see how I set up my 3rd monitor.-PaulPrimary RigLiquid CooledIntel C2D E6600 @3.8 Asus P5N32SLI-Plus2 gigs Corsair XMS PC6400 4 4 4 12 @936Dual OC'd XFX 8800GTX @ 2 gigs24 inch Widescreen LCD 16XAA/16XAFDual 19 inch LCD'sRaid-0+1PCPower and Cooling 1k Quad SLIhttp://home.comcast.net/~psolk/3monitorsa.htmlBackup RigAMD 4000 San Diego @ 2.72 Gigs Kingston Corsair XMS CL2XFX 7900 GTX Raid-0