I'm getting into retro gaming and CRT setups, and I'd like to add a native VGA connection to my PC. The system already has an RTX 4070, while an older GT 710 provides VGA output. Ideally, my three modern monitors would stay connected to the 4070, with a fourth CRT connected to the GT 710. I'd like the 4070 to handle rendering and have the GT 710 function mostly as a display output device, rather than doing significant rendering itself. Is it possible to run both GPUs at once this way, or would the GT 710 have to render anything shown on its VGA-connected display? I know an HDMI-to-VGA adapter would be simpler, but experimenting with extra hardware is part of the fun.
1 Answer
It can work to some extent, but it won’t be a completely transparent output-only setup. Windows can use both GPUs, and some applications can be assigned to the RTX 4070 while the display is connected to the GT 710. The rendered frames then have to be copied across to the older card before they reach the VGA output, which adds overhead and depends on the application and driver support. The desktop compositor and anything displayed on that monitor may still involve the GT 710, so it won’t be doing literally zero rendering.
That should still be fine for a CRT desktop or older games, especially at low resolutions. The main issues are driver compatibility and whether the GT 710 variant is supported alongside the 4070. If the drivers refuse to cooperate, a digital-to-analog adapter would be much less troublesome.