Will 1030-1060 run 4K TV + 1080p TV as dual monitors?

[Brian Boru]

1½ of our TVs have died, so time to splurge—well, dumpster dive is more like it, budget is tight.

Currently we both have 2 x 1080p TVs:
Her pair run off a GT 1030 2GB GDDR5, in a 2021 Inspiron;
My pair run off a GTX 1060 6GB, in a 2017 Alienware Aurora R6.
Both cards have HDMI & DVI ports.

Seems difficult to find dumb 1080 TVs, the cheapest are all smart 4Ks. Nvidia says both cards will support 7680x4320 @60 Hz.

Both of us would use the new 2 x 4Ks as main monitors, with the remaining 2 x 1080ps as seconds.

1030 has DisplayPort 1.42—HDMI 2.0b—DVI—HDCP 2.2
1060 has DVI—HDMI 2.0—3x DisplayPort 1.4a

As far as I can tell, we should be fine with new 4Ks, but I'm out of the loop on this—so, any gotchas?

 

[Colif]

how do you kill half a tv?

1030 has DisplayPort 1.42—HDMI 2.0b—DVI—HDCP 2.2

DP 1.42? 1.40 can run 2 x 4k screens but I can't find anything on how fast it can run each

What is DisplayPort 1.4? | Cable Matters Blog

A lot of discussions have focused on DisplayPort 2.0 lately but what is DisplayPort 1.4? It is the previous standard that may be well suited for your needs.

www.cablematters.com

GPU should be able to do it, their max speed is 60hz on both connectors

NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 specs

NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 specifications and related GPUs

www.gpuzoo.com

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB specs

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB specifications, related GPUs and comments

www.gpuzoo.com

according to that the GTX 1060 can run 5 displays

My GPU only has HDMI 2.1a - https://www.hdmi.org/spec/hdmi2_1 (supports max res of 8k at 120hz)
and DP 2.1 - https://www.makeuseof.com/everything-you-need-to-know-displayport-21/ - which supports 16k but well, GPU can't do that. There is such a thing as being too cutting edge, having features the card really can't use.

 

[Brian Boru]

how do you kill half a tv?

Thought someone might ask that You get a few hundred lines across the screen, built up over the last year or so.
It's still usable as a second monitor to a degree, but far from ideal—and I assume it's a signal that it's on the way out. It's Sceptre brand for what it's worth, and headed for a new life as an emergency backup.

Thanks for the general reassurance

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I dont know much about TV's, but ours only has HDMI ports, so if your GT1030 doesnt have 2 of those there could be a problem. Just thought it worth putting out there.

 

[Colif]

There are some TV with Display Ports - https://www.hardware-corner.net/guides/tv-with-displayport/
But most just do have HDMI

 

[Slasken]

Around here you can get a perfectly fine 1080p TV for free second hand. I moved houses a few months ago, and gave one away if the picked it up.

You can get both DVI and DP to HDMI adapters, so to answer your question the topic line, yes, you can run two TVs with 1080p and 4k.

 

[Brian Boru]

HDMI ports, so if your GT1030 doesnt have 2 of those

Thanks but not a worry—I've often used DVI converters for 2nd monitor.

you can get a perfectly fine 1080p TV for free second hand

Huh! Time to do some local search—thanks

 

[Colif]

we have two spare 1080p tv here, but well... you too far away to come get them.