# current gpu driver support multi seat

## DaggyStyle

from the existing ones, also can I get different gpus?

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## Sadako

By "multi seat" I presume you mean separate keyboards, mice, and monitors for separate users on the one box, using the one graphics card?

AFAIK non of the drivers support this, and I'm not even sure it's the drivers you should be looking to for support, you'd need a separate X server running for each "seat", so wouldn't it be xorg itself which needs to learn to "share" the graphics card resources with another instance of itself?

I'm pretty sure the situation is the same as it was a few years ago, either use something like xnest to run one server within another, or use a separate graphics card per each seat, unless the proprietary drivers offer something different in this regard, which I highly doubt...

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## DaggyStyle

I mean this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiseat_configuration

I'm not sure it is one gpu for all because each one sees something different

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## Sadako

 *DaggyStyle wrote:*   

> I mean this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiseat_configuration
> 
> I'm not sure it is one gpu for all because each one sees something different

 From that link; *Quote:*   

> Currently the most pointed solutions by X.Org's wiki are the solutions using either multiple Xephyr servers over a host Xorg or run severals instances of Xorg.

 This is with one gpu, and more or less as I mentioned, only with Xephyr instead of xnest.

You set up Xorg as normal, only rather than starting a window manager or desktop environment, it starts up multiple instances of the nested Xepyhr server, one per each video output or seat required.

It has nothing to do with the gpus or their drivers, however most gfx cards today only support up to two display outputs, which means you'd need 2 gfx cards for 4 different "seats".

This is supposed to change with the latest ati cards though, look up "eyefinity".

edit: you know the [img] tags in your forum signature don't work, right?

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## DaggyStyle

 *Hopeless wrote:*   

>  *DaggyStyle wrote:*   I mean this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiseat_configuration
> 
> I'm not sure it is one gpu for all because each one sees something different From that link; *Quote:*   Currently the most pointed solutions by X.Org's wiki are the solutions using either multiple Xephyr servers over a host Xorg or run severals instances of Xorg. This is with one gpu, and more or less as I mentioned, only with Xephyr instead of xnest.
> 
> You set up Xorg as normal, only rather than starting a window manager or desktop environment, it starts up multiple instances of the nested Xepyhr server, one per each video output or seat required.
> ...

 

ok, so xfire/sli is a must, cool. thanks, I wasn't sure

 *Hopeless wrote:*   

> 
> 
> edit: you know the [img] tags in your forum signature don't work, right?

 

yes, that image is a dynamic image and the mods have disabled the support for dynamic images due to security reasons. so I left it like this.

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## Sadako

 *DaggyStyle wrote:*   

> ok, so xfire/sli is a must, cool. thanks, I wasn't sure

 Well, yes and no, if you need three or more heads/seats/whatever, you will need more than one gfx card, but you wont actually need crossfire or sli, you could just set up an X server "host" for each gfx card, with each hosting two Xephyr guests.

Meaning, the gfx cards don't need to be the same model (as I believe is the case with sli?), or even the same make, and you use any mix of onboard gfx and plain old (and cheap) pci cards with whatever agp or pci-express hardware you already have, and either the open or closed drivers should work (for ati at least).

 *Quote:*   

>  *Hopeless wrote:*   
> 
> edit: you know the [img] tags in your forum signature don't work, right? 
> 
> yes, that image is a dynamic image and the mods have disabled the support for dynamic images due to security reasons. so I left it like this.

 Maybe change them to [url][/url] tags, so it's at least clickable?

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## DaggyStyle

 *Hopeless wrote:*   

>  *DaggyStyle wrote:*   ok, so xfire/sli is a must, cool. thanks, I wasn't sure Well, yes and no, if you need three or more heads/seats/whatever, you will need more than one gfx card, but you wont actually need crossfire or sli, you could just set up an X server "host" for each gfx card, with each hosting two Xephyr guests.
> 
> Meaning, the gfx cards don't need to be the same model (as I believe is the case with sli?), or even the same make, and you use any mix of onboard gfx and plain old (and cheap) pci cards with whatever agp or pci-express hardware you already have, and either the open or closed drivers should work (for ati at least).
> 
>  *Quote:*    *Hopeless wrote:*   
> ...

 

the issue is, I need one of them to be for moderate gaming and using another one may reduce the load of that one, what can be done is maybe get a mb with an ob one and use that too, again, as I'll never get a nvidia based chipset one I need to wait for the hybird issue to go stable (using both ati and nvidia gpu on the same comp), wait till any of the ati drivers (not sure about the closed source one) will support xfire

or get sli.

that image is a updated status on my boinc calculation, clicking it won't achieve anything.

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## Mad Merlin

If your motherboard has onboard video, the BIOS usually disables the onboard video if you add in a real video card via PCI(e).

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## DaggyStyle

I thought you need to do it by your self

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## Mad Merlin

 *DaggyStyle wrote:*   

> I thought you need to do it by your self

 

I've never tried it myself, but my understanding is that you usually can't simultaneously use onboard video together with discrete video. I'd welcome more concrete evidence (either way) on the matter though...

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## dwbowyer

I put a computer together for a friend 3 years ago that had onboard radeon (I prefer nvidia). The reason for buying it was that motherboard could perform crossfire with an add-on card later if he wanted faster graphics. Crossfire/SLI link two cards in supporting systems to work dependently. Crossfire/SLI would therefore *specifically* be working against the aims of multi-seat usage.

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