E-30 with two NVS 300's

[dean12]

Question about the E-30 and whether I can run two NVS 300s. I noticed the Lenovo site does not allow the selection of two graphics cards when purchasing the E-30. I want to run four monitors, so I would like to know if there are sufficient slots for a second card, as well as if the 280 PSU is large enough to handle two NVS 300's. From what I see in the specs for the 300, each one only uses 17 watts, so hopefully the 280 watt PSU can handle two. Thanks.

[psuturtle Lenovo Staff · Accepted solution]

As far as I know, E30 only has a single x16 PCIe slot.  That's probably the reason it's limited on the site.

You have 2 options to get to 4 displays as I see it:

1.  Run a NVS450 instead (card has 4 display port outputs)

2.  Run a NVS300 x16, and then a NVS300 x1 as your second card.

  -You'll potentially see some limited performance out of the 2nd NVS300 card here.

Option 1 is probably your best bet.

[dean12]

Thanks for the reply. Good to know about the potentially reduced performance of the PCIe x1. Not sure what I'll do next , but I sure do wish the NVS 450 wasn't so pricey!

[psuturtle Lenovo Staff]

That's sort of the trade off.  If the NVS450 is too expensive, try the dual NVS300s (one x16 and one x1) and see if it will work in your situation.  We've had quite a few customers go this route simply due to the high cost of the NVS450.