Can I use 2 video cards - 1 for Mac OS, 1 for Win 7?

[Jeeebs]

I've received a 2008 Mac Pro 2.8Ghz machine with Windows 7 and a Quadro FX 1800 video card installed.

This current configuration has me looking at possible use of parallels.

I'll be installing Mac OS 10.7. I'll also be installing a stock mac Geforce 8800 video card, unless somehow parallels allow me to use the Quadro FX 1800 for both Mac and Win (OK, I guess that's extremely unlikely).

Or is there some Parallels solution that would allow me to dedicate the Quadro to Windows stuff, Geforce to Mac?

Hmmm probably dumb line of questioning since I don't have much of a clue yet as to how parallels works...just trying to figure out initial set up of this Mac.

 

[Parallels User]

Both OSX and the Guest OS will be using the same graphic card, you don't need a separate one.

You can't assign a Graphic card to a VM in Parallels for Mac, in the VM Windows sees a Parallels Video Adapter, so the card isn't accessed directly, there's an abstraction layer between hardware and guest OS.

The closest to what you are saying is Parallels Extreme Workstation, which is pricier and only works on Windows and Linux, has the ability to assign graphic cards directly, but doesn't run on OS X, this is intended for a very specialized market, mostly engineering/CAD/CAM where there's need to run programs that only work on Linux or Windows and need full GPU capabilities.