From: Baron Grayson
My 8800 only went up to 1280 x 960.
That's odd. For full screen, mine goes up to 1920x1200. I assume that has more to do with the fact that that's the size of my primary monitor than with any limitation imposed by the video card. For windowed mode, the size is pretty much unlimited. I can stretch it across all four of my monitors, no problem.
Just so you know, the max resolution supported by the 8800 GTX is 2560x1600 per head. That's up to 5120x1600 or 2560x3200 for total desktop size, if you're driving two monitors.
From: Baron Grayson
This might seen like an obvious question but when one runs dual cards they have to be the same type of card I assume, much like matching memory and raid mirrors?
Actually, it's a pretty common question, so it must not be terribly obvious.
The answer is no, you don't need to have two identical video cards. You can run two different models, no problem. You can even two different makes if you're careful enough with driver installation, but it's generally more trouble than it's worth.
If you plan on using SLI, then the only requirement is that both cards use the same GPU, which the 8800 and 9600 definitely don't. So SLI would be out of the question. But you could certainly run both cards independently, side by side, to drive up to 4 monitors.
From: Baron Grayson
I cannot run the system on both of these cards?
You can, but unless you're planning on using three or four monitors, I wouldn't recommend it. Since you won't be using SLI, the system will run faster with just one card than with two.
From: Baron Grayson
I also suppose being air cooled it's not a good idea as well. the one 8800 seemed to push the air cooling as much as I could.
8800's do run hot, especially the GTX. They generally idle around 65-75 degrees, and will hover around 80-100 or so under load, depending on how well ventilated the whole machine is. Above 110, they start to slow themselves down to avoid overheat, and I believe the kill switch is at 127 degrees. Those latter temps should be unreachable under normal circumstances. Unless your case is ridiculously cramped, or underventilated, the card will usually stay out of the triple digits. That said, supposedly the G80 GPU itself has been tested by nVidia to run perfectly well at a steady 150 degrees, although I certainly wouldn't want to try to verify that.
As long as you're not hitting 110 degrees or more, everything should be fine. Just be sure there's plenty of open space around the card, so it won't heat up any other components. And of course, clean the heatsink and fan from time to time.
As for alternatives to air cooling, my advice is don't bother. Air is by far the safest, easiest, and most cost effective way to go. I've had bad luck with water cooling. Micro-refrigeration seems promising, but it'll be a while yet before it's widely applicable. For the present and foreseeable future, nothing beats a well ventilated case, and some good high quality fans.
