Alright, we've got to figure out this "blinking" issue w/ the Dell adapter/eyefinity

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Elipsn

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 28, 2005
Messages
472
Ok guys, if your currently using the dell displayport to dvi adapter, or any active adapter to get your 5800 series to work with eyefinity, chime in

I, like many other have been reporting, am experiencing "blinking" and "screen freeze" from time to time using the dell adapter with eyefinity.

I'm trying to decide if this is a hardware issue with the adapter, or, for some reason a driver issue where the 5870 fails to see the displayport screen being hooked up or something

anyone have any theories, or information on this? I'd add that when its working, it works flawlessly, so, I'm really hoping this is a driver issue that ATI can sort out.

Kyle, can you give us any input here? is ATI saying anything on this? I know you mentioned them perhaps trying to come up with their own "certified" adapter for this purpose, I guess I'm just anxious to get eyefinity working 100% correct 100% of the time.
 
If you lower the resolution, does it continue?

I had an extra long hdmi cable give me blinking issues on 1080p, but when I lowered the res or shortened the cable it would be fine. Line loss or crosstalk I'd venture a guess.
 
As far as I can tell, changing resolutions has zero effect.

There is no predictable pattern, my display running off the adapter will work great for hours, then blink like 10 times in a row for no reason....then work great again....
 
First, swap around the blinking monitor with one of the others, connect it directly to DVI.

If it still blinks, bad monitor. If it stops blinking, bad DP-to-DVI adapter or bad video card.
 
Ya the easiest thing to do is put the DP adapter on one of the other monitors and see if the problem moves to the new monitor.
 
I haven't had any problems with mine. For the people having problems though, I believe this might be a timing issue with the clocks going from dp to dvi or a bandwidth problem. Are you guys using a dual or single link dvi cable?
 
might be a power issue, try a shorter cable between screen and computer.
 
BravO))) said:
I haven't had any problems with mine. For the people having problems though, I believe this might be a timing issue with the clocks going from dp to dvi or a bandwidth problem. Are you guys using a dual or single link dvi cable?
Click to expand...

This. Confirm you've got a dual link DVI cable.
 
I know for certain its not a bad monitor, as the problem happens to any monitor connected through the dvi adapter.

Dual link cable eh? Didn't think of that one.....will it say on the cable? I'm just using the dvi cables that came with the dell 2209WA monitors. Checking now....
 
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I was using a single link DVI. Sweet. I really hope that using a dual link cable fixes this. Looking for one now...
 
Ok, all hooked up with a dual link dvi cable now - no blinking as of yet, I'll report back to see if this does indeed solve the issue.
 
Elipsn said:
Ok, all hooked up with a dual link dvi cable now - no blinking as of yet, I'll report back to see if this does indeed solve the issue.
Click to expand...

Please let us know how it goes. I have the same prob and I think I am using a single connector.
 
I can now verify that a dual link cable does NOT solve the issue. It does appear to make the blinking less frequent, but, again, it is not a solution.
 
There are DVI "timing options" in the ATI CCC, have you tried fiddling with those? Not sure if they are applicable to displayport.
 
I think some people have reported that plugging in the USB port to a dedicated external USB connection (e.g. like a wall-plug) resolved some of the dropout issues since just plugging the USB into the computer doesn't give enough stable power. I haven't tried this myself, but I do note that I had more dropouts in dual-link resolution than in single-link resolution
 
alamone said:
I think some people have reported that plugging in the USB port to a dedicated external USB connection (e.g. like a wall-plug) resolved some of the dropout issues since just plugging the USB into the computer doesn't give enough stable power. I haven't tried this myself, but I do note that I had more dropouts in dual-link resolution than in single-link resolution
Click to expand...

I have plugged the USB into external power, and I can verify that this doesn't solve the issue either. :(
 
Still no progess....anyone else have any ideas? Kyle, I take it you're dealing with this crap as well? Or does your eyefinity setup work? spill the beans.
 
There has to be some sort of NDA b/c Kyle isn't saying anything...Cmon Kyle, I know you know!
 
This is just a thought off the top of my head, so I may be way off, but is something in the chain looking for an HDCP singal for any reason? I'm not sure why it would be just going from a PC through and adapter to a monitor, but this can cause blinking or freezing screens. Dell has also historically not supported this on their displays (not sure about the newest lines,) so maybe their active adapters don't either? Not sure if this applies here, but I've had similar issues with certain output devices (where HDCP is actually required,) and going to any Dell display hardware. I've also had issues with older ATI cards that were supposed to support this, not working with displays that did. Anyway...
 
I really don't think this is an hdcp issue, as we're talking about blinking on the desktop - not protected content.
 
This may sound stupid but:

Have you updated your motherboard's BIOS?


Also, have you tried using a shorter DVI cable?
 
I have tried both 6 foot, and 10 foot dual link dvi cables. Its a non bios issue. I truly believe the issue is ultimately with the dell adapter....or maybe, just maybe, a driver issue with the 5870 not being happy with the adapters feedback signal. I really wish we could at least get *some* feedback from ati/amd on this, I mean, they sure did push eyefinity......

The good news is, when it works, it works great. So I know eventually there is going to be a decent dvi to display port solution. It may be that this so-called dvi/display port eyefinity approved adapter that ati/amd is working on is going to be the only thing that works...

still, its extremely frustrating
 
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I'm seeing this issue as well, both on dual and single link DVI cords. Annoying as hell and disappointing ATI advertised Eyefinity as working with these devices.
 
I have had this issue and another similar to it....running evga x58 board with asus 5870 with 2x 2407 dell displays. I will get random graphical distortion while gaming that locks the PC and it is NOT a heat issue.

First issue, the monitor I have set in win7 as my secondary monitor randomly blinks then i get the little DVI symbol to show up and it comes back on.

T/S steps taken:
1) Swapped monitor primary/secondary settings, the secondary ALWAYS is the one that blinks, never the primary.
2) Swapped the dvi ports that the respective monitors were plugged into.

Neither of these fixed the issue.

Second Issue, My primary monitor went completely grayscale, however this was solved by swapping to using the displayport instead of DVI.

Im kinda at a loss here, but have stuck with it being that I doubt there are any cards available to RMA mine...
 
I have a feeling that a lot of you guys experiencing these problems are running dell monitors.
 
I run the Apple Adapter and I have not noticed any blinking at all. I have been playing MW2 since it came out in 5670 x 1920.

The only issue I have seen is the monitor connected to the Display-Port will sometimes not turn on after a reboot or the resolution will change to a lower one.

But once I re-detect the monitors, all it good. Or just turning off an on that monitor will bring it up.
 
^ Thats good to hear. I just picked up the Apple adapter on my lunch. My dp -> mini dp adapter arrives a little early, should be on my door step when I get home. I'll report back.

edit: its on my door step! cant wait to get home ;)
 
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inotocracy said:
^ Thats good to hear. I just picked up the Apple adapter on my lunch. My dp -> mini dp adapter arrives a little early, should be on my door step when I get home. I'll report back.

edit: its on my door step! cant wait to get home ;)
Click to expand...

Looking forward to your results. If it works for you I'll probably go this route.
 
SiG357 said:
I run the Apple Adapter and I have not noticed any blinking at all. I have been playing MW2 since it came out in 5670 x 1920.

The only issue I have seen is the monitor connected to the Display-Port will sometimes not turn on after a reboot or the resolution will change to a lower one.

But once I re-detect the monitors, all it good. Or just turning off an on that monitor will bring it up.
Click to expand...

I've gone two hour scretches in games without a single blink. Blinks only when the monitor returns from sleep mode while the PC is left on (a reboot cures it). I've got the Apple adapter running to a Samsung 2343BWX.
 
I just hooked my adapter up, and was experiencing the same flicker/displa reset. I fixed it by doing this:

1) Disconnect the DisplayPort connected monitor
2) Open CCC
3) Click Graphics > Display Options
4) Select "Use manual detection only"
5) Click Apply
6) Connect DisplayPort monitor/adapter
7) Go to Graphics > Desktops & Displays
8) Configure how you want it.

Solved it for me!
 
New issue-- no matter what I do, I can't select a refresh rate lower than 60hz. My monitors require 59hz, odd I know, but when its grouped I can't select 59hz. Anyone know how to force the refresh rate?

edit: rolled back to the 9.10s and the problem seems to be mostly gone. I've been running 5760x1200 with zero flicker/monitor reset now.
 
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BravO))) said:
I have a feeling that a lot of you guys experiencing these problems are running dell monitors.
Click to expand...

I think it's just coincidental that many of us use Dell monitors. I have two brands of monitors in my setup, both completely different panels and connection types, and neither of them are Dell -- I still get the blinking issue.
 
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