• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

3 monitors

sdadept

Limp Gawd
2FA
Joined
Jul 3, 2004
Messages
433
I've been trying to get 3 of my 28" samsung 4k monitors going at the same time and even though my current 4 year old video card has 3 outputs (dvi, hdmi and display port) it will only allow me to use 2 monitors at once. Is there another video card I should get that absolutely will allow 3 monitors? preferably all hdmi...
 
Would be helpful if you told us what video card you are using...
 
Would be helpful if you told us what video card you are using...
ah sorry, gforce 750. I got it several years ago when I was big into warcraft. I'm fine with buying a new one, I just see a lot of conflicting articles on whether the latest support 3 monitor setups. For that matter, perhaps I just need ot get 2 cards?
 
The GTX 750 can support three simultaneous monitors. What it can't do is magically run 4k over DVI.

Max resolution of dual-link DVI is 1440p.

You're going to need something newer. And no, no single video card in existence has three HDMI ports.

This is the cheapest GTX 950 I could find with five outputs. Everything else just has one DP and one HDMI. The HDMI 2.0 port is good for 4k at 60 Hz.

EVGA GeForce GTX 950 02G-P4-2951-KR 2GB GAMING, Silent Cooling Gaming Graphics Card-Newegg.com
 
Last edited:
The GTX 750 can support three simultaneous monitors. What it can't do is magically run 4k over DVI.

Max resolution of dual-link DVI is 1440p.

You're going to need something newer. And no, no single video card in existence has three HDMI ports.

This is the cheapest GTX 950 I could find with five outputs. Everything else just has one DP and one HDMI. The HDMI 2.0 port is good for 4k at 60 Hz.

EVGA GeForce GTX 950 02G-P4-2951-KR 2GB GAMING, Silent Cooling Gaming Graphics Card-Newegg.com

Actually there is one, but I am not sure if you can run all 3 at 4k, or outside of VR mode..

GIGABYTE - Graphics Card - NVIDIA - PCI Express Solution - GeForce® GTX 10 Series - GeForce<sup>®</sup> GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming Premium Pack
 
The ASUS STRIX GTX 1070 comes with two DP 1.2 output, two HDMI 2.0b ports, and a DVI port. It might run your three 4K monitors off some combination of the DP and HDMI ports, all of which support 4K. I've run a 4K display and two 1440p displays off a GTX 1080, so odds are good that 3 4K displays will work. But I haven't found a spec sheet or manual from NVidia or an AIB partner that says so. OR that says much at all, really.

Other GTX 1070s come with 3 DP and one HDMI port, which will work if that matches what your monitors can connect to.

The ASUS STRIX GTX 1070 is currently in stock at Newegg for $429. MSI, eVGA, and Zotak 1070s are also in stock for slightly more.
 
The ASUS STRIX GTX 1070 comes with two DP 1.2 output, two HDMI 2.0b ports, and a DVI port. It might run your three 4K monitors off some combination of the DP and HDMI ports, all of which support 4K. I've run a 4K display and two 1440p displays off a GTX 1080, so odds are good that 3 4K displays will work. But I haven't found a spec sheet or manual from NVidia or an AIB partner that says so. OR that says much at all, really.

Other GTX 1070s come with 3 DP and one HDMI port, which will work if that matches what your monitors can connect to.

The ASUS STRIX GTX 1070 is currently in stock at Newegg for $429. MSI, eVGA, and Zotak 1070s are also in stock for slightly more.

Yeah, but that is stupid fucking expensive when the OP can just buy two of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Club3D-Displayport-1-2-HDMI-CAC-1070/dp/B017BQ8I54

He'd still have to buy one with the Asus.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Yeah, but that is stupid fucking expensive when the OP can just buy two of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Club3D-Displayport-1-2-HDMI-CAC-1070/dp/B017BQ8I54
He'd still have to buy one with the Asus.
1) that dongle is reported to not work pretty often, and to only do 4K at 30Hz, and to have other issues.
2) he's won't need a dongle with the ASUS if at least one of his monitors supports DP. HDMI 2.0 and DP 1.2 both easily handle 4K at 60Hz. Everyone knows that.
3) not sure what he's doing with the setup, but a GTX 750 isn't much power when your driving 3 4K monitors. And it may not be capable handling that many pixels simultaneously as well. In contrast, a GTX 1070 is spec'd to handle a single display with more pixels than that.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
The ASUS STRIX GTX 1070 comes with two DP 1.2 output, two HDMI 2.0b ports, and a DVI port. It might run your three 4K monitors off some combination of the DP and HDMI ports, all of which support 4K. I've run a 4K display and two 1440p displays off a GTX 1080, so odds are good that 3 4K displays will work. But I haven't found a spec sheet or manual from NVidia or an AIB partner that says so. OR that says much at all, really.

Other GTX 1070s come with 3 DP and one HDMI port, which will work if that matches what your monitors can connect to.

The ASUS STRIX GTX 1070 is currently in stock at Newegg for $429. MSI, eVGA, and Zotak 1070s are also in stock for slightly more.

great information, thank you all!

the monitors are the new samsung ones so they all have display port. So a 3 displayport card would be just fine. 3 HDMI or 3 DP are either fine as long as they can drive all that bandwidth.

Money isn't an issue, I just want to get the right thing to make it all work so I don't mind paying up for the right card. I love the GTX series but I don't see a card in the 10x0 series that has 3 hdmi or 3 display ports or a combination of both.
 
great information, thank you all!

the monitors are the new samsung ones so they all have display port. So a 3 displayport card would be just fine. 3 HDMI or 3 DP are either fine as long as they can drive all that bandwidth.

Money isn't an issue, I just want to get the right thing to make it all work so I don't mind paying up for the right card. I love the GTX series but I don't see a card in the 10x0 series that has 3 hdmi or 3 display ports or a combination of both.

Get any card with three DP and done. 3 hdmi is pretty darn rare. I only know of one a special htpc 7750 iirc. Are your panels 4k@60hz? If you want 60hz on the desktop then you'll need three DP 1.2 ports and there are no cards with 3x hdmi 2.0 ports that I know of. Also, there's no way to game on a resolution that large so I don't see a point to getting a high end gaming card.
 
Get any card with three DP and done. 3 hdmi is pretty darn rare. I only know of one a special htpc 7750 iirc. Are your panels 4k@60hz? If you want 60hz on the desktop then you'll need three DP 1.2 ports and there are no cards with 3x hdmi 2.0 ports that I know of. Also, there's no way to game on a resolution that large so I don't see a point to getting a high end gaming card.

(I'm OP: got my old account back)

yea, they are all 4k @ 60hz. I'm fine with getting the 3 display port version. I just need to make sure they have DP1.2 on them? The gigabyte 1080 xtreme looks like a pretty good card. Considering going with that.
 
(I'm OP: got my old account back)

yea, they are all 4k @ 60hz. I'm fine with getting the 3 display port version. I just need to make sure they have DP1.2 on them? The gigabyte 1080 xtreme looks like a pretty good card. Considering going with that.

Any card with three DP 1.2 (standard fare) which is a lot of cards, 980/970/960, some 290x, rx 480s, Furys, etc etc. I don't think I would spend 700 on a 1080 unless you are ok with just gaming on 1 panel.
 
(I'm OP: got my old account back)

yea, they are all 4k @ 60hz. I'm fine with getting the 3 display port version. I just need to make sure they have DP1.2 on them? The gigabyte 1080 xtreme looks like a pretty good card. Considering going with that.
Every GTX 1070 and 1080 I'm aware of has either 3DP+1HDMI or 2DP+2HDMI, usually the former, and all the DP ports are "1.2 certified 1.3/1.4 ready" according to NVidia. So any GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 should be able to drive your monitors (you can mix and match HDMI and DP connections, as I do on my 5 monitor setup).

I'd go with the 1070 if you aren't gaming on this setup, a 1080 if you are. Note that while the 1080 will drive all three monitors, it won't allow you to run 3D game on all three of them together (as if they were a signel monitor, which you can do) at decent frame rates.

I run a Acer Predator XB321HK 4K GSync center monitor and I game on that, it's gorgeous. Flanking it are two 2560x1440 monitors in portrait mode, and above all that are two 1920x1080 monitors. Currently I'm driving all those pixels with a GTX 970 and the integrated graphics on my core i7-6700K. I was driving them with a GTX 1080 and that GTX 970, but the GTX 1080 failed and had to be returned. :( Fortunately a new GTX 1080 is on its way.
 
not really gaming on this setup much, its my office computer. The 1070 looks good too. I'm leaning heavily towards one of those two cards. Any recommendations on which brand of 1070 is best?
 
not really gaming on this setup much, its my office computer. The 1070 looks good too. I'm leaning heavily towards one of those two cards. Any recommendations on which brand of 1070 is best?
I'm partial to ASUS myself.
 
The 1060 will be coming out in a week and would probably suit your needs for a lower price.

It won't have the same port layout, it only gets 1 each hdmi/dp/dvi for reference though customs will vary.

not really gaming on this setup much, its my office computer. The 1070 looks good too. I'm leaning heavily towards one of those two cards. Any recommendations on which brand of 1070 is best?

That's a lot of card for office duty.
 
[re: GTX 1070]That's a lot of card for office duty.
You might think so, but I find that, on my five monitor, 20-megapixel (aprox.) setup (see above) some Office operations (such as repositioning complex shapes in Visio drawings) can be quite laggy and slow on my GTX 970. It's a symptom of how little Microsoft cares about coding efficiency in Office.

And he's talking a 24-megapixel setup.

Life is too short to wait for your computer.
 
You might think so, but I find that, on my five monitor, 20-megapixel (aprox.) setup (see above) some Office operations (such as repositioning complex shapes in Visio drawings) can be quite laggy and slow on my GTX 970. It's a symptom of how little Microsoft cares about coding efficiency in Office.

And he's talking a 24-megapixel setup.

Life is too short to wait for your computer.

Are you sure the performance issue you're seeing is GPU related? Not sure what version of Office you're on, 2016 runs well on pretty minimal hardware. I have Visio 2016 installed on an Atom based Surface 3 and it runs well with basic drawings that I've worked on with it. I'm not Visio expert and you probably have far more demands of it than me. But I can't imagine that a 970 is holding you back with Visio.
 
What is the rest of the system? Intel's HD graphics can handle one 4K monitor while the current video card handles the other two. Since you aren't gaming they all don't need to come from the same graphics processor.
 
It won't have the same port layout, it only gets 1 each hdmi/dp/dvi for reference though customs will vary.

There are a lot of announced 1060 cards with the same ports as the 1070 / 1080, including the version from nvidia.
 
But I can't imagine that a 970 is holding you back with Visio.
Well, I don't think it's the Intel i7-6700K or the Samsung 950 Pro NVMe SSD that's slowing things down ... and it did seem to get worse when I swapped my previous lower tier of monitors (1 at 2560x1440 and 2 at 1920x1200) for the new ones (1 at 3840x2160 and 2a at 2560x1440) ...
 
Well, I don't think it's the Intel i7-6700K or the Samsung 950 Pro NVMe SSD that's slowing things down ... and it did seem to get worse when I swapped my previous lower tier of monitors (1 at 2560x1440 and 2 at 1920x1200) for the new ones (1 at 3840x2160 and 2a at 2560x1440) ...

Can't argue with that. It's just that I guess I can't think of any reason why Visio should have any kinds of problems on that kind of hardware. I run it or far less without issue. But again, I have no idea how much demand you're putting on it on the version.
 
heavy office is probably more to the point as I'm running several vmware workstations simulating production environments, and typically I have word, outlook, excel, vs.net 2015, multiple versions of sql server 2014, visio, 10ish instances of chrome, vmware, onenote, powerpoint and photoshop open at the same time. Not sure how much that matters for workload on the graphics card but just throwing it out there. Leaning heavily towards the 1070 at this point.
 
Back
Top