6970 Eyefinity DP Adapter

M

Mccaula718

Gawd
Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
528
So i just bought a 6970 off the forums. I have 3 monitors, 1920x1080, 2x1440x900. I know eyefinity has to be the same res on all monitors so i have no plans of using it. Everything i read says you need an active adapter to run eyefinity but it doesn't say anything about just hooking up three monitors up with a passive adapter. Do you need an active adapter if you only plan to game on 1 monitor?
 
You DO NOT need active adapters if you are using 1920x1200 or less resolutions.

I know this because I'm using passive adapters on my 6970 as well as7970s for eyefinity @ 5760x1200 (3x 24" monitor , 1920x1200 each).

Back when the 6970 was released, the mini DP to dvi adapters came with the card sucked so I bought these to use.

http://www.amazon.com/Accell-B087B-...1ZXA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328205968&sr=8-1

I'm still using 2 of these combined with the single dvi port on my 7970 for eyefinity.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Okay, that makes no sense. You say you do not need passive adapters, then you link adapters you bought, which are clearly marked as active.

Coming straight out of AMD, here are the requirements:

Why do you need DisplayPort?
AMD Eyefinity technology leverages DisplayPort and its ability to easily scale to drive multiple displays from a single clock source.

What's the difference between active DisplayPort dongles and passive DisplayPort dongles?
Passive dongles use the DisplayPort connection to receive non-DP signaling from the connector and they 'passively' adjust the signals to be compliant with the connected monitor. Passive dongles are considered legacy connections, not DisplayPort connections, therefore they do not fulfill the DisplayPort connection requirement mentioned previously and cannot be used to enable 3 or more displays. They do, however, offer an affordable solution to adapt legacy displays to DisplayPort connections.

Active dongles use true DisplayPort signaling to 'actively' translate and re-transmit the signals as the required outputs. Because they use the true DisplayPort signaling, they are considered a DisplayPort connection and meet the requirements to enable 3 or more displays.

DisplayPort to DL-DVI dongles require an external power supply which is usually through a separate USB connection (the USB connection must meet the USB 'high power' specification).
Click to expand...

source: http://www.amd.com/us/products/tech...nology/how-to/Pages/faqs.aspx#why-displayport

If using more than 1 monitor for eyefinity you NEED active adapters for the DP to DVI. Some of the AMD cards like the Flex cards come with adapters built into the card. In those situations you only need passive adapters.

If you have monitors with DP ports, then none of this matters, they should work fine with regular DP cables.

If you only plan to use one monitor, you do not need active adapters, it is only when using more than one monitor. The resolution doesn't matter either as far as I can tell as long as all 3 monitors use the same resolution.

It would help us if you gave the specific brand/model of your graphics card to help give specific Eyefinity setup advice.
 
Last edited:
Ok I was a little off but to me, those passive does not require an extra USB port to power it like those for 2560x1200 resolution dual link ones.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Yes, that setup will work with that adapter. I have the XFX 6950 and I used to plugged in 4 monitors (2 DVI-mini-DP active adapters, 1 DVI dual-link, 1 HDMI). The HDMI and single-link DVI are linked, so remember to plug the DVI-VGA adapter into the dual-link DVI head (the one by itself, not the one beside the HDMI port).
 
I run 3 screens off my 6950,
1x DP to a DP monitor
2x DVI to DVI monitors
 
Igg said:
Ok I was a little off but to me, those passive does not require an extra USB port to power it like those for 2560x1200 resolution dual link ones.
Click to expand...

Passive doesn't have to do with power. Here is a good explanation and breakdown:

http://www.overclock.net/t/721931/active-vs-passive-displayport-adapters-the-truth

I have a 6950 and my setup goes like this:

HDMI -> Mid 28" Monitor
Mini-DP -> DVI right 28"
Mini-DP -> DVI left 28"

These are the adapters I use:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999034

They worked like a champ with no problems.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top