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Eyefinity

W

wuschelbeutel

n00b
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
61
An Eyefinity card has 2 DVI, 1 DisplayPort, and 1 HDMI ports.

Can it address three monitors using 2 DVI and 1 HDMI port?
 
Only if its a FLEX card. If its not a FLEX card then has to be 2 DVI and1 DP or 1 HDMI, 1 DVI, 1DP. But you can use a DP to DVI adapter.
 
nope

believe sapphire "created" FLEX tech that allows 3 outputs w/o the use of a Displayport connector... so only sapphire would have it
 
That card will not be able to run BF3 in Eyefinity though at decent framerate and eyecandy enabled....
JFYI
 
Most cards the HDMI is linked with a DVI. So you would have to do:
DVI - Monitor 1
DVI or HDMI - Monitor 2
Display Port to DVI (adapter required) - Monitor 3

You can get generic Display port adapters for around $15-20, and brand name ones like XFX and SAPHIRE for around $29. All work the same.

EYEFINITY will still support the DVI to VGA adapters if you need to use that route.

IF you already have the monitors do try DVI/HDMI/DVI as your setup, but from other threads and research, everything is pointing towards the DisplayPort as the 3rd monitor.
 
mazdaboi said:
Most cards the HDMI is linked with a DVI. So you would have to do:
DVI - Monitor 1
DVI or HDMI - Monitor 2
Display Port to DVI (adapter required) - Monitor 3

You can get generic Display port adapters for around $15-20, and brand name ones like XFX and SAPHIRE for around $29. All work the same.

EYEFINITY will still support the DVI to VGA adapters if you need to use that route.

IF you already have the monitors do try DVI/HDMI/DVI as your setup, but from other threads and research, everything is pointing towards the DisplayPort as the 3rd monitor.
Click to expand...

That applies to all the cards except the sapphire flex cards. The flex cards can have outputs on 2 dvi and 1 hdmi. But the adapters aren't that expensive if you use 1920 x 1200 or lower resolution.
 
all the flex cards are is they have an Active DP to DVI adapter built into the DVI port, convenient, but based on the price sometimes its easier and cheaper to just get an active adapter
 
Do you mean games at Eyefinity resolutions on three monitors simultaneously?

I plan on gaming on one screen only and the others are just used for other windows apps.

I couldn't find your card with flex :( i would have to get it with the adapter as I already have all three monitors (none of which has Displayport).
 
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wuschelbeutel said:
Do you mean games at Eyefinity resolutions on three monitors simultaneously?

I plan on gaming on one screen only and the others are just used for other windows apps.

I couldn't find your card with flex :( i would have to get it with the adapter as I already have all three monitors (none of which has Displayport).
Click to expand...

For desktop usage the gpu power really isn't a limiting factor, so either card would work fine. For gaming I would still want the 2GB 6950, even on one screen, but that's just me. BF3 definitely can make use of the extra power/vram. Going with an adapter isn't that big of a deal now.
 
It's $100 more expensive (with only a performance gain of 10% - considering one monitor only). Also, I don't have Windows 7, so I cant play Battlefield 3, anyway.

I'll go with the 6870. Next year is the big upgrade year: I'll quadruple my RAM, get an Ivy Bridge and a new card (tantamount to the next generation consoles).
 
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Well, this sucks:

Can I support different resolutions?

All monitors running in a Display Group or cloned modes must be running with the same resolution. If monitors have different native resolutions, the highest common non-native resolution between the monitors will be used when creating Display Groups. Monitors running in extended desktop mode can have independent resolutions.

What Operating Systems does AMD Eyefinity technology work with?

At present Windows® Vista and Windows® 7 support AMD Eyefinity technology. There are plans for Linux support in an upcoming update to AMD Catalyst™ software. There is no support for Windows® XP.
Click to expand...
 
Yes it does suck. AMD does not support 3 monitors at a time in windows XP from a single card even though the ports are all there - even if you just want to get a three monitor desktop.

That display group stuff is only particularly useful for gaming on all three at once (a display group is a large virtual display - your operating system sees the group as a single display), if you are running vista or win7 and just wanted to have three screens of desktop you don't have to group them.
 
I have a copy of Win7 to install (I'm just reluctant because of all the files I have to back up before the format).

Do I have to group the displays if I want to play a game on, say, the middle screen and have the desktop or other simple apps running on the others?
 
wuschelbeutel said:
I have a copy of Win7 to install (I'm just reluctant because of all the files I have to back up before the format).

Do I have to group the displays if I want to play a game on, say, the middle screen and have the desktop or other simple apps running on the others?
Click to expand...

No you don't need to group them. Making a group is just for eyefinity making all three act like one big monitor. Running in extended mode which is each monitor is independent is what you'll be doing if you want to have a game on screen and a browser media player on another.
 
So, Win7 already has OS-level support for three independent monitors (one gaming, the others for browsers or desktop)? Nice, so my only concern is the Win 7 install - or the painful associated backup and format of my old Win XP HDD.
 
wuschelbeutel said:
So, Win7 already has OS-level support for three independent monitors (one gaming, the others for browsers or desktop)? Nice, so my only concern is the Win 7 install - or the painful associated backup and format of my old Win XP HDD.
Click to expand...

Yes if you want 3 independent displays theres nothing you need other then the drivers.
 
Mozex said:
AMD does not support 3 monitors at a time in windows XP from a single card even though the ports are all there - even if you just want to get a three monitor desktop.
Click to expand...


This is really what has me surprised. I've seen threads from 2004 where users have hooked up three monitors to their system (running on WinXP).

I don't care much about playing games on three monitors simultaneously; I just want to make the jump from my current dual monitor config to one with three monitors: Where I can play games at fullscreen on the middle monitor and whenever I maximize a window in any of the monitors it will expand to that screen (I don't know how you call this mode, but it's at the OS level and it works for two monitors without the need of any special drivers). Also, when all windows are collapsed, it will display the desktop icons on all three monitors. "You can set resolution, size, and position of the monitors independently,and windows can intelligently size themselves to each desktop on each monitor." (quote from codinghorror)

Do I really need Win7 for this?
 
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Winxp will do 3 monitors I've run that setup for a while. I did have to add a second pci card to get the 3rd and 4th monitor though
 
wuschelbeutel said:
[/B]
This is really what has me surprised. I've seen threads from 2004 where users have hooked up three monitors to their system (running on WinXP).

I don't care much about playing games on three monitors simultaneously; I just want to make the jump from my current dual monitor config to one with three monitors: Where I can play games at fullscreen on the middle monitor and whenever I maximize a window in any of the monitors it will expand to that screen (I don't know how you call this mode, but it's at the OS level and it works for two monitors without the need of any special drivers). Also, when all windows are collapsed, it will display the desktop icons on all three monitors.

Do I really need Win7 for this?
Click to expand...

I feel sorry for you if you are still using Windows XP.
 
qbanb8582 said:
That applies to all the cards except the sapphire flex cards. The flex cards can have outputs on 2 dvi and 1 hdmi. But the adapters aren't that expensive if you use 1920 x 1200 or lower resolution.
Click to expand...

Ahhh Thats awesome. Good info to know when i look to upgrade. Thanks for the clarification.
 
wuschelbeutel said:
Yes, but will it work if I get a FLEX card?
Click to expand...

The FLEX cards get around the 2 DVI/HDMI limit at hardware level, but since the XP drivers still don't support more than 2 displays there is no benefit to using a FLEX card with XP.
 
wuschelbeutel said:
Do I really need Win7 for this?
Click to expand...


Certain workstation professional cards can support this. Matrox G450 Quad MMS, NVidia Quadro 450.

Apparently the consumer ATI cards do not support triple displays in Windows XP.

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=260&threadid=129534

Well, I got the answer from ATI support, which is pretty disappointing considering it's not stated clearly anywhere:



"Unfortunately, you are right - Eyefinity is not supported under Windows XP"
Click to expand...
 
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3 monitors worked for XP with any other exotic configuration for close to a decade:
-onboard GPU port, and an additional video card
-two different video cards

but now in the year 2011, for a simple configuration of one card, we don't have an option for this? the hardware is not constrained, the OS supports it, just somewhere in between AMD somehow disables this functionality (or Xp notices that the hardware ID for all 3 sources is identical and cant believe it)? i dont get it...
 
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wuschelbeutel said:
3 monitors worked for XP with any other exotic configuration for close to a decade:
-onboard GPU port, and an additional video card
-two different video cards
Click to expand...

- expensive Workstation video cards with shitty gpus (Matrox G450 Quad MMS, Quadro 450)

but now in the year 2011, for a simple configuration of one card, we don't have an option for this? the hardware is not constrained, the OS supports it, just somewhere in between AMD somehow disables this functionality? i dont get it...
Click to expand...

There is not a lot of information about this. I don't know if the workstation cards (that support triple display on XP) really have dual GPUs on one card to support this or not.

What I do know is that there are large changes between the xp display driver model and Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 and 1.1 (Vista/7). I'd imagine the Catalyst drivers utilize the abilities of WDDM to enable multihead functionality (on a single GPU) and that XPDM simply isn't capable of it.

There's simply no longer any reason to support XPDM for new cards. You are running a very insecure 10 year old operating system. It's time to upgrade.
 
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dook43 said:
I'd also believe that some dual GPU ATI/NV cards could support it.

E.G. NVidia 7950 gx2, 9800gx2, GTX 295, GTX 590.

Sapphire made a 4850 x2, can buy it here:
http://www.esaitech.com/commerce/catalog/product.jsp?product_id=686042

4870 x2 was mass produced by several manufacturers. There's also the 5970, 6990.

Here's a couple of 6870 x2s.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...011190&isNodeId=1&Description=6870+x2&x=0&y=0
Click to expand...

you mean these dual-GPU cards would run on XP? even so, it looks like i'd sacrifice a lot on price/performance - and there is always the risk of my PSU not supplying the needed wattage.

i think i'll opt for the painful win7 upgrade even though i hate the chore of backing up files..
 
Just do an install of windows 7 without formatting? All your files would be moved to a folder called windows.old.
 
Might be beneficial to get a new hard drive as well.. 10 year old hard drives don't offer the same performance as now a days ;)
 
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