Possible to switch between DVI monitors?

[ptaylor999]

I'm currently about to build a new workstation that will have a graphics card (GTX 580) that will support 2 monitors. However, I have 2 monitors AND a Cintiq (basically a third monitor) that I need access to. I don't mind shutting down one of my monitors when using the Cintiq, i.e. switching from one monitor to the Cintiq, but I'd prefer not to have to climb behind my rig and do a manual switching of cables every time I want to make the switch.

I see 2 possible scenarios, but need some advice:

1) I need a reverse KVM type of switch that will allow me to switch between monitor #2 and the Cintiq on the fly. BUT, I can't find such a beast anywhere! Is there even such a device in existence?

or

2) Would it be possible to use the onboard graphics of my Intel Corei7 CPU to run the Cintiq at the same time as the 580 is driving my other 2 monitors? Of course this would require a motherboard with a DVI port, which I'm not sure exists either at this point.

Any advice would be great.

thank you.

 

[defaultluser]

Or, you can just buy a 6970 and get *MOST* of the performance of the GTX 580 with support for FOUR simultaneous monitors. Yes, that's right: FOUR monitors, no switching involved!

So, let's discuss your monitor configuration so we can get you all the correct connections (or if you don't know, tell us the model numbers and we can sort it all out for you)!

1. Do any of your monitors have Displayport inputs? How many? Are they full-sized or Mini?

2. Do any of your monitors do (A) 2560x1600 or (B) refresh rate of 120 Hz? Do these monitors have a Displayport input?


The reason I ask is because high-resolution monitors (above 1920x1200 or 204x1152) need Dual-link DVI or else Displayport to feed the signal, and the 6970 is slightly annoying because one of the DVI ports is single-link. This means that without a special adapeter, the 6970 only supports one monitor at 2560 or 120 Hz over DVI.

If your monitors are all at the resolution I just specified or below, and none of them have Displayport inputs, then you will need one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815309008

 

[chithanh]

You can connect 3 monitors to the 580 as long as only two of them are active at the same time. Just get a card with enough display outputs.

Note that while most H67 mobos allow enabling both internal and discrete graphics at the same time, there are some limitations of such a setup.

 

[ptaylor999]

Hi default. Thanks a bunch for the reply.

My plan was to go all DVI, including the Cintiq. Right now I only have the Cintiq and a Dell 2209WA which is 1680 x 1050, and has VGA and DVI inputs. (I prefer the DVI). I plan on buying a second full monitor at 1900 x 1200 and was going to use the DVI input for that as well. All 3 monitors will have 60hz refresh. So, I imagine I can get away without dual link DVI or Display Port, yes?

I was planning on going with Nvidia brcause I run Maya and Zbrush for my business and I hear they play better with Nvidia than with ATI cards. Although I also hear that Nvidia has somewhat crippled the Open GL on the 590 to force Maya users and the like to buy Quadro - an issue I hear many varying reports on and which I'm still investigating.

My aim for this rig is to do my work in Maya, and play games. No HD movies or the like. I have an HTPC for that.

At this point, I'm heavily considering the GTX 590 and just be done with it. It has support for 3 monitors and I can avoid the headache of switching and losing a monitor when I do.

One question - is there an advantage in using displayport? I'm a bit of a noob with all this and I'd always heard that DVI was the way to go.

 

[ptaylor999]

Or, you can just buy a 6970 and get *MOST* of the performance of the GTX 580 with support for FOUR simultaneous monitors. Yes, that's right: FOUR monitors, no switching involved!

So, let's discuss your monitor configuration so we can get you all the correct connections (or if you don't know, tell us the model numbers and we can sort it all out for you)!

1. Do any of your monitors have Displayport inputs? How many? Are they full-sized or Mini?

2. Do any of your monitors do (A) 2560x1600 or (B) refresh rate of 120 Hz? Do these monitors have a Displayport input?


The reason I ask is because high-resolution monitors (above 1920x1200 or 204x1152) need Dual-link DVI or else Displayport to feed the signal, and the 6970 is slightly annoying
because one of the DVI ports is single-link. This means that without a special adapeter,
the 6970 only supports one monitor at 2560 or 120 Hz over DVI.

If your monitors are all at the resolution I just specified or below, and none of them have Displayport inputs, then you will need one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815309008

Hi default. Thanks a bunch for the reply.

My plan was to go all DVI, including the Cintiq. Right now I only have the Cintiq and a Dell 2209WA which is 1680 x 1050, and has VGA and DVI inputs. (I prefer the DVI). I plan on buying a second full monitor at 1900 x 1200 and was going to use the DVI input for that as well. All 3 monitors will have 60hz refresh. So, I imagine I can get away without dual link DVI or Display Port, yes?

I was planning on going with Nvidia brcause I run Maya and Zbrush for my business and I hear they play better with Nvidia than with ATI cards. Although I also hear that Nvidia has somewhat crippled the Open GL on the 590 to force Maya users and the like to buy Quadro - an issue I hear many varying reports on and which I'm still investigating.

My aim for this rig is to do my work in Maya, and play games. No HD movies or the like. I have an HTPC for that.

At this point, I'm heavily considering the GTX 590 and just be done with it. It has support for 3 monitors and I can avoid the headache of switching and losing a monitor when I do.

One question - is there an advantage in using displayport? I'm a bit of a noob with all this and I'd always heard that DVI was the way to go.

 

[defaultluser]

Hi default. Thanks a bunch for the reply.

My plan was to go all DVI, including the Cintiq. Right now I only have the Cintiq and a Dell 2209WA which is 1680 x 1050, and has VGA and DVI inputs. (I prefer the DVI). I plan on buying a second full monitor at 1900 x 1200 and was going to use the DVI input for that as well. All 3 monitors will have 60hz refresh. So, I imagine I can get away without dual link DVI or Display Port, yes?

Yes, you will be fine. You will only have to buy one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815309008

One question - is there an advantage in using displayport? I'm a bit of a noob with all this and I'd always heard that DVI was the way to go.

No, no advantage. Displayport is just a new connector intended to displace DVI that's cheaper to implement, has a smaller connector and has the potential for more expandability.

You MIGHT be able to just buy a second cheap video card (instead of spending large cash on a 590), but I'm not sure if the monitor connected to the second card will be performance-constrained. Of course, if you're not planning on doing demanding stuff on ONE of your displays, then you can just hook that up to any old cheap card.

 

[ptaylor999]

You can connect 3 monitors to the 580 as long as only two of them are active at the same time. Just get a card with enough display outputs.

Note that while most H67 mobos allow enabling both internal and discrete graphics at the same time, there are some limitations of such a setup.

Hi chit. Thanks for the response.

So, in regards to connecting 3 monitors to the 580, the card has 2 DVI and one HDMI port. Are you saying that I could connect one of my monitors to the HDMI port, but that only 2 ports will work at a time? Cause that could work, but how is the switching done if all ports are connected at the same time, and how does the card determine which ports to use, and which one to ignore? Niether of the 2 monitors I currently own have HDMI so that connection would be left to the monitor I have yet to purchase, which could be a problem because that's the monitor I would be gaming with and I'm not sure how well HDMI is for gaming. Any more advice on this?

And also, what exactly are the limitation of running onboard graphics amd discrete graphics at the same time? I wasn't even aware this was possible, but if I could deal with the kimitation you speak of, that might be my answer as I could have both monitors and my Cintiq up at the same time. Please inform!

 

[ptaylor999]

Yes, you will be fine. You will only have to buy one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815309008

Hmmm. I'm not sure I follow. Why do I need an adapter if I'm going from the DVI out on the card to the DVI in on the monitor?

 

[ptaylor999]

No, no advantage. Displayport is just a new connector intended to displace DVI that's cheaper to implement, has a smaller connector and has the potential for more expandability.

You MIGHT be able to just buy a second cheap video card (instead of spending large cash on a 590), but I'm not sure if the monitor connected to the second card will be performance-constrained. Of course, if you're not planning on doing demanding stuff on ONE of your displays, then you can just hook that up to any old cheap card.

Yeah, I was thinking of that as well. I could pick up a cheap ($50) Nvidia GS 520. It runs on the same driver as the GTX 580 so shouldn't be an issue. And the monitor I'd be driving with is is the Cintiq, so I don't see a problem there either, unless the low resolution of the Cintiq would drag down the other 2 monitors. But then, of course, i'dnalways wonder what that extra $150 (590) could have gotten me.

 

[ptaylor999]

Hmmm. I'm not sure I follow. Why do I need an adapter if I'm going from the DVI out on the card to the DVI in on the monitor?

Waaaaiiitaminute! You're talking about using the adapter to connect the Cintiq to the display port as a 3rd monitor, right?

If that's the case I'd ask you what I just asked chit. Being that the 580 only supports 2 monitors at a time, how would I do the switch when needed?

 

[H-street]

Waaaaiiitaminute! You're talking about using the adapter to connect the Cintiq to the display port as a 3rd monitor, right?

If that's the case I'd ask you what I just asked chit. Being that the 580 only supports 2 monitors at a time, how would I do the switch when needed?

unplug one and replug the other..


In all seriousness, get the 6970 and just have the elegant multi monitor solution.. you are complicating your system by adding in extra layers.. the AMD cards are perfectly built for what you are asking for..

Also if Maya/Zbrush is your work then i would suggest learning about which cards it supports and which it doesn't.. don't do the "I heard... " when it comes to your business. Call your Maya Support and talk to them directly..

Now with that in Mind, and not knowing what version of Maya you have i would start by going to Maya's site and looking up their Certified cards.

for Maya 2011 the newest ATI card supported is the 5870 (supports 3 to 6 monitors)

the newest Nvidia consumer card 2011 supports officially is GTX295/285..

 

[chithanh]

To make the switch, open the Nvidia display settings, disable one of the DVI monitors, and enable the Cintiq. No need to unplug anything.

IMO the 590 is the worst solution to the problem, unless you can make good use of its processing power. As only a few Maya plugins use CUDA, chances are that the 590 will just consume lots of power without any benefit.

 

[ptaylor999]

I'll be going with a 580 and either integrated graphics or a cheapo Nvid card for the Cintiq.

Chit -

To make the switch, open the Nvidia display settings, disable one of the DVI monitors, and enable the Cintiq. No need to unplug anything.

IMO the 590 is the worst solution to the problem, unless you can make good use of its processing power. As only a few Maya plugins use CUDA, chances are that the 590 will just consume lots of power without any benefit.

Actually, I couldn't agree more. I had the 590 in my sights purely for the 3 monitor aspect, and maybe a little for the slight fps advantage it has over the 580. But, it's a huge power drain and heat generator. As far as Maya's concerned, it's of no benefit at all. And, oh yeah, it's 200 bucks more.

As long as I have a Z68 mobo with a DVI port, and based on what I've read and the advice I've been given here and on other forums, a 580 and igp is definitely a posibility. Plus, with the Virtu software available on most Z68 boards, I'll get the best of both worlds, and since I plan on doing a fair amount of video encoding, that's a good thing.

Last resort? A cheapo vid card (GS 520) using the same driver as the 580. Now THAT I know will work cause I just got off the phone with a friend who's got a similar setup and he told me it's a non-issue. Just works with Win7.

At any rate, it's a 580 for me and then some tests. Was also considering the ATI 6970 but got some advice from a friend, also in my industry, who recommened I avoid it with Maya. The Nvidia cards seem more proven with Maya and I'd like to avoid any hassles.

So I'm off to the races, kind advisors. Or, off to the Amazon website anyway.

Thanks to all and I'll post my results.