Single card to run triple (non-gaming) monitor setup

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SocceRich20

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Hello,

I'm currently running a GTX 260, which only supports two monitors at once. I want to have the following plugged into a single video card:
-2x Dell U2410
-1x Samsung 46" LED via HDMI

When I game, I only play on one monitor, so I'm not looking for something that can game while spanning three monitors, I just want three monitors while in Windows. My budget is $300-400. I've heard that the GTX 470 is a great card, but I've also heard that it only supports two monitors. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
If you're only gaming on one monitor then even a 6870 would suffice. I've currently got one and it's handling my eyefinity setup very well, though I've been keeping my AA levels at low to none. If you're just playing on one monitor though, it would handle that very well.
 
6870 will give you good single monitor performance and will power 3 on desktop easy. Sounds like the perfect fit.

FYI no Nvidia card supports 3 monitors from a single card, so your only options are AMD.
 
And which is the cheapest (Nvidia or ATI) video card that supports 3+ monitors? :)
 
ATi 5450 Most of these cards have 1 vga 1 DVI and 1 hdmi/display port, but there are some that have other configurations.

If you want to play games then I wouldn't go any lower than a 5770, it's around the same class of speed you get from your gtx 260. The 5830 is pretty cheap right now (I assume they're clearing stock) and is a decent bump up in speed from there.

EDIT: You don't say which OS you're using so I should warn that ATi only supports 2 displays on windows XP.
 
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But ATI 5450 surely can't use all 3 outputs at the same time! :confused: (Not to mention that I'd rather see another DVI, instead of VGA.)

Non-gaming use. That's why I'm looking for low-profile (ie. lowest-power-consumption) GPU that would run 3 monitors ... or if not 1 GPU then (again, low-profile) 2 GPU cards.

I currently have 8800 GTS which is (relatively) only wasting energy, since it isn't being used. :) Any idea which is lowest-profile GPU with Dual-Link DVI?

PS: Linux and Windows 7, though also have XP: so, to play along XP, the only option is 2 discrete GPUs?
 
Cali3350 said:
6870 will give you good single monitor performance and will power 3 on desktop easy. Sounds like the perfect fit.
AMD.
Click to expand...

Go this route,
I currently am running a 6870 with 3 HP LP2065 monitors. When I game its on one monitor only. The resolution is 1600 x 1200 and for what its worth my single monitor gaming experience is terrific.

The cost of a 6870 is very cheap last I checked they are going for 187 or so.

Edit:
If you grab this or a 6950 you will need to pick up an active display port adapter. (usually not included in the gfx card box) This will allow you to run 3 monitors from one card.
 
At $300-400 you could get an AMD 6970. A 6950, 6870, or even 6850 would do you fine though.
I would suggest the 6950- its really the best value right now.

As for the cheapest triple output card, that would be one of the 5450s probably- but you have to make sure you find one that has a displayport output and still need to get an active DP-DVI or HDMI adapter.
 
Is your gaming computer the one in your sig?
If so, and you have an SLI motherboard, can't you just add a cheap nvidia card and use that for the 3rd display? You could get by cheap that way. Or do you think that will cause some other problem?
 
courteous said:
But ATI 5450 surely can't use all 3 outputs at the same time! :confused: (Not to mention that I'd rather see another DVI, instead of VGA.)

Non-gaming use. That's why I'm looking for low-profile (ie. lowest-power-consumption) GPU that would run 3 monitors ... or if not 1 GPU then (again, low-profile) 2 GPU cards.
Click to expand...

"Low profile" in video card lingo means it is a short card. It doesn't mean low power.

5450 CAN use all 3 outputs at the same time. Here is one that has 3x DVI, but it's very expensive. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129173&cm_re=5450-_-14-129-173-_-Product

This 5670 is higher power but less expensive and supports up to 3 DVI monitors.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102920&cm_re=5670-_-14-102-920-_-Product

The 5770 is the next step up in power, but most of those cards have 2 dual-link DVI ports, but you'd need a Display Port->DVI adapter.

courteous said:
PS: Linux and Windows 7, though also have XP: so, to play along XP, the only option is 2 discrete GPUs?
Click to expand...

Yes, 2 cards or a single card with 2 GPUs. Either will work to get more than two displays in XP.
 
Flyinfinni said:
As for the cheapest triple output card, that would be one of the 5450s probably- but you have to make sure you find one that has a displayport output and still need to get an active DP-DVI or HDMI adapter.
Click to expand...

Nope, the Dell U2410s he owns have DP inputs. So he can hook up the TV with HDMI, one U2410 with DP, and the other with DVI. Or both U2410s with DP.

Mozex said:
ATi 5450 Most of these cards have 1 vga 1 DVI and 1 hdmi/display port, but there are some that have other configurations.
Click to expand...

The lower-end ATI cards that have the VGA, DVI, and HDMI can only use two of the outputs at one time. One of the ports has to be displayport.

The cheapest card I found that does that is this HD 5450:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125358
Note that it's different from most of the others in that it has two HDMIs and a Displayport, rather than a HDMI and a DVI.

However, that would be insufficient even for single monitor gaming. IMO, the best bang for the buck is the HD 6850/6870. They will run very well with a single 1920x1200 monitor for the vast majority of games.
 
nalc said:
Nope, the Dell U2410s he owns have DP inputs. So he can hook up the TV with HDMI, one U2410 with DP, and the other with DVI. Or both U2410s with DP.
Click to expand...

Good call- I missed that, though I think it was a different poster who asked about the cheapest triple-output card.
 
Think I'll go with two 6450s and sell the 8800 GTS. 1x DVI and 1x HDMI (or DisplayPort) means that it can run 2 monitors, right?

BTW, for occasional gaming, can I "CrossFire" both 6450s? (My 4 year old MB supports it, or so it says.)

Wait ... you're right, I'd better get 5670.

EDIT: Regarding nalc's tempting HD 5450 (only 19W): I can use both HDMI and DP on my two newest Dells, but the third (2209WA) has only DVI. I can't use this "D-SUB" thing (?), so I'd need a "HDMI to DVI" cable, right?

Any other similar multi-output and low-price-power GPUs from ATi?

PS: Apologize for deleting top part; I've added it back. Please don't punish me. :)
 
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courteous said:
Think I'll go with two 6450s and sell the 8800 GTS. 1x DVI and 1x HDMI (or DisplayPort) means that it can run 2 monitors, right?

BTW, for occasional gaming, can I "CrossFire" both 6450s? (My 4 year old MB supports it, or so it says.)

Wait ... you're right, I'd better get 5670.
Click to expand...

Yeah, a HD5670 would make more sense. They are going for cheaper and cheaper nowadays.
 
courteous said:
Think I'll go with two 6450s and sell the 8800 GTS. 1x DVI and 1x HDMI (or DisplayPort) means that it can run 2 monitors, right?

BTW, for occasional gaming, can I "CrossFire" both 6450s? (My 4 year old MB supports it, or so it says.)

Wait ... you're right, I'd better get 5670.
Click to expand...

Sapphire also makes a "Flex" line, including a HD 5670, that supports triple monitors with one card, and can run them all off of HDMI and DVI, no Displayport monitors or Displayport active adapters needed. However, you pay a noticeable price premium over a vanilla HD 5670 for them, and could probably find an active DP adapter for the same price.
 
nalc said:
Sapphire also makes a "Flex" line, including a HD 5670, that supports triple monitors with one card, and can run them all off of HDMI and DVI, no Displayport monitors or Displayport active adapters needed. However, you pay a noticeable price premium over a vanilla HD 5670 for them, and could probably find an active DP adapter for the same price.
Click to expand...

Since he has Dell U2410 monitors, which have displayport inputs and (iirc) come with a 6ft DP cable, he doesn't have to get an adaptor :)
 
I see that a HD 5670 without one DVI (ie. 1x DP, 1x HDMI, and only 1x DVI) is $20 cheaper than above model with 2x DVI.

Can this HD 5670 downsized-version (with 1x DP, 1x HDMI, and 1x DVI) also run 3 monitors at the same time?

And, can (at the same time) DP and/or HDMI also deliver 2560x resolution?
 
I believe the DP can do the 2560x1600, and dual link DVI can do that as well. Single link DVI can only go up to 1900x1200. HDMI can only do 1900x1200 as well I believe.
Also- I do believe that card will do 3 monitors.
 
Flyinfinni said:
I believe the DP can do the 2560x1600, and dual link DVI can do that as well. Single link DVI can only go up to 1900x1200. HDMI can only do 1900x1200 as well I believe.
Also- I do believe that card will do 3 monitors.
Click to expand...

HDMI 1.2 and above can goto 2560x1600, iirc. The earlier HDMI specs were clocked at DVI speeds, which limited them to (more or less) single link DVI specs.
 
Cali3350 said:
6870 will give you good single monitor performance and will power 3 on desktop easy. Sounds like the perfect fit.

FYI no Nvidia card supports 3 monitors from a single card, so your only options are AMD.
Click to expand...

I would like to point out that EVGA does have NVIDIA GeForce card that supports 3 displays on a single card. The EVGA GeForce GTX 460 2Win. For more information, visit: http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/02G-P3-1387.PDF
 
jeremyshaw said:
Since he has Dell U2410 monitors, which have displayport inputs and (iirc) come with a 6ft DP cable, he doesn't have to get an adaptor :)
Click to expand...

The guy I quoted doesn't. OP does.

courteous said:
I see that a HD 5670 without one DVI (ie. 1x DP, 1x HDMI, and only 1x DVI) is $20 cheaper than above model with 2x DVI.

Can this HD 5670 downsized-version (with 1x DP, 1x HDMI, and 1x DVI) also run 3 monitors at the same time?

And, can (at the same time) DP and/or HDMI also deliver 2560x resolution?
Click to expand...

They both can do three at the same time, however
The vanilla HD 5670 (DVI, HDMI, DP) requires an ATI-approved Active Displayport adapter for the third monitor, which usually costs around $30
The Sapphire Flex HD 5670 with two DVIs allows three monitors without any additional outputs.

However, things get hairy with 2560x1600. As far as I know, the current HDMI standard does support that resolution. However, depending on the monitor, it might not support the revision that allows that, and only be able to take 1080p or 1920x1200 over HDMI.
I believe that DP is capable of that resolution without issues.
DVI is also tricky, because there are two types, single link and dual link, that use the same connectors. A dual link DVI will support 2560x1600, a single link DVI will not. I heard that on some ATI cards, only one of the DVI connectors is dual link, and the other is single link, but I want to emphasize that this all secondhand knowledge, and that you should do more research before dropping $$$$ on a triple 30" setup.
Additionally, in the case of the Sapphire Flex HD 5670, my understanding is that they were able to give it three DVI/HDMI outputs by splitting the dual link DVI into a two single link DVIs, so it might not support 2560x1600.
 
Ah, so many pitfalls ... well, at least I can't do anything about monitor revision number.

Regarding operating systems: does any Linux distribution also support all 3 outputs at the same time (like Windows 7)?

If anybody finds anything like (or better) than 5450 (with 1x DP, 1x HDMI, and 1x DVI), please let me know. ;)
 
On a side note, the earlier suggestion about adding another geforce card is worthwhile too. You could just grab the smallest nvidia card you can find (something like an 8400gs or less) use it for the 3rd monitor. Granted you couldn't play games that way, but you're just using the 3 monitors for desktop use anyways.
 
nalc said:
I heard that on some ATI cards, only one of the DVI connectors is dual link, and the other is single link, but I want to emphasize that this all secondhand knowledge, and that you should do more research before dropping $$$$ on a triple 30" setup.
Click to expand...

On the high end 6xxx series card reference design only one of the DVI ports is dual-link, so I'd assume that the same is true on the low end cards as well.

Also, thanks for catching my omission about the 2 clocked ports limitation with most of the ATi cards. I'm used to thinking about that in reference to 2xDVI + HDMI that I forgot it applied to VGA as well.
 
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