ok, the only thing stopping us from closing this thread is:
Can we verify whether the Asus DirectCU 6970 definitely does anything useful for us?
i.e. can we use DisplayPort->VGA/DVI adapters to get 4 stable* outputs?
. *stable = works as reliably as a common DVI-I connector on a 3-year old GeForce (presuming you use the correct adapters for the relevant signal type)
It is recommended to look for AMD Eyefinity Validated Dongles anyway.
As stated before we didn’t like the 5870’s minidisplayport solution and went to the 6970 DirectCU II.
We use them with a Bizlink DisplayPort to DVI-D Dual Link Active Adapter allowing 2560x1600 max resolution.
Those Adaptors have a USB connector for power supply. They pull quite some current which we tend to supply not from the mainboard but from some solid USB 2.0 Hub.
On 4 of those Adapters we successfully run 4 of our “custom Tripleheads” to achieve e.g. 8 * 1366x768 grouped (means “spanned” using the eyefinity driver) playing back really large videos plus a 1920x1200 for patching.
2560x1600 and similar large resolutions anyway require quality cabling and maybe sensible to different cable lengths…
If you experience some green flickering pixels and/or image switching on/off all 5 seconds you should try to exchange your DVI-D cable.
I recently had to replace a 0,5m with a 1m. I tried several 0,5m before because i assumed the cable to be broken but instead it was the length of the cable that seemed to cause the problems.
ok.
thanks to @@:kalle
we confirm that the 6870 does support 4 signals out of the triple height card, and we can lay EyeFinity to rest for the time being
EDIT: changed ‘6870’ to ‘6970’
Hi
once again about the hd6870 (the 2 slots model)
Would something like this work?
S.
@io no, that would not work. you can not use two dvi and hdmi at the same time.
what I would suggest would be to get a small fullHD monitor with displayport input, then your setup would work.
edit: in the displayport monitor case, you move from hdmi to displayport and thus still have two DVI outputs.
@io : i was recently trying with this card (Asus ATI 5870):
I had 2 in one system, and couldn’t even get 4 VGA’s out between the 2 cards (with plenty of DisplayPort adapters, etc)
However, I was at one point able to get 3 VGA’s out of 1 card (which I think is generally supported by ATI).
But the catalyst drivers struggled to recognise the projectors (on ~10meter VGA lengths, but all vga lines worked without a dot of a hitch with my MacBook Pro, and a couple of GeForce cards)
Ok, DP displays don t seem to be too available yet at the only shop where I can thigns from so I ll them to get an adapter.
The DVI will go direclty to a Matrox so it shouldn t be a problem…
So the final contenders are the ATI 6970 (Direct CU or 2 slots) and gtx560 + middle range gt card… mmmm
S.
Wait wait…
what have we here?
XFX 5770 EyeFinity 5 (some available) + an equivalent (visually same) XFX 6770
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411XU5j2-eL.jpg
Powercolor 6970 EyeFinity 6 (coming soon)
{img src =“http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/powercolor-6870-eyefinity-6.png”}
+1 point for enthusiasm on the 6770.
5 outputs, and <£100
450/500W PSU recommended for single, 600W for double
and pretty small
looks like a great match for a Shuttle!
EDIT: 6770 is a 5770 rebadge, but with HDMI 1.4 support for 120Hz (i guess not with this card!)
this is starting to get confusing me myself here…
Speaking again of the 6970 DirectCU II i’d like to state i easily was able to run 6 screens in 1920x1080 simultaneously “grouped” .
Each screen was showing a part of a Cinepak-coded 3840*3240 video.
i was able to run 4 screens each with a “Dualhead” (total 8 screens grouped) with extra controlmonitor and i am almost sure you can run 6 outputs with each a triplehead as a “3x2 Group” as long as you don’t exceed 8192x8192 in total.
Ok…this may be a little premature
But it seems that I can get single link DVI passive off every one of the 5 ports on the ATI DisplayPort 6770, which makes it a very useful card indeed!!
However I’m only testing 1 DVI display at a time, so it may be something strange where any 2 at a time can be DVI
VGA works on all outputs as expected
Some manufacturers refer to DisplayPort++ as a DisplayPort which gives DVI signal (e.g. as with a macbook / the first 2 ports on the 5870 Eyefinity 6). This leads me to believe that if any of the 5 can individually give DVI, then all 5 can simultaneously give DVI
Totally made my nerdy little day! :)
but if it works out, this is a fantastic card!
also of note, the XFX<->StarTech MiniDP connection does feel a little more janky than Apple on Apple
And I can definitely see these getting damaged if I dont pay attention each time I use them
However, still easier to handle than a DSub (can be performed easily without looking / at strange angles / did i mention I hate d-sub :) )
@elliot
you can only have two passive adapters at the same time, you can place those anywhere on the 5870 eyefinity6, but just 2 at a time, 3 will not work. for that you need active adapters
-sunep
@sunep - aha
thanks for the confirmation
and looting in my building as riots spread north…
not my lucky day after all :(
(not my actual flat, a shop downstairs)
:(
one of the mini-dp ports is dead on my 6770 already. haven’t even spent much time with it at all.
Tried installing new drivers to no success
port 2 doesn’t work with any of the 4 different adapters (startech/apple * vga/dvi) i’ve got
rma, getting a new one.
if it happens again then obviously steer clear of this card
all ports did work initially and I haven’t do any crazy connections yet
another note:
got a system crash at one point when connecting / reconnecting outputs (a while after port 2 stopped working)
also had this before with a different ATI card
i.e. less stability than TH2G in this respect.
Otherwise quite successful
Can get single link resolutions (e.g. 2048*768) on TH2G in digital and analog on the different ports
Only got 1 here right now so cant test multiple
Considering getting another card before RMA’ing this one, to test if a selection of 10 outs across 2 cards work at the same time (not in group mode / crossfire).
elliot
Tested 2 XFX 6770’s in 1 Shuttle today
ran FurMark (stress test) on both cards at the same time
got to about 60C, which is pretty respectable, but the fps dropped hard when running 2 at the same time (even though on separate cards)
had to unplug the CD drive because that was having issues when both cards were in
it’s pretty old thing (~5yrs) and claims to pull about 20W
anyway, my PC wouldn’t boot with that in and both the cards
but worked fine with both cards running at full whack in furmark
Tested 2 XFX 6770’s in 1 Shuttle today
ran FurMark (stress test) on both cards at the same time
got to about 60C, which is pretty respectable, but the fps dropped hard when running 2 at the same time (even though on separate cards)
had to unplug the CD drive because that was having issues when both cards were in
it’s pretty old thing (~5yrs) and claims to pull about 20W
anyway, my PC wouldn’t boot with that in and both the cards
but worked fine with both cards running at full whack in furmark
Hola
I am a bit stuck trying to get all the different parts together
i have:
hd6950 2xDVI 2xMiniDP
2x Matrox TH2Go Digital Edition configured as Dual Head
vga 1920x1080 monitor
vga 1280x1024 monitor
MiniDP to VGA adaptor
MiniDP to DVI adaptor
bunch of DVI-VGA adaptors
I can get single parts together working but not the whole thing. having the Catalyst center and the common Windows 7 display setup doesn t really help, which one to use?
I d need to get the fullHD display and the 2 Matrox (at 2048x768) all hooked up and possibly the other monitor as well.
Which port is best for each part?
tx
S.
