How the HECK do I set up Eyefinity?

Eyefinity requires that 1 of the displays use the Display Port. You can have a combinations of (2) DVI or (1) DVI and (1) HDMI display, but the 3rd MUST use the display port. The only work around to this is buying a display port to DVI active converter. These run about $100+ from what I hear. I also don't know if this causes any lag in monitor response either.

Once you have 3 displays working, you just use the ATI drivers and turn on Eyefinity, which is basically just a single desktop spread across 3 displays. Eyefinity is just a marketing name.

yes there is, and passive converter wont work....

Another piece of info that might be important; my 5970 has a mini display port, dunno if that's relevant.

apple had active adapter...

but i cant remember the exact reason why it had to be active. It has come up in the reviews... maybe it had something to do with those 30'' displays with higher resolutions they were using in the reviews or dual links or something completely different

http://www.startech.com/item/DP2DV [...] apter.aspx

edit and looks like sapphire has one also
http://www.hartware.de/press_11580.html

edit2 list of monitors that have displayport http://www.hardocp.com/article/200 [...] ogy_review
Dell 3008 - Dell U2410 - Dell 2408 - Dell P2010H - Dell P2210H - Dell P2310H - NEC MultiSync EA231WMi-BK - HP LP2480zx - HP LP2475w - HP LP2275w - Lenovo 2440x

edit3 still havent found the reason for active....

So.. anyone with a definitive answer on what adapter I need to buy?

You need either the Apple or the Dell active adapter. These have a USB cable to provide power for the adapter electronics. You may find them hard to find in stock since a lot of Eyefinity users have been buying them.

A better option is to buy this http://www.google.com/products/cat [...] ps-sellers

or

http://www.google.com/products?q=n [...] =0&oq=NEC+ -- this is a VERY nice monitor for its price.

which will directly plug in with no issues. Just an FYI, you need to order a DP cable with the NEC...

I'm actually only looking to spend around $200 for each screen, with a tiny bit of flexibility.

And also, would it work to get, say, two 23" screens when the middle monitor is 24"?

So to confirm, since the 5970 has a mini displayport, to connect a DVI monitor I need an active DVI- mini displayport adapter?

how would an active displayport to dvi converter work if the 5970 has a MINI displayport?

Ahh I see, thanks. Are there active mini displayport to dvi converters available though? I just think that'd be easier.

hey there

to my knowledge there are no MINIdisplayport to dvi adapters.

use this dongle with the active displayport to dvi adapter.

ie, VGA card minidisplay port>minidisplayport to displayport dongle>active displayport to dvi adapter>dvi monitor cable

im pretty sure this should be the CENTER display setup

the other monitors should be connected directly to the dvi ports on the back of the video card

you can setup the correct sequence in CCC

this is what i will be doing when my displayport adapter arrives so i hope this info is correct!

i hope this helps

PS: the dvi to vga adapter is useless for this setup

it's just a short cable with minidp on the other end and a normal dp on the other

edit like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6812270262

There is another thread on displayport monitors. Just buy two more monitors that are that same that have DisplayPort. Dell monitors are excellent for this purpose. As long as they have the same resolution as your current one it'll be fine.

Buying a monitor: Resolutions: 1920 x 1200 or 1920 x 1080

They have active mini displayport to DVI converters. This one is out of stock, but you can probably look elsewhere.
http://www.amazon.com/Accell-B087B [...] 38&sr=1-34

With all the hassle of the converter, I think I'd be looking for a display that already had a displayport, at least for just one of my monitors. You never know what kind of lag there will be when you are shooting a signal through an active converter. lag + games = BAD

He doesn't need an active adapter if he's runing a resolution lower than 1920x1200 which requires only single-link, and that monitor is 1920x1080, he should be fine with the passive adapter.

Interesting... I just started reading through some documentation and found just what the great ape said. He is so wise.

"If only one or two DVI/HDMI monitors are attached through a DisplayPort connector, then only simple
passive adapters are required. With a passive adapter the GPU outputs the display signal required for
the monitor with no conversion occurring within the adapter itself."

^ HAHA.

It can work for 1920x1200 but it depends on the monitor. Most LCDs will support reduced blanking, but some don't, however it's like 95+% do. The soft cut-off i1920x1080, and the hard cut-off is 1920x1440, but there's a little play in between depending on how the montior supports the signal. Most monitors should be fine with 1920x1200 @ 60hz @ 32 bit colour (8 per channel plus alpha).

But you can even push beyond that like 12 bit per channel 1808P HDMI is not supported by single link, even though it's just 1920x1080, due to the added colour and the headroom for audio, you can do 8 bit per channel HDMI with audio on single link though.

I wish it were an easy yes/no answer but it's not. The best answer is, most times it will work for 1920x1200, and that's as good as it gets.

Here's another good explanation from Lars who used to do reviews here and now works for nVidia;

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,931.html'

It does a god job of explaining how DVI works, and the ranges, and also the carying quality at the time between integrated TMDS.

Good view of what blanking means;
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 931-5.html

Also a good idea of the usable ranges for single link;
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 931-6.html

It's OK to disagree RedWolf, BUT, ATi agrees with me on this one;

http://www.amd.com/us/Documents/AT [...] _Brief.pdf

Read page 8 which specifically refers to using passive adapters for solutions requiring only single-link connections and details the options available from that passive adapter.

This was not widely circulated enough initially, but it is pretty specifically laid out by ATi.

Hope that helps clear things up, I didn't repost it earlier because it came up in our other thread on the subject at the time.

Nice selective quoting to try and cover your statement.

That full line reads: "If only one or two DVI/HDMI monitors are attached through a DisplayPort connector, then only simple passive adapters are required."

Not if one or two monitors are attached to the card which is why you're confused.

It works just fine, but you need to keep track of your connections, even in this case using your selective quote, you do understand, that he can use 1 VGA/DB-15 through the DVI-I, then the HDMI, and then a passive adapter to the output choice, or did you miss that part as well?

Also link to the article, don't say '2 ATi guys' @ WSG said something, because based on your selective editing I wouldn't be surprised if your omitting a pretty important point in why they needed the active adapter for their situation.

Late to the party, but I only just got my Eyefinity setup configured and running, also using a 5970 (Sapphire, not Diamond).

My center monitor is a Dell E248WFP flanked by a pair of Gateway FHD2401 displays. Both have the same screen sizes, but the Dell sits lower by default; I had a height-adjustable stand pulled from another display to make up for it (for consistency, the odd-monitor out should be in the middle and hopefully taller rather than shorter than the other two for comfort). As stated before, an active DP connection is required for at least one of the displays. I humored myself with a cheap mini-DP to DVI adapter I had around and confirmed that it did not work. An Accell Active DP-to-dual link DVI (my card came with a mini-DP-to-DP dongle) did the trick.

Make sure that if you use Catalyst 9.12, you apply an appropriate hotfix as the current 9.12 does not support Eyefinity on the 5970.

Guidance on setting up Eyefinity was frustratingly limited, so I'll give a quick overview. With all three monitors connected, go to the Desktops and Displays (or whatever it was called) menu in the Catalyst Control Center. Right click in the main pane and choose Create Group. Choose your appropriate layout and hit OK. It may prompt to confirm the ordering is correct (it usually isn't) or it may not. If not, right click on your group and find arrange in the context menu. One screen at a time will show blue, click the corresponding screen in the image. Once that is done, go to Display Properties and confirm that your resolution is extended, selecting the proper one if needed.

One of the oddities I've noticed, at least in the Source Engine games I've tested, is that the extended resolutions are all located in the 16:9 aspect set.

Hope this helps.

I can only say that the passive adapter I had been using on my iMac did not allow me to extend my desktop across three 24" 1920x1200 screens. It could have been an issue with my display or video card, but current guidance suggests that an active adapter is required (relating to the way DVI and DP signals differ). If you have a spare passive adapter laying around as I did, you might as well give it a try before investing an extra $100.