Three monitors

[george gazelakis]

hey,

i want to set up three monitors at once, but my graphics card only has two DVI outputs.
any suggestions on how to set up a third one?

thanks
George

 

[paperfox]

You will need eather another graphics card, which will give you another 2 outputs or get a new HD 5000 series card which can support 3 outputs, but with a catch. (a Displayport adapter form a list of ones that are known to work)

What is your motherboard, how many PCIE slots dose it have?
What is your PSU, how many watts is it?
What do you plan to do with your 3 monitors? Gaming? nongaming?

 

[george gazelakis]

ASUS P5Q SE2, with one PCIE slot.
650 watt
gaming

ive got a RADEON HD 5770 ATI

 

[george gazelakis]

oh, so if ive got two DVI ports and a dislpayport adaptor.
would it work?

 

[paperfox]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-hd-5450,review-31803-3.html
Give this page a read.

You will need a Displayport to DVI/HDMI/VGA adapter for your 3rd moniotr to work on that 5770 of yours.
http://support.amd.com/us/eyefinity/Pages/eyefinity-dongles.aspx
Get one of these listed for best compatability.

 

[george gazelakis]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HP-DISPLAY-PORT-TO-DVI-D-ADAPTER-20PIN-FH973AA_W0QQitemZ400098746836QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d27be61d4#ht_5731wt_939

will this work?

 

[vvhocare5]

NO! Passive DP to DVI adapters do not work - even the active ones (>$100) are not guaranteed to work for you. Follow the recommendations if you want this to work.

 

[george gazelakis]

ok, well i have two screens now. are you able to tell me how to play games with the picture spread across both screens?

 

[paperfox]

Open CCC Advanced menu, click the Graphics button on the top left corner and select Desktops & Displays. Right click the big blue box in the middle of the window and select Create Group. Select the orientation of your monitors. Then one screen should go blue click which window that is so the computer can tell which monitor should be on the left/right or up/down.

 

[hunuok]

ok, well i have two screens now. are you able to tell me how to play games with the picture spread across both screens?

Also note that playing across TWO screens will cause your display to split things such as crosshairs in FPS games in two because your bezels are in the way, which is REALLY annoying. Hence, Eyefinity.

 

[george gazelakis]

ye, but i am going to buy a third soon. so ill be setting it up on that aswell.
are you able to tell me?

thanx

 

[hunuok]

ye, but i am going to buy a third soon. so ill be setting it up on that aswell.
are you able to tell me?

thanx

The displayport to dvi adapter you mentioned earlier is a PASSIVE adapter. In most cases this will not work. Ive read that for this to work you need to use a resolution of LESS THAN 1920x1080.

For 1920x1080 and above, you need an ACTIVE displayport to dvi connector:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/188282

Dell, Accell and Bizlink also have them (~$65-$100). Dont get the Apple one. I heard its hit and miss. Also, the display connected to this displayport should be the CENTER monitor. It makes web browsing etc easier to use/read.

Once connected, you need to set the displays via Catalyst Control Center. Use this as a guide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYorUpN4PQo

It can be tricky to set up BUT once youre finished you wont be disappointed. Also, be prepared to turn down game settings to get playable frame rates (ex you may need to turn off AA). Remember the graphics card has to work 3 times harder to produce an image on your display!

Good luck George