Triple Monitor not working with 5850

[Veee]

Hello guys, I have an XFX 5850 and I'm currently running 2 monitors on DVI. I'm trying to add a 3rd monitor on the DisplayPort using a DVI to DP passive adapter. I do not need Eyefinity for gaming, I just want to use 3 monitors for working. Whenever I try to turn on the 3rd monitor by extending my desktop to it, it tells me I need to disable a non-primary monitor to have the 3rd one enabled. I've tried to search online for solutions, I even tried to put my primary running on the DisplayPort. Do you guys have any suggestions?

I have 2 monitors with native DVI support and 1 Monitor with only VGA, for the VGA one I have a cable that goes from VGA to DVI, I hope this information helps on troubleshooting my issue.

Thank you in advance

 

[davcon]

You need an active displayport adapter
Dell and Sapphire make them for sure this i know.
Around $65 i'm sure others make them as well

 

[megamanx00]

Eyefinity will not work with a passive adapter. You need to have an active adapter if you want to use three monitors.

 

[AMW1011]

You need an active adapter for the third monitor, I recommend watching this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bve1qFzAXVw

 

[Veee]

I'm not trying to run eyefinity, I just want to have 3 monitors for my desktop to have 3 browsers open at the same time without needing to alt-tab. Will the active adapter still give me the error that says, "To extend the desktop, a desktop or display must be disabled". I am able to enable the 3rd monitor but it required me to turn off one of my already on monitors only letting me run 2 monitors at a time.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The active adapter will allow you to run all three monitors at the same time. That's what Eyefinity is.

 

[Veee]

Isn't eyefinity being able to combine all 3 monitors to have 1 wide monitor to game on all 3 monitors? I don't need to game on the 3 monitors, just want to run 3 monitors in normal

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Using all three monitors as one big one is just one way to set up an Eyefinity setup. You can also use the three monitors on their own.

 

[AMW1011]

The active adapter is a solution to a hardware limitation in Eyefinity, not a software limitation.

 

[Veee]

Bought a passive VGA to DP and it works fine now, even with eyefinity