ATI Firepro with 3 monitors

[boss99er]

I have an HP 8740W with Advanced Dock. The dock has two DVI ports. I'm trying to get 2 external monitors up and running through the dock ports. From what I've read, because I have the ATI FirePro (based on Radeon)graphics card, I should be able to do this with Eyefinity. When I open the ATI controller, it only lets me use the laptop display, and 1 external. What am I doing wrong here? Thanks!

 

[COLGeek]

Have you tried connecting 2 monitors to the dock and closing the latop display? I have a similar Dell configuration and it can only display to the 2 external monitors when the laptop's LCD is in the closed position.

 

[boss99er]

I havent tried that yet.....but with the ATI FirePro its "supposed" to be able to display up to 4 external displays. I have this exact setup.... http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/528-13-hp-8740w-z800.html

There is another article....not sure where, that shows 4 external displays.

 

[boss99er]

Here's a video of my model using 3 displays... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ZnxxKE6pc&feature=player_embedded

 

[boss99er]

Hmm...another article where they do exactly what I'm trying to do....GRRR! http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6072&p=2

 

[COLGeek]

I see your rig has DP. With it, you can daisy chain multiple displays. Will have to look up the specs for your docking station later.

 

[COLGeek]

BTW, I looked at the picture above. That is DP in action, not DVI. Same goes for the review. If you connect via DisplayPort to properly supported monitors, you can interconnect them to do as you propose.

 

[boss99er]

Ahh gotcha! Yeah, my machine has 1 DP, and my dock has 2. Can I use the DP to DVI adapter? I dont have a monitor that natively supports DP.

 

[COLGeek]

Sure you can use the adapters, but you can't do the daisychain config. Only a single DP/DVI per port. Still that should do the trick!

 

[boss99er]

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[boss99er]

Last question. On my dock, I was unable to run my laptop display, and two external displays via DVI-D. It seemed I could only use the laptop and one external. Will I be able to just buy two adapters, and use BOTH displayports on the dock AND my laptop display.....or is the only way I can run the two externals by daisy chaining them?

 

[COLGeek]

The problem with most docks is that they want to work with either the internal or external displays, but not both at the same time. Did you ever try running only the external displays with the built-in display closed (via the DVI connections)?

Keep in mind that you will not be able to daisychain DVI monitors, even with adapters. They are, in effect, still DVI monitors.

I recommend you get 2 adapters (you can always return one or keep as a backup) and give it a shot.

Good luck!

 

[boss99er]

Sounds good, I have two adapter on the way. No, I never tried shutting the laptop and running on only external. I'll give it a shot this afternoon if I have time. Thanks for your help!

 

[COLGeek]

You are welcome. Please follow-up when you have everything in place.

 

[boss99er]

Will do!

 

[boss99er]

I finally got my DP adapters, plugged everything in, and BAM, it all works. You were exactly right COLGeek!

 

[boss99er]

Best answer selected by boss99er.

 

[COLGeek]

I finally got my DP adapters, plugged everything in, and BAM, it all works. You were exactly right COLGeek!

Good job! Have fun!!!

 

[kponder]

I finally got my DP adapters, plugged everything in, and BAM, it all works. You were exactly right COLGeek!

In this configuration, were you able to continue to use the laptop display with 2 external ones? What DP adapters did you get?

Thanks

 

[boss99er]

We actually just used little cheapo adapters like this: http://www.amazon.com/Black-DisplayPort-Male-Female-Adapter/dp/B002BL6B7C/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1317133884&sr=8-7

And yes, I'm able to plug in two external displays AND my laptop display, but I am using a dock. So, I have my laptop docked and open, with one VGA LCD plugged into one DP, and another VGA LCD plugged into the second DP......for a total of 3 displays. I was actually able to plug another external into the DP on the laptop itself for a total of 4 displays counting the laptop display.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey