Triple Display causing big problems

[The_Observer]

Hello - I finally got round to wall mounting my 4K TV and hooked up my two 23" asus monitors for a triple display via my gtx1080... I am an editor so this is very useful, and not just a gimmick.

To my disappointment, it barely works at all...;

The computer runs very slow, and the task bars on the two smaller displays are not clickable. Nothing is really responsive at all on the windows UI side of things, and a pixel wide line keeps flashing where the top of the taskbar is supposed to be to my main 49" 4k display. And little things, like I need to use alt + tab t change windows... and if i click windows D to reveal the desktop, nothing happens, until about 20-30 seconds later.

What is going on here? I have updated my drivers, and gone into device manager to refresh everything. The two asus 23" are Display Port whilst the 49" 4k is HDMI. I have been using dual screens now for a long time and have never had any problems like this... even unhooking one asus screen still gives me these problems, while not quite as severe as far as I can tell.. (I used to use DVI when I had a dual monitor set up, so am wondering if this has anything to do with it).

If I switch to a single screen, everything runs as it should - lightning fast, with responsive taskbar and windows menu, keyboard shortcuts etc.

Very frustrating.. any advice would be useful.

i7 4790k
pny xlr8 gtx1080
16gb RAM (i have 32 waiting to be installed, so can upgrade if that would help)
Asus z97-A

 

[R_1]

the 1080 has a max resolution of 7680x4320 @ 60hz. Assuming the 2 side displays are 1920x1080 displays you are pushing the limits of the card. You are using all its 7680x4320 pixels. unplug a side display and see if performance returns to normal. if so I would suggest a second video card for the side displays.

 

[The_Observer]

the 1080 has a max resolution of 7680x4320 @ 60hz. Assuming the 2 side displays are 1920x1080 displays you are pushing the limits of the card. You are using all its 7680x4320 pixels. unplug a side display and see if performance returns to normal. if so I would suggest a second video card for the side displays.

Thanks for the response, and letting me know the cards limitations. I don't think it is that though, because even with two monitors, the taskbars are still super buggy, and the windows key and shortcuts are very unresponsive. This has only started occurring after changing the cable from a DVI to a Display Port? edit: I am using a displayport to a hdmi cable for both smaller monitors.

 

[R_1]

the 1080 has a max resolution of 7680x4320 @ 60hz. Assuming the 2 side displays are 1920x1080 displays you are pushing the limits of the card. You are using all its 7680x4320 pixels. unplug a side display and see if performance returns to normal. if so I would suggest a second video card for the side displays.

Thanks for the response, and letting me know the cards limitations. I don't think it is that though, because even with two monitors, the taskbars are still super buggy, and the windows key and shortcuts are very unresponsive. This has only started occurring after changing the cable from a DVI to a Display Port? edit: I am using a displayport to a hdmi cable for both smaller monitors.

when you unplug the monitor with the DVI-DP cable (4k) does it behave? does it behave when just the side screens are connected (disconnect the 4k)? does it behave when just the 4K is connected (through the DVI-DP cable)?

 

[R_1]

I just came across this
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/pc-peripheral/how-connect-4k-screen-pc-3634369/
"DVI is almost as confusing as HDMI. A dual-link DVI connection (as opposed to single-link) can handle 2560x1440 at 60Hz, but not 3840x2160 (which is the typical; 4K resolution). This means that unless you have two dual-link DVI outputs and your monitor can accept two inputs (few can), you cannot drive a 4K screen at 60Hz using DVI. If you’re curious, you can run 3840x2400 at 17Hz using DVI, or 33Hz if you have a dual-cable setup."

 

[The_Observer]

Very weird, it just had a major bug out (windows would be smearing all across my 4K monitor)... then I just played around with the extend settings on and off, plugged in my 3rd monitor, and now it seems to be behaving perfectly fine. So strange. Thank you very much for your responses, and for the record, I am using HDMI for the 4K display. Good point about trying the 1080 monitors without the 4K, I didn't actually try that. I will update anything if it goes awry again.

I also changed the main display to be one of the 1080 monitors... maybe that did something.