3 Monitors AMD Eyefinity not working w/ DisplayPort!

[frillybob]

Hi guys! I just got a third monitor and am having issues connecting it to windows. One is a dell that is DVI only and is plugged into my 7870 myst with a DVI to DVI cable. The second is a samsung monitor that is HDMI and connected to the graphics card via an HDMI to HDMI cable. The third one is also a samsung but it is connected via an hdmi to mini DP cable. The mini dp is on the graphics card side. I've heard of needing an active display port for eyefinity but I have a display port in use already.

I can switch the monitors around but I can never get all three of them on at the same time except for the initial boot screen.

Note- I have two 7870 Mysts. They have each have one dvi, 1 hdmi, and 2 mini dp. I have all three monitors connected to the top card because I want to use crossfire and attempt some lower end gaming at 5760x1080p.

I can get all three monitors to work at the same time if I disable crossfire and plug in one of the monitors to the second card but that is not what I want to do.

 

[Eymar]

One of the monitors does need to be using mini dp port as a DP monitor (either natively on the monitor or using an active adapter making the HDMI monitor look like a DP monitor to videocard). 7870s usually have only 2 clock generators to handle 2 different TMDS style interfaces (DVI, HDMI) at once for eyefinity (can use 3 TMDS style monitors if identical): http://www.anandtech.com/show/7400/the-radeon-r9-280x-review-feat-asus-xfx/3. DP can handle multiple monitors per videocard as it doesn't have the clock generator per monitor restriction.

 

[master_shake_]

that is not true.

i used 3 dvi monitors when i did eyefinity with 7970's

you have to use one passive active adapter with the mini dp.

an active passive adapter will do up to 1920x1200 iirc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125408

i used one of the adapters that came with this card.

 

[frillybob]

I'm still not quite following you guys. Although my cards' name is a 7870 they are based on the 7900 tahiti cores- if that makes any difference.

Is there a way to use eyefinity with two graphics cards and three displays?

@master_shake that 7970's IO is exactly the same as my two 7870 Mysts.

 

[3DVagabond]

Are you saying it works without Crossfire? Because crossfire shouldn't matter.

 

[frillybob]

Are you saying it works without Crossfire? Because crossfire shouldn't matter.

No I guess I didn't quite explain myself. If I disable crossfire and plug in the third monitor to the second graphics card I can use all three monitors at once. However, I can't use eyefinity technology.

So for my third monitor I need an active hdmi to display port? Instead of a regular hdmi to display port cord?

 

[master_shake_]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ni_displayport_adapter-_-14-999-034-_-Product

get 1 of these.

then you can adapt it to hdmi

do 2 of them have dvi?

 

[frillybob]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ni_displayport_adapter-_-14-999-034-_-Product

get 1 of these.

then you can adapt it to hdmi

do 2 of them have dvi?

So with that adapter I plug in the the monitor that is DVI into the second display port and leave the other monitor plugged into HDMI? While at the same time having another monitor plugged into the first display port.

No, one monitor has DVI and the other two have HDMI.

All three have vga but I don't want to mess with vga as it's awful.

 

[master_shake_]

use one dvi to hdmi, one hdmi, and one mini dp with this adapter to dvi

 

[frillybob]

use one dvi to hdmi, one hdmi, and one mini dp with this adapter to dvi

Sorry to be so needy, but I want to make sure this is right.

One monitor has a DVI connection that I will use a DVI to DVI cord and plug in the end of the DVI cord into the active adapter to turn it into a display port monitor.

The second monitor will go HDMI to HDMI.

The third monitor will go hdmi to display port with no adapters in between. (Just the cord).

Will that all work?

Or would it be better to get another $10 hdmi to dp cord and have two dp dispalys (no adapters) and one DVI display. Or to the HDMI to DP have to be "active" as well?

 

[Eymar]

First option should work.
The second option ($10 hdmi(monitor) to mini-dp(videocard) will not work, you need an active mini-dp(videocard) to hdmi(monitor) (something like this: link) as one of the mini-dp connections.

I would do this:
DVI(videocard) ---DVI cable---> DVI monitor
HDMI(videocard) ---hdmi cable---> one of HDMI monitor
mini-dp(videocard) ---> active mini-dp to hdmi adapter ---hdmi cable---> HDMI monitor

 

[frillybob]

First option should work.
The second option ($10 hdmi(monitor) to mini-dp(videocard) will not work, you need an active mini-dp(videocard) to hdmi(monitor) (something like this: link) as one of the mini-dp connections.

My concern is that although I'll have two display ports in use and 1 HDMI, one of the display ports won't be an active adapter. It will just go from HDMI to DP.

 

[frillybob]

Here are my concerns from what I've learned all summed up.

I have 3 monitors I want to use in eyefinity crossfire. Two of the monitors use HDMI and the third uses DVI. I have them connected via an HDMI to HDMI, HDMI to Display Port, and DVI to DVI. I found out the HDMI to display port does not work. I need to use an active adapter. Would it be good enough to get an active dvi to display port adapter for my one monitor and have the regular "passive" hdmi to dp cord going into the second dp slot? Or would I need an active hdmi to dp and an active dvi to dp. I have to 7870 Mysts in crossfire (Tahiti Based cores, not pictaran)

 

[itsmydamnation]

what rez are you planning to push? because active VGA to DP mini adapters are dirt cheap so if what you want to push is within VGA i would use VGA.

To your question think of it this way, you need 3 clock gens, you have two, you need a active adapter to give you the 3rd clock gen.

right now on a 290 i have eyefinity with the following:
2x DVI
1x VGA to HDMI (active adapter)

i am only using HDMI because thats all they had at the local shops and i wanted to get my 290 working in a hurry ( came from 6970 with DP mini to a 290 with DP and didn't realize until the card arrived :'( ).

i use 3x 5:4 1280x1024 (3840x1024 in eyefinity).

 

[frillybob]

what rez are you planning to push? because active VGA to DP mini adapters are dirt cheap so if what you want to push is within VGA i would use VGA.

To your question think of it this way, you need 3 clock gens, you have two, you need a active adapter to give you the 3rd clock gen.

right now on a 290 i have eyefinity with the following:
2x DVI
1x VGA to HDMI (active adapter)

i am only using HDMI because thats all they had at the local shops and i wanted to get my 290 working in a hurry ( came from 6970 with DP mini to a 290 with DP and didn't realize until the card arrived :'( ).

i use 3x 5:4 1280x1024 (3840x1024 in eyefinity).

They are all 1080p monitors so 5760x1080p. My two cards could't handle that well except in older titles so it's not a huge deal if I can't get it to work in games.

Is this the type of product you are talking about?

http://www.amazon.com/Cirago-DisplayPort-Active-Adapter-DPA2011/dp/B005AT2KTK

However, wouldn't I still have a problem because I am connecting 3 displays using 3 different interfaces? I might as well get an active hdmi to dp converter if that works. But I have been told that won't work.

 

[itsmydamnation]

Yep they are exactly what im talking about except you should be able to find much cheaper ones then that( i think i paid like $6 AUD each for mine).

I haven't tried 1xDP, 1x HDMI and 1x DVI, but that should be no different to what i have right now ( 2x DVI , 1x HDMI(to vga) ). If i had a VGA to DP around i would test for you but i dont, so i cant .

But i know for a fact that 1x DVI and 2x DPmini to VGA works 100% fine, which you can do (if i can read correctly ).


edit: just so you know all VGA to DP adapters are active, you just need to check its specs to make sure the DAC supports what you are trying to push.

edit2: cant spell edit.....lol

 

[frillybob]

Yep they are exactly what im talking about except you should be able to find much cheaper ones then that( i think i paid like $6 AUD each for mine).

I haven't tried 1xDP, 1x HDMI and 1x DVI, but that should be no different to what i have right now ( 2x DVI , 1x HDMI(to vga) ). If i had a VGA to DP around i would test for you but i dont, so i cant .

But i know for a fact that 1x DVI and 2x DPmini to VGA works 100% fine, which you can do (if i can read correctly ).


edit: just so you know all VGA to DP adapters are active, you just need to check its specs to make sure the DAC supports what you are trying to push.

edit2: cant spell edit.....lol

Thanks! I'm going to pick this up.http://www.microcenter.com/product/426524/UltraAV_Mini_DP_to_DVI-D_single_link_ACTIVE_Adapter

I'm getting it locally so I can return it easily if it doesn't work. Hopefully it won't come to that. I'll report back here when I find out so that this can be looked at by someone in the future going through what I just went through.

 

[Sequences]

Thanks! I'm going to pick this up.http://www.microcenter.com/product/426524/UltraAV_Mini_DP_to_DVI-D_single_link_ACTIVE_Adapter

I'm getting it locally so I can return it easily if it doesn't work. Hopefully it won't come to that. I'll report back here when I find out so that this can be looked at by someone in the future going through what I just went through.

Good luck. I have a 1 card, 3 monitor, eyefinity setup via 1*DP and 2*DVI connectors. I had planned to do it this way so I made sure to get only monitors that had DP. Your situation is exactly what I wanted to avoid.

 

[frillybob]

Yep they are exactly what im talking about except you should be able to find much cheaper ones then that( i think i paid like $6 AUD each for mine).

I haven't tried 1xDP, 1x HDMI and 1x DVI, but that should be no different to what i have right now ( 2x DVI , 1x HDMI(to vga) ). If i had a VGA to DP around i would test for you but i dont, so i cant .

But i know for a fact that 1x DVI and 2x DPmini to VGA works 100% fine, which you can do (if i can read correctly ).


edit: just so you know all VGA to DP adapters are active, you just need to check its specs to make sure the DAC supports what you are trying to push.

edit2: cant spell edit.....lol

Well I got an adapter today it doesn't work. I got an active DVI to Mini DP adapter. The third monitor (That is plugged in via a non active hdmi to dp cable) is still "Disconnected". However I can make an eyefinity group now that is awful because it's rendering a screen that I can't use.

 

[KingFatty]

Can you restate what your specific connections (from the port of the video card to the port on the monitor) are when you unsuccessfully tried the Microcenter adapter?

I'm really confused why you mention your third monitor is plugged in via a non active hdmi to dp cable???

So one display is: DVI port of video card -> DVI cable -> DVI port of monitor
The second display is: mini DP port of video card -> microcenter adapter -> ????
The third display is: ??? of video card -> HDMI-DP cable -> ???? of monitor?