AMD Radeon R9 270 - can this drive 4 monitors?

[luger]

I've got an AMD Radeon R9 270 in my Windows 7 system, and it has 4 ports - 1 DisplayPort, 1 HDMI, 2 DVI. It can drive 3 monitors in the following configs:

• DP and both DVI
• HDMI, DP and 1 DVI

It cannot drive 3 monitors in this config:

• HDMI and both DVI

I've tried using the Windows 7 Screen Resolution tool and the AMD Catalyst Control Center with similar results. And since it cannot drive 3 monitors on HDMI and both DVI ports simultaneously, it cannot drive 4 monitors.

Is this by design? I would have thought that 4 ports on the card meant the card was designed to drive 4 monitors.

 

[zinfamous]

I've got an AMD Radeon R9 270 in my Windows 7 system, and it has 4 ports - 1 DisplayPort, 1 HDMI, 2 DVI. It can drive 3 monitors in the following configs:

• DP and both DVI
• HDMI, DP and 1 DVI

It cannot drive 3 monitors in this config:

• HDMI and both DVI

I've tried using the Windows 7 Screen Resolution tool and the AMD Catalyst Control Center with similar results. And since it cannot drive 3 monitors on HDMI and both DVI ports simultaneously, it cannot drive 4 monitors.

Is this by design? I would have thought that 4 ports on the card meant the card was designed to drive 4 monitors.

No, they are there simply for compatibility. I would think that DVI is really just there to throw a bone to those still clinging to a DVI display and don't want to bother with the various HDCP handshake issues that can happen with a random selection of DVI/HDMI adapters. Midrange and up for the last ~2? generations of cards, I don't think DVI is very common anymore.

 

[luger]

No, they are there simply for compatibility. I would think that DVI is really just there to throw a bone to those still clinging to a DVI display and don't want to bother with the various HDCP handshake issues that can happen with a random selection of DVI/HDMI adapters. Midrange and up for the last ~2? generations of cards, I don't think DVI is very common anymore.

Are all the graphics card makers going with both HDMI and DP or is DP also on the way out?

 

[zinfamous]

Are all the graphics card makers going with both HDMI and DP or is DP also on the way out?

I think if anything, DP is the better standard than HDMI (technology, anyway). HDMI has too many compatibility issues, but it does see more universal adoption across formats (TV displays, consoles, handheld and other devices, etc).

I think DP is superior because, as I understand it, has more "employable bandwidth" for information (less generations and need for upgrades between industry standards--say resolution and response time, HDR, etc), but that fact rarely wins--see: Betamax vs VHS, et al.

But I will honestly say that I am also talking out of my rear end, here.....though DP 1.2 (which has been available for well more than a year now), has had the bandwidth advantage over the latest HDMI, 2.1 or whatever (slowly-adopted) format, across platforms, to handle 4k 100hz, HDR, and such. ...*I THINK*