can i run 4x 30" displays on a 6950/70?

[Midnight]

i want to run 2x mini dp and 2x dvi at 2560 x 1600 to drive 4x dell U3011s.


i know asus has a 4x dp 6950/70 but id like to avoid it if possible as its 3 pci slots wide.

my plan is to buy a reference 6950 unlock and run all 4 monitors if possible.

later i would possibly add in a second card for xfire.

basically i want to make sure i can drive 4 monitors at 2560 x 1600

thanks.

 

[Midnight]

dbl post

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The second DVI port on the 6950/70 is only single link, so it can't output at 2560x1600.

The only way you'll be able to drive four of those displays at 2560x1600 with a single card is by using an MST hub, as described here. But I'm not sure if they are available.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

ASUS has two 6950s that can do it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Id=1&name=ASUS

one is triple slot with 2GB of ram

and the other is double with 1GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121437

are you planning on gaming on this setup somehow?

if not then the double slot 6950 would be all you need

 

[gorobei]

assuming he's crosfiring for gaming, the 1gb version is less desirable.

the factory reference version comes with dvi-d, dvi-single, hdmi 1.4, and 2 x dp1.2. hdmi 1.4 should be able to handle 25x16. So using the dvi,hdmi,dp,dp outs should get the job done. Unfortunately no one ever tests this stuff in reviews so it is a 50/50 bet.

if you are buying 4 x 3011 then why are you cheaping out on the card? flashing is risky and only nets single digit % gains.

 

[Arkaign]

Hah, yeah, Dell 3011s are something like $1,300/ea, so that's $5,200 in monitors alone. With that kind of scratch available, just grab a pair of 6970s from the jump and do it right.

 

[Midnight]

thanks for the info guys.

i think i may just get the triple slot 6970 from asus and call it a day.

im a trader so i need the desktop space but id also like to game on a single screen.

the single 6970 should cover it right?

thanks.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

thanks for the info guys.

i think i may just get the triple slot 6970 from asus and call it a day.

im a trader so i need the desktop space but id also like to game on a single screen.

the single 6970 should cover it right?

thanks.

yup, if you're gaming on just one screen then a single 6970 would be an excellent fit

 

[Midnight]

i think im changing gears after some research.

going with 6870 x2 for less than the 6970.

better performance and cheaper.

thanks all.

 

[3DVagabond]

i think im changing gears after some research.

going with 6870 x2 for less than the 6970.

better performance and cheaper.

thanks all.

I think you're going to want 2gig of RAM for gaming at 2560*1600.

Unless you can find 2 of these, and they aren't price prohibitive.
http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_features.asp?id=332

 

[bunnyfubbles]

How much gaming are you going to be doing? a single triple slot 6970 or even a 6950 will provide better results for your working environment, less power consumption, heat production and especially less noise (ASUS's DCII is one of the best air coolers you can get on a video card).

 

[betasub]

im a trader so i need the desktop space but id also like to game on a single screen.

bunnyfubbles makes a good point above. A single high-end card (6970) should handle the gaming side of things. If you can't find a card with the right combination of outputs, just add in a compatible low-end card (e.g. 5450/6450) to drive extra non-gaming monitors with minimal extra power draw/heat/noise.

 

[kamikazekyle]

Although I'm late to the party, Matrox and Nvidia put out workstation level graphics cards designed specifically for running many monitors at once that consume very little electricty and produce minimal heat. I have a Quadro NVS 450 that'll drive four 30" displays at native resoultions with each display being independent, and it does all that for a single slot passively cooled PCI-E card that doesn't even need auxillary power. I ran that + a GeForce card for a long time to give me a 5 display setup where the GeForce card ran a single display for gaming, and the Quadro ran everything else. Though, if you're going for an eyefinity setup or the like, then such a config won't work.

I've dropped the setup now that I've decided to downsize to a single monitor and a Crossfire configuration, but it was great for running a large multi-monitor setup if you didn't want eyefinity or similar.

 

[Midnight]

ive used the workstation cards before but theyre expensive.

id rather run a gaming card or two in xfire they can drive the 30s and theyre cheaper.

i like the 6 mini dp card from power cooler but i cant find it anywhere. it may not be shipping yet.

even tho the 6870s are 1 gb the benchmarks at anandtech in 2560 x 1200 still show it crushing a single 6970.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/292?vs=301

 

[Emulex]

yeah that 6 port works great on the mac pro too! btw nvidia quaddro low end line is designed for 4 port (last model was the ole NVS 440) - hard to find now but you can find pulls cheap if you search hard. very weak but drives 4 dual link's all day long for 2d/texties.

 

[Midnight]

emulex where did you find that 6 port mini dp card for sale?

the 6870?

thanks.

 

[gorobei]

the one upside of all mini-dp connected to the 3011 is that you may have the ability to run correct idle clocks instead of manually underclocking. All dp gets around tmds sync issues.