Displayport-compatible screens needed for Eyefinity?

Dave Baumann · Post by **Dave Baumann** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:11

MSI posted what is supposed to be their 5870 - 8.66RC7 for XP.

Heh. I recognise that nick! :)

XP isn't supported with Eyefinity unfortunatly. Vista, Windows 7 or, yes, Linux are your support options.

DaFox · Post by **DaFox** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:16

Note - Bizlink is the first DP adapter that we are qualifying.

Do you know where we could purchase the Bizlink? I would love to crack one open to see if we could buy the chips and build a cheap DIY version of it.

Darthdingo · Post by **Darthdingo** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:36

[quote]So do we have any confirmation that the Apple mini-dp to dvi is the problem adapter? I'm hoping the Dell/BizLink which most of WSGF bought is ok. Besides it's the one shown in the demo day pics.

As far as I'm aware Kyle is using the Apple adapter - we have validated that this works on the Eyefinity6 Edition, though I don't know if we used a Dell 3007 or 3008. Currently we are suspecting the DP to miniDP cable may be an issue.

Note - Bizlink is the first DP adapter that we are qualifying. Unfortunatly I don't know if the revision on the Dell site is qualified or not.

So even the Dell adapter might not work ? Only the Bizlink is 100% compatible ? Do you have a link to where that Bizlink can be purchased ? Thank you

Post by **BHawthorne** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:40

[quote][quote]So do we have any confirmation that the Apple mini-dp to dvi is the problem adapter? I'm hoping the Dell/BizLink which most of WSGF bought is ok. Besides it's the one shown in the demo day pics.

As far as I'm aware Kyle is using the Apple adapter - we have validated that this works on the Eyefinity6 Edition, though I don't know if we used a Dell 3007 or 3008. Currently we are suspecting the DP to miniDP cable may be an issue.

Note - Bizlink is the first DP adapter that we are qualifying. Unfortunatly I don't know if the revision on the Dell site is qualified or not.

So even the Dell adapter might not work ? Only the Bizlink is 100% compatible ? Do you have a link to where that Bizlink can be purchased ? Thank you

I was under the impression that BizLink = Dell adapter.

Darthdingo · Post by **Darthdingo** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:42

[quote][quote][quote]So do we have any confirmation that the Apple mini-dp to dvi is the problem adapter? I'm hoping the Dell/BizLink which most of WSGF bought is ok. Besides it's the one shown in the demo day pics.

As far as I'm aware Kyle is using the Apple adapter - we have validated that this works on the Eyefinity6 Edition, though I don't know if we used a Dell 3007 or 3008. Currently we are suspecting the DP to miniDP cable may be an issue.

Note - Bizlink is the first DP adapter that we are qualifying. Unfortunatly I don't know if the revision on the Dell site is qualified or not.

So even the Dell adapter might not work ? Only the Bizlink is 100% compatible ? Do you have a link to where that Bizlink can be purchased ? Thank you

I was under the impression that BizLink = Dell adapter.

I would say 99% yes. I just looked on the Dell website picture of their adapter and the Blizlink one, and they look exactly the same, even the shape of the box and cable color and connectors look exactly the same. The Dell adapter should work fine I am guessing.

Darthdingo · Post by **Darthdingo** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:45

Post by **Mach1.9pants** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:48

You cannot get them from Dell here nor are there any bizlink resellers :(

EDIT: Not UK DELL either (my in-laws could send them on)

EDIT2: DELL US won't ship anywhere apart from the US

:evil:

Dave Baumann · Post by **Dave Baumann** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:53

I hope Dave have the pulling power to pass on some suggestion that I'm sure alot of the user here would like:

I've already made the suggestion to the Software Product Managers that as more people get to grips with what we offer we should tka esome direct feedback as to prioritisation of features / updates.

1) PLEASE get Bezel managment working.. don't have to be that fancy "virtual higher resolution then crop image" method like I read about. I'm happy with the way Matrox did it. I don't see that being too hard to program compared to the original intended method.

Bezel management is the next priority feature to be addressed. I don't have a timeline for you, but was recently in a meeting with the software developers to give feedback o some of the stuff they had in the works and also the GUI for it.

2) Its great that the 5870 can do triple 1920x1200. But we want resolution like triple 1680x1050/1440x900/1366x768. Because some games can't run 5760x1200 resolution. it just won't startup. The 5870 while is fast can't run some games at high fps at 5760x1200. If we can get say 3x1440x900 (4320x900) working on the 5870 we can still get Triplehead and fast FPS in games

There are some technical reasons why not all potential resolutions are not supported, but there are others from the maximum res that are. Though feedback on the priority of other resolutions might be useful.

geniv2 · Post by **geniv2** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:54

I really hope the Dell adapter work..

as of now I"m about $100 out of my pocket for my upgrade.

Post by **Mach1.9pants** » 28 Sep 2009, 03:56

I really hope the Dell adapter work..

as of now I"m about $100 out of my pocket for my upgrade.

At least you can actually source an adaptor :(

Darthdingo · Post by **Darthdingo** » 28 Sep 2009, 04:11

Dave B. and answer to this would be greatly appreciated please.

I currently have the Apple 30" Display with a res of 2560x1600. Want to add two more monitors, for triple screen gaming and take advantage of Eyefinty on my 5870.

I think the only affordable, but also nice would be the Dell 2007FP 20" monitors of 1600x1200res, but rotate them in Portrait mode, so would be 1200x1600res. All three monitors combined would then be 4960x1600res, all three having the exact same vertical height resolution of 1600res.

Can Eyefinity allow that setup to work ? Portrait + Landscape + Portrait ? 20" + 30" + 20" displays.

Dave Baumann · Post by **Dave Baumann** » 28 Sep 2009, 04:15

I did some searching for displayport to hdmi adapters (or dvi) and I found some at Startech that did not say which they were and another one that claimed that it was active but was only $20-$30. However, in the photo that was posted about the triplehead that shows the displayport to dvi and then dvi to hdmi, that adapter has a USB add-in that seems like it is for power. Most of the adapters that I've seen online, including the one for such a low price did not appear to have any additional power via usb or power brick.

I'm not the authority on all active adapters, but all the ones I've seen need the additional power - remember that they carry both DisplayPort reciever chips and dual-link TMDS for DVI output.

Additional Question that I haven't been able to answer. Can 6 displays be run off of 2 cards today(for gaming)? Or are you limited to 3 displays even with 2 cards, or can you use 6 for windows, but only 3 in gaming mode. If I am correct, both crossfire and sli limit you to 2 monitors between 2 cards.

At the moment panels that are going into an Eyefinity "Display Group" can only be driven off of the primary card.

Dave Baumann · Post by **Dave Baumann** » 28 Sep 2009, 04:20

- Display Port being a MUST to triple screen game ( how many Gamers have a monitor with DP, not too many, and only the newer Dell's and HP have that connection, which are rather pricey displays, so all the good priced monitors or us with old monitors are left out ? )

As I've said, DisplayPort is the enabler to this technology, its not feasible to offer it as a "no extra cost" value add feature without it.

- SuperSampling AA being blurry, and a major performance hit

SSAA is only blurry is a few cases, however we are looking at what is going on there. The performance hit for SSAA is normal - it has 4x the rendering to perform for every pixel.

Again, this is another optional feature and certainly not something to delay a release for.

Post by **Mach1.9pants** » 28 Sep 2009, 04:24

...At the moment panels that are going into an Eyefinity "Display Group" can only be driven off of the primary card.

So are you looking at enabling multi card (non CF) set ups in the future? I have a non-CF board but would love to run my 3 24" off 2 (or three!) 5870s....

Dave Baumann · Post by **Dave Baumann** » 28 Sep 2009, 04:24

Can Eyefinity allow that setup to work ? Portrait + Landscape + Portrait ? 20" + 30" + 20" displays.

No, that support isn't there. All panels in a "Display Group" must be the same orientation.

Darthdingo · Post by **Darthdingo** » 28 Sep 2009, 04:34

[quote]Can Eyefinity allow that setup to work ? Portrait + Landscape + Portrait ? 20" + 30" + 20" displays.

No, that support isn't there. All panels in a "Display Group" must be the same orientation.

That is a little disappointing, if all three displays in a row have the same vertical height resolution, surprised it can't work, oh well. Thank you for answering that.

Well for me having this nice Apple 30" Display, I have no idea what monitors I can add to it to have some Eyefinity fun for triple screen gaming ? Guess I am out of luck ? Other than 2 more Apple 30", but no thanks that would cost way too much, and be a total beast of a resolution to game on anyways.

YouTube · Post by **ViciousXUSMC** » 28 Sep 2009, 05:17

Dave, when you get a chance here is an easy question or if anybody else knows feel free to answer.

With the 4 ports on the current 4870 I heard you can not use all 4 ports at the same time as apparently one of the DVI ports shares the connection with the HDMI port.

I am going to have 3x 24" in a display group for eyefinity and I do have a native display port monitor on the way (Dell 2408WFP) but I also have my 37" HDTV that I want to keep connected for movies and stuff, can I connect this 4th display and just toggle it on/off between one of the monitors or do I have to use a 2nd video card in my PC just for my TV?

I really do not want to use a 2nd card, my case is cramped, its more power/heat, and also it would drop my 16x PCI-E slot to 8x speed since its a P45 mobo.

Idealy I would have 3 monitor sets I can pick on the fly.

1 x 37" HDTV for movies and some single screen games.

1 x (3x24") for all triple wide games

3 x 24" for all other computer tasks (not keeping eyefinity on at all times because it would make programs maximize to all 3 monitors I think)

So is it possible to toggle like this?

bandito · Post by **bandito** » 28 Sep 2009, 06:15

All of these boards can drive two "legacy" display outputs, the additional displays have to be DisplayPort. The Eyefinity6 Edition board will be DP+, but again only up to 2 outputs - more than two outputs will still require DP.

Is it safe to assume a Eyefinity6 ed. with 6 mini-DPs will only support 2 SL-DVI/HDMI bandwidth (and not DL-DVI).

Will there be Eyefinity6 editions with 2 full DL-DVI ports in addition with 6 DP (mini-DP ports)? If not, then are the present 5870 boards are the only ones (5870) with DL-DVI?

Any DP 1.2 spec support on these or future GCs?

Post by **Mach1.9pants** » 28 Sep 2009, 06:35

...At the moment panels that are going into an Eyefinity "Display Group" can only be driven off of the primary card.

So are you looking at enabling multi card (non CF) set ups in the future? I have a non-CF board but would love to run my 3 24" off 2 (or three!) 5870s....

Omarko · Post by **Omarko** » 28 Sep 2009, 09:46

yes, thats what I would like to know as well.

Will Eyefinity definitely support CF in the future ?

and finally, can we get a confirmation if Eyefinity works with 3 x DVI LCDs when using two of the 5870 cards ?

thanks

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