Widescreen Gaming Forum

I found Dave's post on the other thread; although what it was doing in the non-eyefinity Q&A thread is another question entirely.

I missed the quoted version because this thread'd gotten so long I was only reading posts by Dave/Sunspot as a noise filter.

I missed the quoted version because this thread'd gotten so long I was only reading posts by Dave/Sunspot as a noise filter.

Yep, this thread is a pain to follow because of it's length and content in the thread has changed perspective a bit over time based on external input and people actually having the products. It's a lot to read though, but can pretty much be summed up in a short paragraph.

It might be good for somone to summerize this post and lock it because it's grown 6 heads and tenticles by now and it's a PITA to figure out by reading though. The forum is much better served by new sub-topics that are targeted at specialized topics than using this thread as a catch-all topic.

A synopsized Q&A thread (possibly locked so only the mods could post on it) with all the information given out in this one would be nice; but only having one or two threads to look at instead of dozens would make things easier for people to keep track of.

If someone makes a post with it all in, I'll set it to Announcement and lock it. :)

But with new info all the time, could get unwieldy. Still, if you're game... 8)

If someone makes a post with it all in, I'll set it to Announcement and lock it. :)

After reading the whole thread a week ago (44 pages at the time) I made the following post at SimHQ. I have a feeling it will be useful.

VGA, DVI, and HDMI connections all require a timing signal generated external to the video signal. A monitor needs this timing signal to function properly.

The ATI 5870 only has two timing signal generators, even though is has four outputs: 2xDVI, 1xHDMI, and 1xDP (DisplayPort). Thus, in order to use three monitors with this GPU, one needs to utilize the DP connection.

There are actually two types of DP connections: DP and DP+. DP+ connections are capable of passing through signals for other connection types (such as DVI and VGA). DP-only connections cannot do this. If one were to connect an inexpensive passive DP-to-DVI adapter to a DP+ port and a DVI monitor, it would work properly. But if one tries the same thing with a DP-only port, it will not work. This is a why an "active" adapter is needed; it actively transcodes a DP signal into DVI (or some other connection standard). These adapters must be powered; most (all?) use a simple USB connection.

The six-output card that is coming soon will have two DP+ connections and four DP connections. That means that it could require up to four active adapters if one intends to connect six monitors all without DP inputs. Right now the best adapter available seems to be manufactured by BizLink (which is also being rebranded by Dell and Accell). It costs ~$100 + tax/shipping, which is clearly not cheap. The kicker is that this is an adapter that goes from DP to dual-link DVI, supporting resolutions up to 2560x1600. Such a device is necessary if one is planning on connecting 30" monitors. However, the vast majority of 3+ monitor users only need an adapter that moves from DP to single-link DVI. In theory this should be much cheaper, and ATI is looking to source such a device with a target price of $35.

The EyeFinity developer, SunSp*t, has said that the goal for EyeFinity was to inject the technology into an ATI line of GPUs as a value-added feature (meaning if it doesn't get used by a consumer then the product is still good) for no extra cost (which is why all of the 5000-series GPU's DP connections aren't DP+).


So far EyeFinity is looking to be not quite as promising as the initial outlook suggested. There is no Windows XP support. There is no multiple-orientation support (such as portrait-landscape-portrait for 30" 2560x1600 monitor surrounded by two 1200x1600 portrait monitors). Crossfire and EyeFinity do not (yet) work together. As advertised, bezel management features do not yet exist in any Windows OS. However, the development team seems committed to improving the product, and already it can largely do what the Matrox TripleHead2Go does.

It is likely that within the year EyeFinity will surpass all of the TripleHead2Go's capabilities and then some, plus it will find its way into many more homes because it is a 3+ monitor solution that is native to the GPU. Another nice thing is that this technology allows a user to buy monitors one at a time and increase screen real estate gradually without having to purchase any other hardware. Don't jump in without doing your research, however; if you do right now you are an early adopter and should expect some hassles.

Cool I posted that in the where to get adaptors thread, the more people see it the better, otherwise we get the same questions over and over. The only thing you forgot to mention is that when CF is enabled you will only be able to use the outputs on the primary card, not the secondary or tertiary cards.

5870six will have no clocks and all six DP ports will require 6 active adapters?

5870six will have no clocks and all six DP ports will require 6 active adapters?

For HDMI/DVI connections it will support 2 via passive adaptors, the remaining 4 via active adaptors.

5870six will have no clocks and all six DP ports will require 6 active adapters?

As I said previously:

The six-output card that is coming soon will have two DP+ connections and four DP connections. That means that it could require up to four active adapters if one intends to connect six monitors all without DP inputs.

The ATI 5870 only has two timing signal generators, even though is has four outputs: 2xDVI, 1xHDMI, and 1xDP (DisplayPort). Thus, in order to use three monitors with this GPU, one needs to utilize the DP connection.

that's true.

There are actually two types of DP connections: DP and DP+. DP+ connections are capable of passing through signals for other connection types (such as DVI and VGA). DP-only connections cannot do this. If one were to connect an inexpensive passive DP-to-DVI adapter to a DP+ port and a DVI monitor, it would work properly. But if one tries the same thing with a DP-only port, it will not work. This is a why an "active" adapter is needed; it actively transcodes a DP signal into DVI (or some other connection standard).

Well just one thing
The DP output on the current 5870 is actually perfectly capable of passing DVI through by itself. The limitation is on the number of VGA/DVI/HDMI screens not on the outputs themselves.
Hence I think the "This is why" I put in bold in your text could be misinterpreted.


Likewise, I also believe all ports of the 5870 Six will handle passive adapters as long as there is no more than two.

Thanks for the clarification, guys. Might have missed that in your previous replies.
Was hoping for doubled timers in six version, but now I will definitely have to get the active adapter. The only thing which make me feel good is that I have nothing to be sorry about getting x2 version :)

Hi all, esp to Dave and Sunspot. Just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for developing Eyeinfinity - it has the potential to solve my ultra-high resolution monitor issues that have locked me into WinXP as my OS for the last x years.

Couple of questions. I use a pair of IBM T221 ultra high resolution monitors - these were way ahead of their time in 2001 with a single panel resolution of 3840x2400 (9.2MP). I have two of these monitors actively running; right now each monitor takes two 1920x2400 dual-link inputs to fill the panel as a single dual link input does not have enough bandwidth to fill 3840x2400 @ 48Hz.
Obviously, Vista and Win7 broke spanning so without Eyefinity, I'd be stuck with two "virtual monitors" in a single panel/bezel. I'm hoping that Eyefinity will solve these problems.
I plan to buy 2x 57xx or 58xx series cards, with each card driving a T221-DG5 @ 3840x2400 @ 48Hz.

Here are my questions:
1. will an oddball resolution like 1900x2400 be supported by Eyeinfinity? This is specified in the EDID and is recognized by my current GTX260s.

2. Can I create two separate Eyefinity groups, or are we limited to a single group? For me, each group would be (2 x 1920 x 2400) portrait stripes. If so, can these separate groups work across cards, or do all monitors in a given group have to be on a single card? I don't really game on this machine so that's not my primary concern - photoshop is.

3. ICC color management profiles - can a different ICC profile be assigned to each group? I profile my monitors with a color calibrator and each T221 is different.

4. Any other problems running Eyefinity with two 57xx cards? I don't intend to Crossfire or game on this. I know Crossfire doesn't work with this.

Thanks so much - if anyone has who has 2 58xx or 57xx cards and 4 monitors could test whether it's possible to make 2 Eyefinity groups of 2 monitors each, that would be much appreciated!

Yeang Chng

I'm not a pioneer in widescreen gaming, I'm not a cutting edge technophile. I'm just an ordinary consumer and pc hobbyist. It's time for a new build and while searching for parts stumbled onto the 5xxx series. I didn't even know what Eyefinity was until I googled it.

I knew multi-screen computing was out there. I had a dual monitor setup a few years back. To be quite honest it was a pain and I've been quite content using my 32" CE LCD in lesser resolutions instead. Then I watched a video review of Eyefinity. The guy was running a 3x1 in landscape. It was alright, but then again the elongated views, the fish-eye effects, the bezel interference, the desktop real-estate put me off more than it excited me.

Still curious I looked around a bit more. I found people doing something that I never would have thought of. They were running a 3x1 in portrait mode. Instantly I fell in love. Now I'm researching because I'm about to make the single largest investment I've ever made in the pc foray. I'm about to drop 600+ on a gpu alone. Many here will shrug that off, after-all the top of the line gpu's have run well over 800 dollars for years now. Keep in mind however that the most expensive investment I've ever made was a 130 dollar 4870 until now. My entire build is going to run me almost 4 grand. That's 4x as much as my last build a year ago. Why? Eyefinity, it's that simple.

I understand the frustration that many in this forum must feel concerning the adoption of DP. Even as someone that knew going in they'd have to buy 3 new monitors it has been a real pain working with that limitation. I feel for those that already have multiple DVI LCD's lying around.

I did however want to present to ATI and the guys that are trying to convince their peers that this is a viable consumer technology that there are average pc users out there that are sold by it.

For the record ATI... your documentation sucks. I've been researching this for days now and as a hobbyist I'm still at a loss as to what exactly I'm getting into. That's ok though, the fine people here at widescreen gaming have been picking up the slack and keeping us regular joes in the loop. Do a better job at 1) Letting people know what Eyefinity is, and 2) Please, for the love of god, convince someone to provide a DP monitor shootout so that us common people can make informed decisions.

Nice post a4mula, we take the feedback on board. And to the point of telling people about Eyefinity we acknowledge that the documentation we have on AMD.com is limited at the moment, however in the new year we will be launching a new site dedicated to Eyefinity. On this site we'll cover more of the range of what Eyefinity entails, from the user experiences, to setup guides and updates as new software feature are brought in, and to the overall ecosystem support. Hopefully that should address more of the queries current, new and potential users may have.

One comment, though, I understand the realestate concerns over 3x1 landscape panels, but from a gaming perspective, give it some time and try it out. Not all games have scaling issues and we are working with developers so that they natively support the FOV's required for such configurations - the added peripheral vision can really add a new sense to gaming and make you more responsive in cases as well.

Anyway, however you chose to use it, I hope you enjoy! :)

I have 3x22" CRT's that I use because I need the colour accuracy for work. I must admit that I like black levels, 0 response time, and the fact that all resolutions are 'native' too.

At the moment I have to use softth for triple monitor gaming but it has it's limitations so I was excited to learn about eyefinity but hoped that a 3xdvi card might be in the works at some stage. I then heard about the DP->VGA adapters and thought I was in business.

I ordered a (very hard to find in the UK) 5870 and was about to order an adapter when I realised that, since they transcode from digital to analogue, they would be bandwidth limited. Upon further checking I confirmed that they are restricted to 60hz for higher resolutions which, whilst fine for digital displays, would be a disaster for a CRT one.

I had to cancel the entire order and visions of me enjoying gaming on 3 displays with lots of eye-candy this Christmas vanished into a puff of smoke. I do appreciate ATI looking at the area of multi-monitor gaming but I can't help but feel the implementation of 2xdvi + 1xDP has severely restricted it's applicability and hope that ATI will see the market opportunity that exists for a 3xdvi card in the future.

To call dvi 'old-tech' is a little disingenuous if you ask me. Most people would think of 'old-tech' as something a few die-hards were clinging onto rather than something 99% of people are using. Cost is an issue, you say, but to get eyefinity people are effectively being asked to pay $399 for a 5850 or $499 for a 5870 with DP adapters. Saying "we have a triple monitor card, come and get it" doesn't sound quite as good when you realise that the 3rd monitor output is only compatible with monitors that 99% of people do not have.

I really like the sound of eyefinity and wish you all the luck in the world with it but can't help wishing, like many people I suspect, that you'd had the courage of your convictions and gone the whole hog with 3xdvi.

1x DVI (middle)
2x VGA (side ones)

20$ adapter from http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428&cs_id=1042801&p_id=5135&seq=1&format=4#

or if they dont ship it to you, buy more expensive at http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Display-Port-Male-to-VGA-Female-Adapter-with-built-in-chip.html?setCurrencyId=5

I bought it from Circuit Assembly because MonoPrice didnt ship to my country :(
Reviews from MonoPrice say it does work with EyeFinity

Another dissapointed user that 4960x1600 isn't supported.

Ati - There are so many users with 20|30|20 setup !! It is one of the most immersive, effective setups in terms of cost and immersion factor.

The internet is FILLED with people with this setup who are forced to use softth.

The first to implement portrait/landscape mix will get my, and a whole bunch of other gamers cash. The requirement of having all 3 monitors of the same resolution is just too demanding - if the requirements were a bit more flexible, then say hello to lots of profit.

From reading the Ati rep's response, Ati really aren't interested in Portrait/Landscape/Portrait (mix resolution). Heres hoping Nvidia come to the game!

In saying all this, eyefinity is a great new technology !! It's just a shame about the limitations.

PLP please please please. Even those who don't have PLP want to see PLP support. It is a great res and a great screen size. 3 30 inch monitors is kind overwhelming in price and desk realestate but PLP 20x30x20 is just perfect. If AMD had PLP I'd get a high end AMD card as my next purchase for sure!

Another dissapointed user that 4960x1600 isn't supported.

Ati - There are so many users with 20|30|20 setup !! It is one of the most immersive, effective setups in terms of cost and immersion factor.

The internet is FILLED with people with this setup who are forced to use softth.

The first to implement portrait/landscape mix will get my, and a whole bunch of other gamers cash. The requirement of having all 3 monitors of the same resolution is just too demanding - if the requirements were a bit more flexible, then say hello to lots of profit.

From reading the Ati rep's response, Ati really aren't interested in Portrait/Landscape/Portrait (mix resolution). Heres hoping Nvidia come to the game!

In saying all this, eyefinity is a great new technology !! It's just a shame about the limitations.

I agree!