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Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 17:36
by neosin
Ok so i sold my triplehead + gtx260 a week ago and now i find out that you need some active dp converter for it to work with 3 screens?

Thing is, i wanted to go 6 screen and 6 screens would mean

5870 2gb + 6 active dp to dvi converters LOL!

just the converters alone would cost $500 bucks?

ATI r scums!

they should really have told people it needs an overpriced active converter for this dumb thing to work!

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 17:43
by Butch_N
The information stating that this type connection is a must has been around for at least 2 weeks, maybe more.

You can't blame AMD/ATI because you didn't know it.

Re: Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 17:46
by BHawthorne
5870 2gb + 6 active dp to dvi converters LOL!


A small correction, it'll require 2 passive adapters and 4 active adapters. I agree at the moment the adapter pricing is hard to justify. I'm hoping some vendor comes out with a cheap quantity solution.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 18:01
by Butch_N
Also, if you check out Kyle's review he says that AMD stated they are working at getting a certified connection. I don't know, but it may be wise to wait until it comes out.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 18:54
by BHawthorne
Neosin, you're essentially biting the hand that feeds you as this is the most flexible surround-screen gaming capability to hit market yet. Noone is expecting 6 display surround gaming to be remotely affordable, so instead of buying 6 24" just get 6 22" and the 4 adapters and it'll cost the same...

I don't really get the hostility. I do think AMD needs to be very up front about the adapters, because these will be key to the success of EyeFinity.

Re: Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 20:06
by Magic Man
Ok so i sold my triplehead + gtx260 a week ago and now i find out that you need some active dp converter for it to work with 3 screens?


It's hardly ATI/AMD's fault that you jumped so quick without getting the full facts.



Thing is, i wanted to go 6 screen and 6 screens would mean


So do I, which is why I'm waiting for the 6 card. Why sell your existing stuff so early when the card isn't yet available let alone it's features and capabilities fully known and tested?


5870 2gb + 6 active dp to dvi converters LOL!

just the converters alone would cost $500 bucks?


Exactly, so why jump to sell your stuff so quick before you got the full details?


ATI r scums!

And with that you sound like a spoilt kid who sold his stuff to buy the latest but got burned by his own ignorance.
they should really have told people it needs an overpriced active converter for this dumb thing to work!

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 20:27
by CY:G
Actually 2 passive connectors at 30 each = 60
1 active connector = 100

And if you have a 5870 right now, all you need is one active adapter @ $100, yes it sucks but its not $500 as you put it.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 20:37
by whismerhill
Actually 2 passive connectors at 30 each = 60
1 active connector = 100

And if you have a 5870 right now, all you need is one active adapter @ $100, yes it sucks but its not $500 as you put it.

read again he wants 6 screens not 3 :wink:

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 20:59
by CY:G
[quote]Actually 2 passive connectors at 30 each = 60
1 active connector = 100

And if you have a 5870 right now, all you need is one active adapter @ $100, yes it sucks but its not $500 as you put it.

read again he wants 6 screens not 3 :wink:

Why did he sell all his equipment then, the Eyefinity6 cards dont even have a release date yet...

Anyway, the investments for 6 screens would be:

2 passive connectors at 30 each = $60
4 active connector = $400

Ouch!!!, the guy at HardOCP said they are coming out with their own adapters, hopefully way cheaper.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 21:34
by Abram
It's a rip-off because you didn't properly research it first?

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 21:38
by X-Warrior
Erm, aren't there any DP compatible screens out by now? Since neosin is probably going to need some of those, it might be the more efficient option.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 21:38
by packerfan
1. Research is good.
2. There is the chance that they will do DP+ in the 6 porter which would make passive adapters work (once again I am forgetting the specifics on this and it may require re engineering of some of the card but 1 single link dvi or 1 hdmi per DP seems possible with the TDMS so it comes down to the other converter I think it has.
3. someone may provide a bulk solution or the converters may come down in price.

Edit : XWarriors point, dell has a 20 22 and 23 at 1600x900 1680x1050 and 1080p respectively and at 199 219 and 249 not on sale or (199 209 and 189 on sale)

You already have 3 screens, pick the screen closest in dimension/res to your three existing screens, or if they are nice like 250 dollar used screens, sell them for 750ish and buy 6 of the 23"ers for 1134 total, if your th2go was 200 bucks when you sold it you have to pay 184 to upgrade really not a bad cost, or keep your 3 screens and buy 3 new ones unless you like uniformity.

In their demos they used all display port screens with mini displayport to displayport adapters, rumors are not trustworthy admittedly the concept of hdmi and dvi using the same internal components and thus not working together was sorta odd but you should research first. I am not sure they ever said you could use just active adapters though the use old screens and upgrade concept is admittedly a bit confusing.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 30 Sep 2009, 22:46
by jayhigh
I SAY WAIT UNTIL Q1 2010..

see what the nvidia gt300 solution will do....
let the HD5000 smoke clear ...

drivers improve, etc..

DAYMN IT, why cant WINDOWS 7 allow horizontal and vertical SPAN.....

XP rules...

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 01:04
by whismerhill

2. There is the chance that they will do DP+ in the 6 porter which would make passive adapters work (once again I am forgetting the specifics on this and it may require re engineering of some of the card but 1 single link dvi or 1 hdmi per DP seems possible with the TDMS so it comes down to the other converter I think it has.

it seems dave baumann said that DP+ functionnality is only up to 2 DP ports
(he said that each DVI needs a separate clock source unlike DP which can accommodate a shared clock source. so 2 clock sources , 2 DVI only.)

However that's what he is saying now. Who knows what the future holds...

source: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/node/11099 (search for Dave Baumann)

Re: Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 02:24
by geniv2
Ok so i sold my triplehead + gtx260 a week ago and now i find out that you need some active dp converter for it to work with 3 screens?

Thing is, i wanted to go 6 screen and 6 screens would mean

5870 2gb + 6 active dp to dvi converters LOL!

just the converters alone would cost $500 bucks?

ATI r scums!

they should really have told people it needs an overpriced active converter for this dumb thing to work!


Welcome to the what we call "early adopters", I did the same thing as you.
sold my old videocard + TH2g.

high price, Problems and bugs are part of the terroritiry. But you are one of the only kid in the block with such a new and cool toy. When you get it running it's drool inducing.


anyway you need to get a $100 DP adapter to get triplehead working again.
I really don't care about 6x or 24x eyefinity gaming.

Got triplehead eyefinity working now and very happy (would be even happier if there's bezel management).

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 03:26
by dinmaster
this is probably a big reason why the 2gb eyefinity version of the card isn't out yet.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 03:45
by BHawthorne
this is probably a big reason why the 2gb eyefinity version of the card isn't out yet.


Doubtful, as far as I can tell ATI didn't even consider the adapter cost to be an issue until customers began complaining. :wink:

I think it's not out yet as they prioritized having enough regular 5870 on the market to do a non-paper launch. Only today 5850 just now beginning to show up too.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 04:22
by bandito
The 2 DP+ port on the 6edition may only output upto SL-DVI with passive adapters. If you require DL-DVI bandwidth, you'll may require active adapters too... So if the TS intends to drive 6 30" with DL-DVI input only, he may require 6 active adapters.

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 04:55
by BHawthorne
The 2 DP+ port on the 6edition may only output upto SL-DVI with passive adapters. If you require DL-DVI bandwidth, you'll may require active adapters too... So if the TS intends to drive 6 30" with DL-DVI input only, he may require 6 active adapters.


Ok, who won the lottery? I can't take anyone serious that is talking about 6x 30". :lol:

Eyefinity A CON and Ripoff!

Posted: 01 Oct 2009, 05:15
by Kinesis
I cant blame the op for his frustration.
The unveiling/launch did come across as a breakthrough in multi monitor gaming as far as accessibility and performance and caught the eye of people that for whatever reason never considered or looked at the existing options(th2go and soft th)
It came across as (and even admittedly to people on this board well versed in multi monitor gaming) something that would promote multi monitor gaming awareness( a good thing) and something that would be as easy as upgrading your video card,away went the messy wires,the extra hardware(th2go),the (previous) resolution limitations.
When it finally released it seems that it was a little more(than a little) hype/sizzle.
so we're(almost)back where we started....Hoping...
they can square away
the limitations( required DP is a big one)through software,and future hardware releases/revisions.

I hope they can restore some of the initial excitement we felt when they had the unveiling.