Active DVI > DP Adaptor - Testing A Solution For Flickering

[Delphium]

Testing to confirm a working solution for active adaptors.

For the past couple of weeks I have been running some tests with active DVI display port adaptors to try and get to the underlying problems that many users experience.

What I have discovered is that the adaptor appears to be be underpowered.
According to Bizlink the adaptors should work on as little as 400mA, although this does not seem to be the case when using any of the USB1/2/3.0 sockets which provide 500mA/500mA/900mA accordingly.
Taking readings with a multimeter the device was apprently drawing 152mA however when the Ameter was plugged in the adaptor failed to work with the PC so I am going to look for another multimeter to test again exactly what they are drawing, although indications would point to approximately 1Amp.

With the adaptor plugged into any one of the USB ports it fails to work and the PC does not detect that the device is even connected.
Upon powering the adaptor with an external power supply source such as a HTC charger which provides a USB socket with a power of 5V@1Amp the adaptor started to work.
Other USB chargers may also prove to help, such as those of the iPad which provide up to 1.2Amp.
Using a USB Y splitter cable the adaptor also works flicker free, this way you can use 2 USB1/2 ports to give a total of up to 5V@1Amp or 1.8Amp if using 2x USB3.0 sockets.

With the results above I am to beleive that the devices do not have enough power to run smoothly.
To further test this I have made some USB splitter cables that I am willing to post out to WSGF members in the UK free of charge whom are suffering from none working or flickering adaptors.
I have about 5 or 6 to give away in exchange for some feedback here on WSGF so just let me know in PM if you are interested. If these work for other people also then we can suggest this as a confirmed wokring solution to the issues that are experienced by many other people.

The average power supply and USB hubs are not enough to drive these devices, you must supply them with AT LEAST 5V@1Amp !!

With the following equipment I have a working solution that is stable without any flicker.

Card: ATI 5870 Eyefinity6 2GB (Trillian)
Card Bios: 012.020.000.002.036574
Driver Version: 10.6
GPU-Z Validation
Adaptor: Bizlink Active DP to Dual-link DVI also branded as Accell/Sapphire/Dell.
Adaptor Firmware: 034
Adaptor Model: BZL-KS10008(B)
Powered by: Dual USB or External USB power supply (HTC/iPad charger)
Power Supply Voltage: 5V
Power Supply Current: 1000mA


or
The above power supply pic is just an exmalpe (it is only rated at 400mA you must use at least 1000mA).

[thatdude90210]

Interesting. This was a solution for some people early on, using a separate ac to usb adapter. But others like myself didn't have the flickering problem until cat 10.4. I've been running cat 10.7 but with CCC from 10.3 to avoid the flickering/monitor going off problem.

I have an early Bizlink DP active adapter also.

I'm going to try this as I have an Apple AC to USB adapter from a first gen iphone lying around doing nothing. I'm going to use that and go back to CCC 10.7 and see if it helps.

[Delphium]

Cool, let us know your findings, hopefully it will resolve the flicker issues with the later drivers :)

[Dyre Straits]

My initial trial with Eyefinity involved the ACCELL Active DP -> DVI adapter. It would work to some extent but I would often lose signal or suffer a few flickers and eventual blank screen.

I tried using a separate USB power source to no avail. I would still lose signal and have to unplug the USB and then plug it back in to get a few minutes of screen again.

I won't be trying any other active adapter as I'm really very pleased with the performance of my Monster passive DP -> VGA adapter. No need for any USB power source at all and I really can't tell the difference as for Image Quality between the three screens.

[Delphium]

Dyre Straits, what what the seperate power source you tried, what was the voltage and current output rating? In most cases it would appear that it needs to be at LEAST 1amp.
What Model adaptor was it?
What firmware?
What drivers where you running?

EDIT:
When submitting feedback can members please provide the following details...

Card: ATI 5870 Eyefinity6 2GB (Trillian)
Card Bios: 012.020.000.002.036574
Driver Version: 10.6
Adaptor: Bizlink.
Adaptor Firmware: 034
Adaptor Model: BZL-KS10008(B)
Powered by: Dual USB or External USB power supply
External Power Supply Voltage: 5V
External Power Supply Current: 1000mA
Working flicker free: Yes

I still have 5 cables available to anyone in the UK whom wishes to test this solution.

[Paradigm Shifter]

Props for this, Delphium. Hope you find a fix. :)

[Dyre Straits]

The USB HUB I tried to use is the same as this one posted on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/GE-USB-2-0-7-Port-Hub-model-HO97916-/260649665622?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2

I had the AC Adapter plugged in to supply power and also ONLY had the DP adapter plugged into the HUB. I'll have to dig up the HUB again in order to provide any additional data on it. But, at the time, I recall that it DID meet the specifications provided by ACCELL.

I also received a BIOS update from XFX for my HD5770. That helped some but did not resolve the issue.

[Delphium]

The problem with USB hubs is that even though they can be powered a lot of them still only provide a max of 500mA to each USB port.
According to the manual of the hub you have (pdf) the power supply should provide 2.5Amps which is ample power IF each USB port on the hub could directly access that 2.5Amps which as I state it sadly does not appear to be doing.

[thatdude90210]

The iphone adapter didn't quite do it. I don't know how much amperage it puts out. The label on the thing doesn't state it. I'm not 100% certain but I think it helped, it didn't seem to lose picture as quickly or easily.

I'm going to try something else, maybe wire a 5v ac adapter of at least 1.0 amp to a usb female connector.

Funny thing, there was one at Newegg which was available yesterday that fits the bill perfectly. But maybe because of the topic, it's out of stock today.

[skipclarke]

If anyone outside the UK wants one of these plugs, I will reimburse Delphium for the shipping. Also, there are online stores that carry USB Y cables. Also, if a few people in the US want to find a Y cable and order it, I will send money via PayPal to reimburse you. Most I've found are about $15.

[skipclarke]

Someone else who was helped by more current.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=19299&p=197578#p197578

Edit: Maybe not.

[thatdude90210]

There is another way to get more current. I just wired my own molex to usb adapter. So far, after a couple of hours of testing, it's not having any issues.

Cut a USB extension cable and use the female end with a molex connector. It's pretty simple: red to red, black to black, and it's 5 volts. A little soldering, plus a couple of shrink tubes and it's done neatly. There are pictures out there such as these on this subject.

So basically my system is this:
Launch HD5870
bios: 012.019.000.006.036339
Cat 10.7
Bizlink dp to dvi
firmware .34
powered by molex to usb
working so far.

Edit:
Don't know what happened, but my system started having issues with displayport link problems, and the displayport monitor no longer was detected properly. So just to be on the safe side, I wired up a 2x usb male to 1 female connector. Now it's ok again.

[Delphium]

That is good news thatdude90210!!
I too had thought about using the molex method.. great minds eh ;)

I/WSGF appreciate your feedback on this as it shows some further evidence to confirm my suspicions.
I am glad it worked out for you! :)

We now just need a couple of other members whom have had issues to try the solutions here and confirm that it has solved any flickering for them also so as we can start suggesting this to be the recommended solution. :D

I still have a handfull of USB Y splitter cables left that I am willing to donate free of charge to any member new or old! In order to get a rounded assesment of the solution from this community.

So come on you WSG-Forumites lets get testing and confirm this solution, the more evidence we can muster up the better!
Thanks all :rockout

[HaYDeN]

Have you guys checked to see what sort of voltage drop you are getting on these lower power adapters? maybe the bigger issue is the output voltage sagging under load.. has anyone tried driving these troublesome adapters with say >5v? (say 5.5v)

The higher current supplies would likely have less voltage droop - altho it would depend on the quality of it anyway (regulated or not etc) - 5v rail on PSU is probably a great place to start for a garentee'd output voltage - also typically a bit higher than 5v normally, 5.2, 5.3v ... are the actaul displayport adapters themselves normally internally regulated?

prob get vdroop on the usb output too - i believe the USB spec only actaully calls for min 4.6xv at the device.

[Delphium]

I have used a multi-meter to measure the exact voltage from the USB sockets and the wall to usb power supplys with a custom built USB cable with multi-meter points, all of which where exactly 5.0V.

I dont think the adaptors them selfs house much in the way of any internal regulators, so using the PSU for the 5V might be a bit touch and go as thatdude90210 has experienced due to the fact that the voltage can fluctuate from the PSU although it always provides a good amount of current of cause.

Where as the USB sockets are highly regulated, on several PC's and a USB hub that I have tested all supplied exactly 5.0V.

EDIT: So I decided to test my pc at work, along with a ac to usb adaptor, the work PC was at 4.94V and the power adaptor came in at 5.28V (although the output sticker on it does say 5-12V) and my works dell monitor coming in at 5.25V
Guess I am lucky at home to a regulated steady 5.0V feed on both my PC's, the power supply adaptor and the usb hub.

[Leapo]

Eh, I've been down this road before... I'm using the Dell adapter, which is just a re-branded Bizlink. I didn't have flickering problems initially, it started occurring in all drivers after 10.4.

Supplying the adapter with a 5 amp source didn't help at all. I had to flash my HD5850 to a newer BIOS revision in order to fix it. With the newer BIOS, the adapter is once again working perfectly off of one of my motherboard's USB ports.

[thatdude90210]

I was already running a newer bios for my 5870 (with the higher gpu register 0x18 of 1.175 volts - original bios had that at 1.1625) and from 10.4 it was still blanking.

Funny thing since my molex to usb displayport link failure episode. I connect the bizlink's usb to another usb port off of a auxiliary bracket (like one seen here) so that I can do a neater job on the dual usb power cable. Problem is, it's working fine as is, just the single usb off of the bracket and not a single flicker or any blanking in either Eyefinity mode or 3 monitor extended mode in the last 2 days.

At this point, I'm going to leave it as is and not touch it unless the next Catalyst breaks it again.

[xDISTURBDx]

Hi i have already tried testing the Bizzlink adapter with USB and other AC to USB adapters. Normally they run at 500Ma but I have the Iphone adapter witch runs at 1A. Both the 500Ma and the 1A did not work.

My three monitors normally run at 60Hz, I am able to make them run at 75Hz at a lower resolution. When I do this my blinking issue seems to vanish. My Bizzlink adapter is plugged into a USB port on my pc. I don't have to use an adapter for the wall.

As far as I can see, your monitor on the DP, needs to be running at a higher refresh rate then 60Hz. I would say it needs to be 75Hz to use eyefinity. That is the conclusion from my test. I am going to be buying a monitor that runs at 75Hz to make sure this is true.

Hope this helps someone.

[Dyre Straits]

Since I have had about 3 months of nearly perfect Eyefinity performance, I'm really not that interested in testing other options. I don't see, for me, any real need to improve anything at this point. Maybe at one time I would have been interested in testing, but, those days are behind me now.

But, Cheers for those who are doing so and I hope for good success!

[GraphicNizor]

would you please enlight us how you fixed this? it miight work for more people