Widescreen Gaming Forum

Greeting WSGF. I've been running eyefinity for the past couple of years and have had my current setup of a 6950 with an XFX mini-displayport to DVI adapter since Jan 2011. For the past couple of months the adapter will cut out sometimes causing the eyefinity mode to disable which will crash most games. This problem occurs almost exclusively in games but can happen in the desktop too. I'm currently running the 12.2 beta drivers but also had this problem with 11.10 stable (not tried and others). There is never any error message and eyefinity mode is sometimes re-enabled by itsself or needs to be done manually.

Relevant specs:
- HD6950 2gb
- Asus M5A99X EVO (990X)
- 3x Samsung SM2342BW at 6144x1152
- XFX active mini-displayport to DVI adapter
- Windows 7 64bit, Typically running MSE, Steam, Fraps, MSI Afterburner, Zonealarm, Xfire and Hydravision
- OCZ 600w PSU (few years old)

I've checked temps and they seem fine, the adapter will still drop out at ~60c. System is otherwise stable and I have a feeling this is a software problem. And input is greatly appreciated.

I have a similar issue, unfortunately I don't have a resolution.
My Radeon 6970 regularly seems to drop the connection to the monitors. The screens (3x Dell U2711) all go black for about 5 seconds. Then they come back... sometimes. No driver error or Window error. Only the hardware connection and disconnection sound.
Also, when they do come back:

1. sometimes they have been reconfigured in a different pattern


2. sometimes one or more of the monitors show no signal and the driver wont detect it


3. sometimes one of the monitors will only display at 640*480 resolution and the driver can't adjust it up to the native resolution of 2560*1440.

It seems random as to when it happens and random as to the end result, it could be any one or a combination of the above three symptoms. It also happens on boot sometimes, e.g. right now, one of monitors has lost the connection, even after I rebooted and played with the cables it has made no difference.

If I play with the cables I can hear the Windows hardware device connection and disconnection sound, but I can never get the monitor to go back on.

I have the monitors connected via:

• 2* mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapters and 2* DisplayPort cables


• 1* dual link DVI cable from the port closest to the PCB (next to the DisplayPort ports).

I have tried different mini DisplayPort adapter cables and different DisplayPort cables; this didn't make any difference.

One of the DisplayPort adapters is the original that came with the Radeon, the other was purchased aftermarket; its a Accell B112B-001B UltraAV Mini DisplayPort/DisplayPort(female) Adapter. I have even tried another adapter from the local PC store, but this didn't make any difference either.

This has been the case through various versions of AMD Catalyst drivers. I'm currently using Catalyst v12.4.

PC Config:

• Win7 Ultimate x64


• Intel Core i7-950


• Gigabyte X58A-UD5


• Powercolor Radeon HD6970


• 4* OCZ Vertex 3 (RAID0)


• Seasonic Platinum 1000W SS-1000XP


• 3* Dell U2711 monitors

Anyone got any ideas? I was going to warranty my card and buy a GTX680 (being the first nVidia card to support three monitors), but that might not fix the problem if it's an issue with the adapters.

Interestingly, I found these on the Accell website:

Q: When using an Accell DisplayPort adapter, my computer is unable to detect my third monitor or my third monitor doesn't display an image. What should I do?

A: There are several reasons why your monitor is not getting a signal. We recommend the following- Disconnect the first two monitors, leaving the third monitor connected to the Accell DisplayPort adapter. Re-starting your PC should enable the monitor to begin working. Once the monitor is working, re-connect the rest of the monitors. Go to "Display" properties in Windows and confirm all monitors are properly detected. Make sure all monitors are shown with the correct brand name and model number.

Q: My Accell DisplayPort adapter was working great until recently when I began experiencing a flashing or blank screen. What should I do?

A: Please try to recall if you have made any recent video card driver updates. Usually when adapter fails to respond, it's often caused by an unsuccessful driver installation or incompatible driver version. We recommend users to restore their video card driver back to the factory default setting. If a new video card driver is desired, please re-install the new driver again by completely uninstall the older version. Rewriting the driver without uninstalling the previous version may cause problems when using our adapter. Please note that the performance of the DisplayPort adapter is subject to capabilities of the computer and graphics solution.

Q: Where can I locate a version of the AMD Catalyst Control Center driver that is compatible with the Accell DisplayPort adapter?

A: Many Accell DisplayPort adapters are AMD Eyefinity Multi-Display validated. They are able to meet all driver versions up to date. However, if for any reason the current driver version does not work with our adapter, we suggest to install driver version 11.6 or earlier. Please visit the link here to go to AMD support site for a list of all previous Catalyst display drivers for Windows. Please make sure you completely remove the current driver version (uninstall) before you install another driver version.

Will give it a try, although I'm dubious it will have a permanent affect. I'm not sure about reverting to catalyst 11.6 either.

I had a similar issue where the the Dell monitors connected to the Mini DP ports on a 7970 would drop out and then get stuck at 640x480.
The trick to fixing was to remove the cable at the monitor and plug it back in. Very annoying.
After upgrading the entire computer it did it less.
This was the troubleshooting thread:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=359851

Later on in a fit of Nerd Rage I ripped out the fckn 7970 and sold it on ebay. It crashed just one too many times in Skyrim and was also displaying a ton of artifacts in Skyrim and other games.
I don't care if it was driver or hardware, it had to go.
I am now waiting for 4GB GTX 670s to be released and will get a pair.