Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hi,

For the last year i have been using my ATI HD5850 with 3 24" HDMI Samsung monitors (1xHDMI-HDMI, 1xHDMI-DVI, 1xHDMI-DPadaptor-DP) with no problems. Today I played payday for a couple of hours, then quit. About an hour later I loaded the game again and my left monitor turned off. I first thought the cable had been knocked or fallen out. i checked it and nothing. I quit to the desktop and i had a message saying something like "the dp connection has a problem or no signal". I unplugged everything, cleaned it and re-plugged, but still nothing.

I am guessing that my £50 adaptor has died and im screwed until I buy a new one or (and this leads me to my question) a new graphics card. Im looking at the HD7950-DC2T-3GD5-V2 DirectCU II TOP as it seems good from the reviews ive seen and more importantly it seems to have 2xDVI, 1xHDMI and 1xDP. My question is: If i buy this card, will I still need an active adaptor of any kind if I plan to use the 2 DVI and 1 HDMI (i.e not use the DP port). i like the idea of a new card (although the wallet doesnt), but dont like the idea of a new card AND another £50 adaptor.

If any one could answer this, It would be awesome and I could get back to my gaming....in a few days...

Thanks

Sorry to disappoint: Yup, you still need an active adapter.
You can only connect two non-DP screens (vga/dvi/hdmi in any combination of two) to your videocard. Anything above that needs to use DP (native DP or with the active adapter).

Of course if you have a screen that supports DP, use the two dvi ports and connect the third one from DP to DP. THEN it will work fine.

Bottom line is the first two screens can be connected however you want, third (and greater) screen needs to use DP, if the screen doesnt support DP you need an active adapter.

By the way, i'd try connecting the screen that doesnt work now without the other two screens first to see if it works. If it doesnt work that way, it's your screen that's broken, not the adapter. Worth checking out before shelling out the money on a pricy adapter to replace one that might not even be broken

Nips, unfortunately the replacement card you picked would still require another active adaptor.
There are some GPU's out there that can do 3 screens without an adaptor, such as the nvidia GTX6xx series an the "FLEX" edition of some AMD cards by Saphire?

You say the adaptor was £50, they should be about £20 such as this one... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-44000- ... 943&sr=8-3 (note this is standard size DP, not mini-dp) should do it for you so long as you not displaying above 1920x1200@60hz.

As Oraijon points out, you can test if the adaptor is broken by unplugging the other 2 monitors and see if you can get a picture on it, also if possible, try an alternative DP port if the card has another one.

Thanks for all your help. I bought a Accell Ultra AV adaptor for about £12 the day after my one died. The next day after ordering the new adaptor, which was last friday, I turned my pc on and i suddenly had three screens back! so now I have a spare adaptor. oh well, guess its good for a back up!

Why do the card still need adaptors? I would have thought that technology would have moved on to the point where the cards can handle 3+ monitors without the need for adaptors anymore.

I went ahead and bought the Asus HD7950 direct CU II Top card and it should be here in a few days, but cant use it until 25th December under the wifes orders! Cant wait to test it out.

Thanks once again and happy christmas to you all!

Just to answer my own question and help anyone who might be in a similar situation. I opened the HD7950 and fired it up (to test it worked for the feedback to the seller) and its a beaut. Battlefield 3, everything Ultra AAx8 ASx16, no problems. Shogun 2, everything maxed, no problems. Will install GTA 4 tonight and test that as, for my system atleast, its always been hugely system draining.

If you are in two minds over this card, trust its worth it!

Merry Christmas to you all!