DrumnBassBBoy's Official 1st Computer Build Thread

[DrumnBassBBoy]

You absolutely, 100%, no way around it, NEED an ACTIVE displayport adapter. I **** you not. There is no seeing what you can do when you get it, it just is what it is. There's no magic touch for some people to make it work while everyone else simply can not.

Widescreen Gaming Forum • View topic - Displayport-to-VGA Adapter = Successful 3 Monitor Eyefinity

Non-Active DP, but passive...
Long thread, so I wouldn't bother reading to much of it...
There are ways around not having an ADP, but none that for sure work and always work. Which is why I said I would fiddle around a bit to see what works and doesn't work...

 

[Apokalipse]

The only other solution is to use a monitor that uses displayport natively

With both DVI ports used, the HDMI port cannot be used at all. Only displayport can be.

Using a passive displayport to DVI adapter, the video card itself will have to utilize/convert it to DVI mode, which is impossible if both the other DVI ports are being used. A passive displayport to DVI adapter can only be used if at least one of the DVI ports are not being used.

Basically, as long as the two DVI ports are being used, the displayport connection needs to be working in displayport mode (at least as far as the video card sees it).

An active adapter will convert the displayport signal to DVI by itself (so it's not the video card that's doing it), and as far as the video card is concerned, it's working in displayport mode.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Widescreen Gaming Forum • View topic - Displayport-to-VGA Adapter = Successful 3 Monitor Eyefinity

Non-Active DP, but passive...
Long thread, so I wouldn't bother reading to much of it...
There are ways around not having an ADP, but none that for sure work and always work. Which is why I said I would fiddle around a bit to see what works and doesn't work...

A passive Displayport->VGA can work however that is the only time a passive adapter will work at all.

 

[james.wired]

^^ Above posts are right, and even when it CAN happen, most of the time it does not. I read somewhere on WSGF that people were getting away with passive to VGA by turning the resolution down to a low low low brutal resolution. But what's the point in that?

Your best bet is to either cancel your 3rd monitor and be happy with a two screen setup (which I really think you will be, that is a huge amount of screen real estate), or go ahead and order the adapter. I suggest the one from dell.com (Bizzlink?), that's the one I used and I never ran into issues with it.

 

[DrumnBassBBoy]

3rd Monitor Came In Today, Am A Bit Frustrated With ATi At This Point...
http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/extend-desktop-across-3-displays-asus-5850-a-231525/

 

[Apokalipse]

The reason you need displayport is a technical issue. At least they are trying to give something extra.

 

[DrumnBassBBoy]

Nvidia cards that have 3 outs, can you simply just hook up 3 monitors to them and they work?

 

[Apokalipse]

Nvidia cards are currently limited to two monitors each

 

[DrumnBassBBoy]

If you run SLI, or CrossFire, are you able just to hook up monitors and they work? I was told you wouldn't be able to do it in CF, but is it possible in SLI?

 

[Apokalipse]

You can in crossfire with newer drivers.
In SLI, No. You would need to have the cards independent with a maximum of two monitors each.