3 monitor setup help (non-gaming)

[luger]

Equipment:
I have a Dell XPS 8300 Core i5 desktop with Intel integrated graphics and an AMD Radeon HD 6450 graphics card.

The motherboard has HDMI and VGA output ports. The Radeon card has DVI, HDMI and VGA output ports. According to the AMD site, the card can also support DisplayPort (not sure how since there isn't a physical port - I guess it uses the DVI or HDMI output port?):

Cutting-edge integrated display support

• DisplayPort 1.2
  • Max resolution: 2560x1600 per display
  • Multi-Stream Transport
  • 21.6 Gbps bandwidth
  • High bit-rate audio
• HDMI 1.4a with Stereoscopic 3D Frame Packing Format, Deep Color, xvYCC wide gamut support, and high bit-rate audio
  • Max resolution: 1920x1200
• Dual-link DVI with HDCP
  • Max resolution: 2560x1600
• VGA
  • Max resolution: 2048x1536

The power supply is Dell model #AC460AD-00, which looks to be a 460W Max power supply.

The 2 monitors I have so far:

1. Dell Ultrasharp: 21.5", 1920x1080 native resolution, IPS. Ports: DVI-D, DisplayPort, VGA

2. Acer: 23", 1920x1080 native resolution. Ports: DVI-D, VGA.

Goal:
Run 3 monitors for home office use (not gaming) in extended display mode - i.e., I can drag and place windows in any of the 3 screens.

Questions:
1. Can this video card drive 3 displays?

2. How would I wire it - meaning which ports on the video card and, if necessary, motherboard, would I use?

3. What inputs should the 3rd monitor (not yet purchased) have? I guess getting a 1920x1080 native resolution monitor would make life easier both on the video card and on my eyes?

4. If this card cannot get the job done, is there a card you'd recommend and would that card need a more powerful power supply than the one I l already have?

Thanks!

 

[thiko]

Your card HD 6450 should support three displays. You will need a DVI-D adapter (active) for the third display. >> Sapphire 44000-02-40R Active Display Port DVI Cable"There are a couple of good youtube demo's to show you how to do this.

This is part of the spec for your card.

AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology1

• Native support for up to 3 simultaneous displays
  • Up to 4 displays supported with DisplayPort 1.2 Multi-Stream Transport
• Independent resolutions, refresh rates, color controls, and video overlays
• Display grouping
  • Combine multiple displays to behave like a single large display.

Good luck

 

[luger]

Your card HD 6450 should support three displays. You will need a DVI-D adapter (active) for the third display. >> Sapphire 44000-02-40R Active Display Port DVI Cable"There are a couple of good youtube demo's to show you how to do this.

This is part of the spec for your card.

AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology1

• Native support for up to 3 simultaneous displays
  • Up to 4 displays supported with DisplayPort 1.2 Multi-Stream Transport
• Independent resolutions, refresh rates, color controls, and video overlays
• Display grouping
  • Combine multiple displays to behave like a single large display.

Good luck

I did a little more research on this and it looks like the 6450 chip has Eyefinity support, but the card cannot be used in an Eyefinity setup because it does not have a DisplayPort port.

1. Can I use connect 3 monitors in a non-Eyefinity setup using this card and the integrated Intel graphics?

2. If the answer to #1 is 'No', can I add a PCIe x1 card and use that along with the Radeon card (in the PCIe x16 slot) to drive 3 monitors?

3. Assuming the answer to #2 is 'Yes', what would be the difference between that setup and an Eyefinity setup for a non-gamer? Couldn't the setup in #2 display an extended desktop that I could drag and place windows across?

4. If there is a non-gaming benefit to Eyefinity (and whatever Nvidia's equivalent is), can you recommend inexpensive AMD or Nvidia PCIe x16 cards that will support 3 monitors?

Thanks.

 

[luger]

1. Can I use connect 3 monitors in a non-Eyefinity setup using this card and the integrated Intel graphics?

Well, I was able to connect the two monitors - one to the onboard graphics (via VGA) and the second to the Radeon video card (via DVI).

To do this, I had to set Multi Monitor Support in the BIOS to Auto.

So . . . I guess I can connect a second monitor (via HDMI or VGA) to the Radeon card and all three monitors will be detected. Sounds about right?

 

[KingFatty]

Yes it would seem you could go up to 4 monitors without having to use displayport adapter, using up to 2 displays per video card.

 

[luger]

Yes it would seem you could go up to 4 monitors without having to use displayport adapter, using up to 2 displays per video card.

Oooh. I didn't realize the onboard graphics would drive two monitors.

Heh. That makes me want to drill holes in my wall to mount a 4th monitor. :hmm:

But I'll be happy with 3 screens in a 3x1 configuration for the time being.

So is there any benefit to an Eyefinity 3x1 setup over what I could manage with my current video card and onboard graphics, aside from gaming?

 

[luger]

I picked up a third monitor this morning and got it working with onboard graphics and the Radeon 6450.

Wiring:
Monitor 1: VGA to onboard graphics
Monitor 2: DVI-D to Radeon card
Monitor 3: HDMI to Radeon card (also works HDMI to onboard graphics)

So I suppose this means I could connect a fourth monitor via HDMI to the onboard graphics.

Also, assuming I stick with 3 monitors for now, is there any benefit to connecting Monitor 1 to onboard graphics via HDMI rather than VGA? If there's a benefit to this, I'll go pick up another HDMI cable.

 

[mfenn]

So is there any benefit to an Eyefinity 3x1 setup over what I could manage with my current video card and onboard graphics, aside from gaming?

Eyefinity just displays a single large screen to Windows, fooling it into believing that there's only one (giant) monitor. It's of limited utility for non-gaming purposes.

Also, assuming I stick with 3 monitors for now, is there any benefit to connecting Monitor 1 to onboard graphics via HDMI rather than VGA? If there's a benefit to this, I'll go pick up another HDMI cable.

VGA will be slightly blurry at 1080p whereas HDMI won't. That being said, that is only really noticeable when you are using identical (or very similar) monitors. You're using wildly different displays, so there are probably enough variations already such that you won't really notice one more difference.

 

[luger]

Eyefinity just displays a single large screen to Windows, fooling it into believing that there's only one (giant) monitor. It's of limited utility for non-gaming purposes.

OK, I'll stick with what I have and save money in the process. Especially since I should be able to go up to 4 monitors with my current hardware.

VGA will be slightly blurry at 1080p whereas HDMI won't. That being said, that is only really noticeable when you are using identical (or very similar) monitors. You're using wildly different displays, so there are probably enough variations already such that you won't really notice one more difference.

Thanks for the explanation.