How many displays does 7950 support at once?

Geosurface

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2012
5,776
4
0
I've searched around but what I'm seeing isn't all that clear. Newegg and MSI's sites don't specifically state it.

I need it to support 3 for my planned setup... anyone have one who is using 3?
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
14,377
19
81
I'm thinking at least 3 so long as they are 1080p or lower resolution, but don't quote me on that as I'm not 100% sure. If one of the ports is dual link DVI that port can run higher resolutions.
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
What resolution are your monitors and what is their connection (DVI, Displayport, HDMI)?

All reference based HD7950 cards can drive at least 4x monitors:

MiniDisplayPort/DisplayPort 1.2 = 4096X2160 maximum
HDMI = 4096X2160 maximum
Dual-Link DVI = 2560x1600 maximum

Most HD7950s come with 2x MiniDP + HDMI + DL-DVI.

But there is a caveat. For 3-way Eyefinity (or more than 3 displays), at least 1 of those monitors must be connected to a Displayport/mini Displayport on the 7950*. If your monitor does not have a native display port connection, you need a $28 passive Displayport-to-DVI cable for the 3rd 1920x1200 monitor (or lower) and an Active Displayport-to-DVI cable for higher resolution than 1920x1200.

*The only HD7000 cards that bypass this Displayport requirement are called FLEX series, such as the Sapphire FLEX HD 7950 card. With this 7950 card you can drive 3x1200P monitors using DVI+DVI+HDMI without needing to use a DisplayPort for the 3rd monitor.

If your monitors have native displayports, then a 7950 can drive at least 4x1600P monitors (DVI+HDMI+miniDPx2). Some HD7950 cards already come with 1 miniDP-to-DP adapter in the box, like the Sapphire HD7950 FLEX, as most displayport monitors come with a full-sized DP connect. If you want to use 2 displayports for 2 of your monitors and they don't have miniDP connection, you can grab a 2nd miniDP-to-DP adapter for $5.

However, since the FLEX is $310+ shipping, your other option could be to spend $344 for a GTX670 MSI PE (after $20 MIR and coupon code: GREENFRIDAY). This 670 card will give you near GTX680 performance for not much more $ but more importantly, it uses about 30W less power at idle when driving multiple displays. It's up to you if you care about the 30W of extra power consumption 7950 will incur or if the game bundle is more valuable to you with the 7950. A GTX670 can drive 3x 2560x1600 monitors using 2x DL-DVI + HDMI.

OK so in summary:

- HD7950 FLEX will drive at least 3x 1200P with no adapters (DL-DVI + DVI + HDMI) (but DL-DVI and HDMI will support even higher than 1200P, single-link DVI would be limited to 1920x1200)

HD7000 FLEX series allows all these possible combinations for 3 monitors:
FleX_work_2.jpg


- Other HD7950s will need one $28 passive DP-to-DVI adapter for one of the 1920x1200 (or below) monitors if none of your monitors has a displayport connector

FleX_work.jpg



- GTX670 will drive 3x 1600P with no adapters (DL-DVIx2 + HDMI)
- HD7950 will drive at least 4x 1600P if at least 2 of your monitors have a DisplayPort connector (DL-DVI + HDMI + miniDPx2), and you need a $5 miniDP-to-DP adapter for the 2nd 1600P monitor.
- GTX670 will use about 30W less power in idle with 3 monitors

Hope I covered a lot of the possibilities!
 
Last edited:

Geosurface

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2012
5,776
4
0
Thank you VERY much RussianSensation, that was a very informative post. I really appreciate it.

The setup I intend to have is:

Main middle monitor: Dell 27" running at 1900x1200 (via DVI)
To the right of that: Dell 23" running at 1900x1080 (via DVI to HDMI cable using HDMI to mini displayport adapter)
Several feet to the left across the rooms: Samsung 40" LED TV (via 25" HDMI cable)

I already ordered an MSI 7950 from Newegg back on the 20th, it arrived and was running really loud, and so I have just sent it back for a replacement today. It did come with the game bundle, which I've already redeemed the 3 free games from. 2 are active on Steam, 1 I await the release of (Far Cry 3) to redeem an already obtained code at Ubisoft's page.

I had considered trying to convert the replacement to a refund and get a 670 instead, but I believe I saw on Newegg that the policy is, the $169 would be deducted from the refund I'd get, which would then leave me on the hook for quite a bit of additional money to get the 670 instead.

This option should remain open to me, the package is on it's way now and UPS store today told me it'd be Friday before it arrived on the other coast at Newegg.

So, I remain open to switching to the 670. My current card is a 570 form EVGA which I have been VERY happy with. I think I allowed some smooth talkers here to talk me into AMD :) I did have a Radeon mobility 5000 something on my last PC which was an Asus gaming laptop. I recall it giving me some issues... but then, I've had issues with both video card manufacturers.

I'm certainly open to further thoughts of yours on this, and maybe you could show me the best 670 link you can find at newegg if you're willing?

Or any updated comments now that you know the particulars of my situation.

Thanks again!
 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
126
Geosurface, if you get a refund for the MSI 7950, are you sure Newegg will not charge you for the value of those 3 games ($170)? Make sure to call them and clarify. I bet they can issue you a replacement MSI TF3 7950 and just withhold the coupon. However, I can't see how Newegg will refund you $300 after you have redeemed a $170 coupon. From all my dealings with them, I am pretty sure if you do not return the game coupon, they will charge you the FULL price for it. What this means is instead of getting $300 refund for the 7950, you'll get $300 - $170 coupon value = $130. You should call so it's not a surprise.

Secondly, perhaps the MSI TF3 7950 ran too loud because of some auto fan settings in CCC. You could have tried installing MSI Afterburner and setting up a custom fan profile. This generally helps with many GPUs that have aggressive fan profiles out of the factory. Also, what are the ambient room temperatures and your PC case model? It's possible your GPU wasn't getting sufficient airflow if you have a case with poor airflow such as Antec P182/183 or similar (i.e., no front intake fans and generally obstructed airflow).

Just to clarify, does that 23 inch Dell have a miniDP/DP connector? I don't recall GTX570 having a mini-DP adapter so in trying to read what you said I am reading it like this:

GTX570 DVI --> --> HDMI --> HDMI-to-miniDP of the monitor? Correct? If the monitor has a miniDP/DP, then a HD7950 card will work for you. If you have any 1 monitor with a miniDisplayPort or a DisplayPort connector, you have nothing to worry about.

If you want the quietest HD7950, go for this PowerColor PCS+ version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131458

If you can get the $170 refunded, the quietest GTX670 is the Asus Direct CUII or Gigabyte Windforce 670. Otherwise, I think the MSI GTX670 Power Edition is a good 670 card too.

If you can't get $170 refunded, I am guessing you'll have to exchange for another MSI TF3 7950. If they let you exchange to a different 7950, you could try quieter 7950s such as PowerColor PCS+ I linked, or Sapphire Dual-X 7950 or Gigabyte Windforce 3x are all good.
 

Geosurface

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2012
5,776
4
0
You misheard me, I think. I expressed near certainty that they WOULD charge me out of the refund for the games.
 

TCM327

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2021
3
0
6
What resolution are your monitors and what is their connection (DVI, Displayport, HDMI)?

All reference based HD7950 cards can drive at least 4x monitors:

MiniDisplayPort/DisplayPort 1.2 = 4096X2160 maximum
HDMI = 4096X2160 maximum
Dual-Link DVI = 2560x1600 maximum

Most HD7950s come with 2x MiniDP + HDMI + DL-DVI.

But there is a caveat. For 3-way Eyefinity (or more than 3 displays), at least 1 of those monitors must be connected to a Displayport/mini Displayport on the 7950*. If your monitor does not have a native display port connection, you need a $28 passive Displayport-to-DVI cable for the 3rd 1920x1200 monitor (or lower) and an Active Displayport-to-DVI cable for higher resolution than 1920x1200.

*The only HD7000 cards that bypass this Displayport requirement are called FLEX series, such as the Sapphire FLEX HD 7950 card. With this 7950 card you can drive 3x1200P monitors using DVI+DVI+HDMI without needing to use a DisplayPort for the 3rd monitor.

If your monitors have native displayports, then a 7950 can drive at least 4x1600P monitors (DVI+HDMI+miniDPx2). Some HD7950 cards already come with 1 miniDP-to-DP adapter in the box, like the Sapphire HD7950 FLEX, as most displayport monitors come with a full-sized DP connect. If you want to use 2 displayports for 2 of your monitors and they don't have miniDP connection, you can grab a 2nd miniDP-to-DP adapter for $5.

However, since the FLEX is $310+ shipping, your other option could be to spend $344 for a GTX670 MSI PE (after $20 MIR and coupon code: GREENFRIDAY). This 670 card will give you near GTX680 performance for not much more $ but more importantly, it uses about 30W less power at idle when driving multiple displays. It's up to you if you care about the 30W of extra power consumption 7950 will incur or if the game bundle is more valuable to you with the 7950. A GTX670 can drive 3x 2560x1600 monitors using 2x DL-DVI + HDMI.

OK so in summary:

- HD7950 FLEX will drive at least 3x 1200P with no adapters (DL-DVI + DVI + HDMI) (but DL-DVI and HDMI will support even higher than 1200P, single-link DVI would be limited to 1920x1200)

HD7000 FLEX series allows all these possible combinations for 3 monitors:
FleX_work_2.jpg


- Other HD7950s will need one $28 passive DP-to-DVI adapter for one of the 1920x1200 (or below) monitors if none of your monitors has a displayport connector

FleX_work.jpg



- GTX670 will drive 3x 1600P with no adapters (DL-DVIx2 + HDMI)
- HD7950 will drive at least 4x 1600P if at least 2 of your monitors have a DisplayPort connector (DL-DVI + HDMI + miniDPx2), and you need a $5 miniDP-to-DP adapter for the 2nd 1600P monitor.
- GTX670 will use about 30W less power in idle with 3 monitors

Hope I covered a lot of the possibilities!

You seem to know a lot about this card and your detailed info was very informative. I just recently bought a Flashed PC 7950 card for my Mid 2012 MacPro. Long story but I'm still in OS 10.10.5 for Audio production and composition reasons. I wanted to be able to run 3 monitors, specifically a bigger flat screen with HDMI for my film scoring gigs. I'm sure this card will allow this configuration but when I installed the card I started experiencing screen freezing with Safari and Chrome. I changed a setting in Chrome I think it was a flag composite setting and Chrome seems to be behaving better, Safari still freezes for a bit and then catches up. Additionally, sometime both monitors that I'm running at the moment go black and they never some back so I have to perform a hard reboot. Any insight you may have regarding this GPU mod I've done would be be great. Thanks so much.
 

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jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
14,510
5,159
136
You seem to know a lot about this card and your detailed info was very informative. I just recently bought a Flashed PC 7950 card for my Mid 2012 MacPro. Long story but I'm still in OS 10.10.5 for Audio production and composition reasons. I wanted to be able to run 3 monitors, specifically a bigger flat screen with HDMI for my film scoring gigs. I'm sure this card will allow this configuration but when I installed the card I started experiencing screen freezing with Safari and Chrome. I changed a setting in Chrome I think it was a flag composite setting and Chrome seems to be behaving better, Safari still freezes for a bit and then catches up. Additionally, sometime both monitors that I'm running at the moment go black and they never some back so I have to perform a hard reboot. Any insight you may have regarding this GPU mod I've done would be be great. Thanks so much.

Some necro.

I think you would be better off buying a new Mac than trying to fight this. You're talking about an almost 10 year old GPU, it's probably gone bad.
 

TCM327

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2021
3
0
6
Some necro.

I think you would be better off buying a new Mac than trying to fight this. You're talking about an almost 10 year old GPU, it's probably gone bad.

So I'm guessing your answer is, the card shouldn't be doing this given the OS I'm running and most likely due to the age of the GPU it's probably tired or done. Just want to make sure before I return it. Thanks for your insight, much appreciated.
 

TCM327

Junior Member
Sep 28, 2021
3
0
6
So I'm guessing your answer is, the card shouldn't be doing this given the OS I'm running and most likely due to the age of the GPU it's probably tired or done. Just want to make sure before I return it. Thanks for your insight, much appreciated.

Just ran this if this confirms the card is tired or bad, thanks again.
 

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