Installing 3 Monitors

[dnap420]

Just a simple question about installing 3 monitors on my HD 5850 Card.

1, my set up is a 23inch screen (middle) that can connect to either (HMDI,VGA, DVI) , my other 2 monitors connect to VGA.

2. What im having trouble is will all 3 still work if i connect my HMDI monitor to my HMDI port on the gpu and use a (active) DisplayPort to VGA adapter for the second(LEFT) monitor and connect the 3rd (RIGHT)monitor using a simple (passive) DVI to VGA adapter that came with the ATI card.

 

[KingFatty]

Yes, that should work I believe. I guess if you happen to have a 5850 that somehow only had a digital DVI port, then it wouldn't output an analog signal and the VGA adapter wouldn't fit. But, seeing how they included the adapter, I'm sure your 5850 supports analog on at least one DVI port.

My 5850 treats the displayport as the monitor #1. There are some features that look at the monitor number, so after you play around with it, you may find you'd want to switch the displays around to other ports (e.g., put your best monitor on the displayport).

But here is a question for you. Aren't you concerned that getting a displayport to VGA adapter is a little bit limiting? Why not get the displayport to DVI adapter, and then also use a DVI-VGA adapter for the VGA monitor? I can see that would also have downsides by using 2 adapters instead of one, but then again, maybe the displayport-VGA adapter is cheaper than the equivalent DVI version. Although, I'm not sure if the DVI version of the displayport adapater outputs an analog signal so maybe it won't even work with a cheap DVI-VGA adapter so nevermind.

Wait wait wait, no, I just noticed you said a *PASSIVE* adapter for the VGA. I don't think that will work, but maybe if you have a low resolution VGA.

So before you get a good answer, can you clarify the resolutions of all three monitors?

Otherwise, get the ~$30 single-link active displayport-DVI adapter and use that on your main/big monitor. Then, get two cheapie DVI-VGA adapters and use those on both of your DVI ports.

So you would have displayport-adapter-23" display; DVI-adapter-VGA display; and DVI-adapter-VGA. I'm assuming your 5850 has dual DVI ports that support analog.

 

[dnap420]

my main HMDI is set at 1080p while my other 2 VGA monitors dont go as high as 1080p but all 3 monitors have a common resolution of 1600x900 resolution. all 3 work but only can get 2 working at a time because i dont have a displayport adapter. but my main is connected via hmdi while my other 2 side monitors are VGA (one passive DVI to VGA) , but just for shats and ggiggles i tried hooking up my bros monitor which is either VGA or DVI using the dvi connector instead an only 2worked at a time, im just having issues of which displayport adapter to buy, should i connect my side to the dvi port using a passive adapters and use a displayport to hmdi for my centre like u explained. i just dont want to go spend money on something and it not work. but if need comes i have no issue upgrading from vga monitors to dvi monitors. when in CCC i see all 3 monitors but have a option to swap displays with another, it says 2 of my monitos are digital while the other is anologe display and thats the one that never turns on, unless swapped with another monitor. but all vgs work if there just connected, its just the 3rd monitor never comes on because i lack the display adapter.

i have no clue what sett up i should go with (displayadapter to HMDI for the centre, and using a Passive dvi to vga for both the side monitors)


bwt for my gpu, it has 2dvi ports near the bottom and has a hmdi port at the top and a displayport right beside that, when i opened the box it has a white dvi-to-vga adapter that came with it, and thats what i used at first to to run my vga monitor. then i purchased a hmdi monitor and been using that instead of the dvi-to-vga set up. then a few weeks ago go my hands on another vga monitor so now i have 3 monitors (currently using hmdi) and 2spare vga monitors and a dvi-to-vga adapter and my 2bottom dvi ports are now empty including my displayport. so i belive that my dvi ports support anologe single seeing that my vga works on either dvi port if an adapter is currently installed.

so im assuming (maybe wrong) but if i connect my vga monitors using 2 dvi-to-vga connected to my bottom dvi ports (those ports would run my left and right screens) and connecting my main centre to my displayport (using a displayport-to-hmdi) like u said, that set up should would if im not mistaken.