Recomend a card for 3 Moniter Eyefinity Setup

[jay23]

Got a MB with 2 PCI-E16 (Gen2 (1x16, 1x8)). I do not play games so this PC will be used primarily for software development. Thus the need for larger screen. I am looking at 3 or 4 monitors.

I am new to ATI and Eyefinity, what are my options. Should I buy 2 cards ? If so which one ?

Should I go with NVIDA ? all I want is 3 - 4 monitor support and I use Visual studio 2010.

Thanks in advance

Jay

 

[Zargon]

you can do 4 monitors with a 69xx ATI card.

3 with any eyefinity capable card. you can do 3 for 100 bucks with ATI easy.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ice=&MaxPrice=

 

[jay23]

you can do 4 monitors with a 69xx ATI card.

3 with any eyefinity capable card. you can do 3 for 100 bucks with ATI easy.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ice=&MaxPrice=

Help an idiot like me. I guess I need to buy 2 cards or does one card support 4 DVI-I

Jay

 

[cusideabelincoln]

What's the target resolution of the monitors?

 

[Mistwalker]

Like cusideabelincoln asks, the resolution of your displays does make a difference.

Assuming you're not running three 30" monsters at 2560x1600, something like this might be all you need for $100. The card supports three DVI monitors "out of the box" and four monitors if one is DisplayPort or you use an adapter.

 

[gorobei]

you need to tell us what monitors you have or are going to buy new monitors.

If you currently have 4 dvi only monitors, then getting 2 cheap cards may be cheaper. If you can buy some native displayport monitors then a single card can be simpler. If you want to do multiple 2560 x 1x00 then an eyefinity card with all displayport outputs is better.

 

[deimos3428]

Eyefinity is primarily for gaming across three or more monitors connected to a single card. It requires a lot of GPU processing power and isn't an ideal fit for what you're doing.

You don't need a ton of horsepower, so I'd just grab a couple light-duty cards like 5570s or so, and run two monitors each off the HDMI/DVI outputs. You might go a little higher that that, but you don't need massive GPU performance to do desktop work even at 1920x1080.

While some cards come with more than two outputs, you can't use more than two without at least one displayport adapter/monitor, which are more expensive than buying a second low-end card.

NB: You're buying two cards for the additional outputs, not performance. Don't put them in Crossfire, as that mode disables the outputs on the secondary card.

 

[Skurge]

Eyefinity is primarily for gaming across three or more monitors connected to a single card. It requires a lot of GPU processing power and isn't an ideal fit for what you're doing.

You don't need a ton of horsepower, so I'd just grab a couple light-duty cards like 5570s or so, and run two monitors each off the HDMI/DVI outputs. You might go a little higher that that, but you don't need massive GPU performance to do desktop work even at 1920x1080.

While some cards come with more than two outputs, you can't use more than two without at least one displayport adapter/monitor, which are more expensive than buying a second low-end card.

NB: You're buying two cards for the additional outputs, not performance. Don't put them in Crossfire, as that mode disables the outputs on the secondary card.

Those 2 cards would cost more than the single 5670 linked above, It can do 3x DVI monitors.

 

[jay23]

I am looking at 4 1920*1080 or 3 1920 * 1200. Not playing games, I use Visual Studio which is based on WPF, which is DirectX 9 or up.

Side Note : 3 years ago when i bought my 1920*1200, the 1920*1080 was priced at same ball park, but now you can get 1920*1080 for $99 but 1920*1200 are still 300 - 400 (like Dell 24 i have)...why

 

[Chapbass]

This is because no one really makes 1920x1200 anymore. They moved to 1920x1080 because thats what the HT guys use.

 

[Skurge]

I am looking at 4 1920*1080 or 3 1920 * 1200. Not playing games, I use Visual Studio which is based on WPF, which is DirectX 9 or up.

Side Note : 3 years ago when i bought my 1920*1200, the 1920*1080 was priced at same ball park, but now you can get 1920*1080 for $99 but 1920*1200 are still 300 - 400 (like Dell 24 i have)...why

If you haven't bought the monitors yet then you could get one monitor with display port and you could run 3 or 4 monitors off one card.

 

[deimos3428]

Those 2 cards would cost more than the single 5670 linked above, It can do 3x DVI monitors.

Yes it can, but one of the outputs would require the use of a DP to DVI adapter, and those adapters aren't cheap. You can't do DVI/DVI/HDMI on a single card.

Edit: My bad. Appears they've sorted that out after all, but most multi-output cards cannot do that.

 

[SickBeast]

So OP, you don't want to game at extreme resolutions? Does your motherboard currently have integrated graphics?

You're going to need at least two cards to give you access to 4 monitors. If you have AMD integrated graphics, you could pair that with an AMD discreet card to give you a total of 4 outputs. nVidia forces you to use SLI to get that many outputs, and I'm not even sure if you can do 4 screens with it.

So long as you're not gaming, you might as well pick up a pair of 5830s or 5770s. Those will still be fairly potent gaming cards. You could probably get away with a pair of cheaper cards, provided that they have 2 outputs each.

 

[Madcatatlas]

So there isnt comparable nvidia hardware to suggest for 3 screens?

can you do 3 screens or 4 screens with a single nvidia card?

 

[betasub]

^ Nvidia options are fairly limited (such as GTX590, GTX460flex or pro-cards).

I recall a similar thread, but the specification was more workstation-oriented, also requiring fitting the card(s) into a small case. That poster had sufficient budget to go for an ATI FirePro2450 (e.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195089 )

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Yes it can, but one of the outputs would require the use of a DP to DVI adapter, and those adapters aren't cheap. You can't do DVI/DVI/HDMI on a single card.

Edit: My bad. Appears they've sorted that out after all, but most multi-output cards cannot do that.

Single link DVI adapters are under $30. Besides, the OP suggests he hasn't even bought the monitors yet, so he could always get one with native DP.

nVidia forces you to use SLI to get that many outputs, and I'm not even sure if you can do 4 screens with it.

So long as you're not gaming, you might as well pick up a pair of 5830s or 5770s. Those will still be fairly potent gaming cards. You could probably get away with a pair of cheaper cards, provided that they have 2 outputs each.

You don't need to have Nvidia cards in SLI to get more than two outputs.

The OP has specifically said he won't be gaming at all so I don't know why you mention gaming.

 

[Zargon]

Those 2 cards would cost more than the single 5670 linked above, It can do 3x DVI monitors.

you cant do 3xdvi. you need a active dp >adapter to do a 3rd monitor

for 4, you need probably a 6950. I know they do 4 out of the box.


abe: are you sure? atleast with the 4 series you had to do SLI to do 3 screens. or is that just for surround?

 

[Zargon]

http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/amd-eyefinity-technology/how-to/Pages/set-up.aspx


rule of thumb: for every display you want above 2, you need a mini or regular display port to drive it.

 

[gorobei]

we need a sticky or something for people requesting video card buying help. I dont know what it is but this the 2nd or 3rd multi-monitor thread where the OP cant read or figure out that we need some basic information before we can do anything.

Multiple posters have asked what monitors/models/inputs he currently possess and have received absolutely no real reply from the OP.

A basic etiquette notice like the general hardware section seems to be needed. I thought we had one for video/graphics?

 

[Zargon]

we did, it got unstickied after like 3 weeks, I liked it personally

 

[Mistwalker]

You're going to need at least two cards to give you access to 4 monitors.

The card I linked above can do four monitors one one card.

You can do three monitors with it out of the box, it's $100, $85 after rebate.

And yes, you need a DisplayPort adapter for a fourth monitor, but at those resolutions it doesn't need to be an expensive active DP adapter, a passive will do, and you're still going to come out paying less money. Plus you avoid the additional heat/power/noise/PCI slots required for dual cards.

 

[Zargon]

active DP adapters are only 30 bucks these days

its nice they are adding trip DVI though, thats news to me

 

[notty22]

Only FLEX Saphire cards have that unique feature of 3 x DVI
The FLEX cards have a on-board chip that is basically a active display port dongle. The card comes with a hdmi-dvi adapter, that gives you the third dvi output.
Leaving you the display port to use for a fourth monitor.

Newegg incorrectly labeled the adapter a display to dvi dongle, its a hdmi-dvi dongle. Thats how the Flex cards work.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?leg=&psn=000101&pid=1039
Sapphire FleX Technology3 DVI Eyefinity Out of the Box

Targeting maximum flexibility with minimum outlay, Sapphire FleX Technology simplifies AMD’s multi-monitor Eyefinity solution by allowing 3 X DVI monitors to be connected to the board ‘out of the box’ WITHOUT the requirement for expensive DisplayPort monitors or Active Adapters.