Alienware Aurora R2 with dual ATI Radeon HD 5670 does not extend desktop to all monitors

[StripedCat]

Hello! I have an Alienware Aurora R2 desktop PC with dual ATI Radeon HD 5670 video cards, which are supposed to allow upto 6 monitors to run simultaneously (3 on each card). I currently have 5 monitors connected to them: 2 VGA, 1 HDMI, 2 VGA-DVI adaptors.
The control panel shows 5 monitors, although does not detect more than 3 at a time. 2 of them show as not connected. If I connect one of the those by choosing to extend desktop to it, one of the other active monitors becomes inactive.
I am running Windows 7 Home. There was a bridge between the cards that came with the PC from the factory but I had removed it since I intended to run different applications on different monitors.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[unknownofprob]

5 monitors, What a rig! So the cards were in crossfire but you wanted them to run separately? This can be done and isn't hard to do I'm just wanting to know the motherboard and the driver of the card your using....To start get the latest if you haven't got them

 

[Trimax]

I'm Flabbergasted... 5 monitors

 

[StripedCat]

5 monitors, What a rig! So the cards were in crossfire but you wanted them to run separately? This can be done and isn't hard to do I'm just wanting to know the motherboard and the driver of the card your using....To start get the latest if you haven't got them

Thanks for your response.
I tried to use the 'Update Driver' option within the window and it said that Windows had determined that the software was up to date and the best driver was already installed. However, I did go ahead and update the drivers from the AMD site after searching on the web. It helped in starting up one more of the monitors and as of now, I am able to use 4 of the 5 monitors.
Would it matter that the drivers were provided by AMD instead of the original ones through ATI Technologies?

The system information you had requested:

Motherboard: Alienware Model 0RV30W A00

Previous Driver Provider: ATI Technologies
Previous Driver Version: 8.762.0.0
Previous Driver Date: 8/3/2010

Updated Driver Provider: Advanced Micro Devices
Updated Driver Version: 13.251.0.0
Updated Driver Date: 12/6/2013

When I had initially received the PC the cards were bridged with a wire (crossfire?). I understand that the crossfire is more beneficial if we want to generate a higher resolution image as in for gaming. However, in my case it is a work PC that I use to run graphics, excel models etc. on separate monitors simultaneously. The tech at Dell had initially suggested that I would need to remove the bridge between the cards so that they could run independently.
Thanks.

 

[unknownofprob]

Ok, So your going to run 3 Monitors on one card and 2 on the other. Have you checked the max digital resolution for each card? Some won't support such a high resolution but I think you should be fine there. And for the moment, are you able to tell if both cards are working when the bridge is disconnected? I Really hate customer support that companies that Dell give you, they don't really tell you how so here is where I am trying to help. Firstly, Good start that you have two PCI-E x16 slots which means having two cards will run to the highest of their ability. So the control panel only shows 3 monitors at a time? What appears on the two monitors that aren't connected? A black screen? For that since one card only supports 3 monitors that might suggest that the other card in your case isn't being recognised and doesn't know that it is there which would suggest the reasoning for the two monitors being disconnected. So what happens on the other monitors is my question? Just to see if the second card is recognised.

 

[StripedCat]

From the AMD website:
Integrated dual-link DVI output with HDCP12: Max resolution: 2560x160013
Integrated DisplayPort output: Max resolution: 2560x160013
Integrated HDMI 1.3 output with Deep Color, xvYCC wide gamut support, and high bit-rate audio: Max resolution: 1920x120013
Integrated VGA output: Max resolution: 2048x153613

I have a total of 5 monitors, 2 in one card (VGA, DVI-VGA adaptor) and 3 on the other (VGA, DVI-VGA adaptor, HDMI). As of now, after updating the drivers from the AMD site, 4 of the monitors do come on. The 5th monitor, upon being powered up, shows message "Entering Power Save Mode" and then becomes inactive. This should indicate that both cards are working, but for some reason, do not allow more than 4 monitors to work simultaneously.

Thanks for the help.

 

[unknownofprob]

what is the max resolution that the driver for the card supports, might be something like 5760x1080 like not for each output, The driver might not allow such a setup. I can look it up just need to know the resolution of the monitors

 

[StripedCat]

what is the max resolution that the driver for the card supports, might be something like 5760x1080 like not for each output, The driver might not allow such a setup. I can look it up just need to know the resolution of the monitors

The resolutions are:
1 monitor = 1920 x 1080
3 monitors (+1 not active) = 1600 x 900

I had listed the max resolutions as obtained from the AMD site in my previous answer. Let me know if you would like me to get some additional information. Thanks.