Connecting multiple monitors with a displayport

[IsItGreg]

I'm trying to figure out how to hook up a third monitor to my system. I have an XFX Radeon 7970 which is supposed to be capable of up to 6 monitors. I have one plugged into my HDMI port, one into a DVI port, and one through a DVI to HDMI adapter where the HDMI cord is plugged into a DisplayPort adapter. Any suggestions?

 

[chemmajorp53]

To use 3 monitors you need to use eyefinity, and eyefinity only allows you to use 2 legacy connections (HDMI, VGA, or DVI). To get the third monitor working, you will need an active displayport adapter or run the monitor on native displayport, these are the only options.

 

[k1114]

You do not need eyefinity to run 3 monitors but active dp is needed for more than 2 monitors. Eyefinity is setting up multiple monitors as one, not to be confused with simply extending multiple monitors.

 

[chemmajorp53]

You do not need eyefinity to run 3 monitors but active dp is needed for more than 2 monitors. Eyefinity is setting up multiple monitors as one, not to be confused with simply extending multiple monitors.

Ah thanks, I've never personally used it as I'm on nVidia all the time, but I thought it was just AMD's program for arranging multiple monitors. You lean something every day i guess.

 

[IsItGreg]

To use 3 monitors you need to use eyefinity, and eyefinity only allows you to use 2 legacy connections (HDMI, VGA, or DVI). To get the third monitor working, you will need an active displayport adapter or run the monitor on native displayport, these are the only options.

So I have a monitor supposedly running through a displayport adapter. Why doesn't it let me extend the display to that monitor as well?

 

[chemmajorp53]

To use 3 monitors you need to use eyefinity, and eyefinity only allows you to use 2 legacy connections (HDMI, VGA, or DVI). To get the third monitor working, you will need an active displayport adapter or run the monitor on native displayport, these are the only options.

So I have a monitor supposedly running through a displayport adapter. Why doesn't it let me extend the display to that monitor as well?

Because it's not an active adapter

 

[IsItGreg]

To use 3 monitors you need to use eyefinity, and eyefinity only allows you to use 2 legacy connections (HDMI, VGA, or DVI). To get the third monitor working, you will need an active displayport adapter or run the monitor on native displayport, these are the only options.

So I have a monitor supposedly running through a displayport adapter. Why doesn't it let me extend the display to that monitor as well?

Because it's not an active adapter

Could you explain?

 

[chemmajorp53]

https://www.startech.com/faq/DisplayPort_Converter_DP_Multi_Mode

The cable is a passive adapter, you need to buy something like this

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=12784&gclid=Cj0KEQjwsai_BRC30KH347fjksoBEiQAoiaqsciOcQP3Hao18EpNzjxYU2ijPdP4a8SsczyrYByGCDYaAhJs8P8HAQ

 

[IsItGreg]

https://www.startech.com/faq/DisplayPort_Converter_DP_Multi_Mode

The cable is a passive adapter, you need to buy something like this

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=12784&gclid=Cj0KEQjwsai_BRC30KH347fjksoBEiQAoiaqsciOcQP3Hao18EpNzjxYU2ijPdP4a8SsczyrYByGCDYaAhJs8P8HAQ

So if I wanted to connect 6 monitors as one screen, and those monitors didn't have DisplayPorts, what would I use?

 

[chemmajorp53]

https://www.startech.com/faq/DisplayPort_Converter_DP_Multi_Mode

The cable is a passive adapter, you need to buy something like this

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=12784&gclid=Cj0KEQjwsai_BRC30KH347fjksoBEiQAoiaqsciOcQP3Hao18EpNzjxYU2ijPdP4a8SsczyrYByGCDYaAhJs8P8HAQ

So if I wanted to connect 6 monitors as one screen, and those monitors didn't have DisplayPorts, what would I use?

That's gonna be a bitch if you're not using native displayport. You'd have to buy something like this and then use displayport to whatever cable you're using adapters out of the hub.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158403&cm_re=displayport_splitter-_-15-158-403-_-Product

 

[IsItGreg]

https://www.startech.com/faq/DisplayPort_Converter_DP_Multi_Mode

The cable is a passive adapter, you need to buy something like this

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=12784&gclid=Cj0KEQjwsai_BRC30KH347fjksoBEiQAoiaqsciOcQP3Hao18EpNzjxYU2ijPdP4a8SsczyrYByGCDYaAhJs8P8HAQ

So if I wanted to connect 6 monitors as one screen, and those monitors didn't have DisplayPorts, what would I use?

That's gonna be a bitch if you're not using native displayport. You'd have to buy something like this and then use displayport to whatever cable you're using adapters out of the hub.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815158403&cm_re=displayport_splitter-_-15-158-403-_-Product

It's starting to look like $200. Shit. Any cheaper solutions?

 

[chemmajorp53]

Not really :/ It's expensive setting up more than 3 monitors off a single computer, especially when you're not using displayport.

 

[IsItGreg]

Not really :/ It's expensive setting up more than 3 monitors off a single computer, especially when you're not using displayport.

How do I know if the hub is an active DP hub?

 

[chemmajorp53]

Not really :/ It's expensive setting up more than 3 monitors off a single computer, especially when you're not using displayport.

How do I know if the hub is an active DP hub?

Hubs are always active, the adapters for single cables usually aren't though

 

[IsItGreg]

Not really :/ It's expensive setting up more than 3 monitors off a single computer, especially when you're not using displayport.

How do I know if the hub is an active DP hub?

Hubs are always active, the adapters for single cables usually aren't though

Ah I see, thanks so much for your help.

 

[chemmajorp53]

Actually, after reading up, you still need active displayport adapters even with the hub unfortunately. If you want to connect 6 monitors, I would buy one of these,

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-DisplayPort-Multi-Monitor-Splitter/dp/B00XXPYTAG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1475024286&sr=8-3&keywords=displayport+hub

4 of these,

https://www.amazon.com/Sienoc-DisplayPort-Adapter-Converter-4096x2160-Black/dp/B00XXNER3M/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1475024356&sr=1-4&keywords=active+displayport+to+dvi

And hook up the other two monitors however you choose.





I would suggest reading this article.

http://multimonitorcomputer.com/solved/displayport-1-2-mst-hub-quick-guide.php

 

[k1114]

A 7970 isn't even powerful enough for eyefinity 6. What is this for?

 

[chemmajorp53]

I was under the impression that he wasn't gaming on this setup, which a 7970 should be fine for

 

[k1114]

Never assume anything when giving support. You'll run into a whole lot less confusion and issues. He stated "6 monitors as one screen" so just want to make sure he's not trying to do something it couldn't handle anyways. For most spanning uses, eyefinity wouldn't be needed and having them extended would handle workflow better.

 

[Doramius]

For the video card listed, it would have "mini-Display Port" connections. Make sure you're getting the correct hub. You're going to want a mini Display Port hub with MST technology. MST is active. However, the video card is generally for 3 monitors, and adding higher numbers of displays to the card would greatly tax the bandwidth for the video. Not recommended function for anything with high-end graphics. You'll overheat your video card, or get poor video quality, or both. Multi-monitors is a large power and bandwidth draw. While capable of more, stick with the 3 on this card.

 

[k1114]

Overheating or video quality being affected does not happen unless there is a hardware issue. It's perfectly capable of running 6 monitors, I've had much weaker gpus do it, just not for gaming.

 

[Doramius]

overheating can happen with poor heat transfer. I've had odd batches of cards with poor thermal paste. nothing wrong with the hardware. Gaming isn't the only item you don't want to use multimonitors for. Using 4K monitors with mDP draws a lot of bandwidth even if showing a 4k video. Definitely can put the GPU through the BTUs.

 

[k1114]

Tim would be part of hardware. Even intel igpus can do 4k video without getting too high usage. Haswell hd 4600 can do 2x 4k/30 just fine. You are overestimating the requirements for more pixels.