Certain older AMD graphics cards require a native DisplayPort connection or DisplayPort active adapters to connect more than 2 monitors. DisplayPort to Single-Link DVI active adapters are useful in this situation to avoid the cost of an active Dual-Link adapter. This limitation ONLY applies to certain older AMD graphics cards. NVIDIA graphics cards have never had this limitation, and newer AMD graphics cards also no longer have it, so these cards DO NOT require DisplayPort or active DisplayPort adapters for any multi-monitor configurations.
Graphics cards with this limitation can still support 3+ monitors, but only a maximum of two may be connected through any combination of the following:
VGA
DVI
HDMI
Any active or passive adapters from VGA / DVI / HDMI to anything else
DisplayPort to DVI / HDMI passive adapters
Any additional monitors beyond 2 must be connected with one of the following:
DisplayPort / Mini DisplayPort
DisplayPort to VGA / DVI / HDMI active adapter
Please note that the convention for talking about mixed display interfaces is "[source] to [display]", so for example the term "DisplayPort to DVI adapter" means an adapter that connects a DisplayPort output (PC/laptop/etc.) to a DVI display, not the other way around. Most adapters are not reversible, so a DisplayPort to DVI adapter is not the same thing as a DVI to DisplayPort adapter.
The following graphics cards are subject to the limitation described above:
AMD Radeon R7 370
AMD Radeon R7 265, R9 270, R9 270X, R9 280, and R9 280X
AMD/ATI Radeon HD 5000, 6000, 7000, and 8000 series
The following graphics cards do not support more than 2 monitors at all (regardless of whether DisplayPort or active DP adapters are used):
NVIDIA GeForce GT 610, GT 620, GT 630 (Fermi version), and GT 705
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 500 series and below
ATI Radeon HD 4000 series and below