How to hook up 3 monitors with different resolution

[dragonsoul]

I currently have difficulties in hooking up 3 monitors with different resolution. I have 2 units DELL S2409W - 1920x1080p and 1 unit DELL U2410 - 1920x1200p. My VGA card is: POWERCOLOR 5770 PCS+.

Here is the link to see how my equipments look like:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/powercolor_pcs_5770/
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/popupproductdetail.aspx?sku=320-7345&?~lt=popup&c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22
http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=sg&cs=sgdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&sku=230-11018&redirect=1

I tried to connect:
2 DVI-D to DELL S2409W
1 DP to DELL U2410
But seems that it only recognized 2 monitors only.
Please help....
Thank you so much in advance....

 

[Supermuncher85]

Which two is it recognizing? The two dvi? Or a dp dvi? Are they showing up in the CCC under desktop management?

 

[dragonsoul]

It's one DP and one DVI, but not with the other DVI... In CCC, It just look dim, and said that is currently disabled.
And under display properties setting, I cannot see anything but two monitors only. I currently using XP SP3 as my O/S.

 

[Supermuncher85]

Your actually using an older CCC the new one looks rather different. This might not be the cause of the problems, but I would suggest updating the drivers regardless.

Just curious have you tried dragging the attached but disabled monitor to the right? Technically speaking you have the right hardware setup and it should work out of the box.

Edit: oh nuggets, your last post I think solved it. Looks like AMD does NOT support eyefinity on XP! It's either vista or windows 7.

What Operating Systems does AMD Eyefinity technology work with?
At present Windows® Vista and Windows® 7 support AMD Eyefinity technology. There are plans for Linux support in an upcoming update to AMD Catalyst™ software. There is no support for Windows® XP.

http://www.amd.com/US/PRODUCTS/TECHNOLOGIES/AMD-EYEFINITY-TECHNOLOGY/HOW-TO/Pages/faqs.aspx

 

[dragonsoul]

Thanks for the answer Supermuncher85, I'll try to change my O/S later on. Got no time to reinstall everything for the moment. I'll get back to you as long as I found the result...

One thing that I wonder is whether Eyefinity support monitors with different resolution?

Thank you so much... Cheers....

 

[Supermuncher85]

If you just want to to extend the desktop, monitor resolution shouldn't matter. If you want to game however you will have to create a "display group":

All monitors running in a Display Group or cloned modes must be running with the same resolution. If monitors have different native resolutions, the highest common non-native resolution between the monitors will be used when creating Display Groups. Monitors running in extended desktop mode can have independent resolutions.

 

[dragonsoul]

Do I still have to buy this:

http://www.accellcables.com/products/DisplayPort/DP/dp_dvid.htm

as I wonder this statement:

How many non-DisplayPort monitors can I use with an AMD Eyefinity technology-enabled graphics card?
You can connect up to two non-DisplayPort monitors at one time to an AMD Eyefinity technology-enabled graphics card using non-DisplayPort connections or passive DisplayPort dongles. To enable and drive 3 or more non-DisplayPort monitors at one time, the additional non-DisplayPort monitors must be connected with an active DisplayPort dongle.

What's the difference between active DisplayPort dongles and passive DisplayPort dongles?
Passive dongles use the DisplayPort connection to receive non-DP signaling from the connector and they 'passively' adjust the signals to be compliant with the connected monitor. Passive dongles are considered legacy connections, not DisplayPort connections, therefore they do not fulfill the DisplayPort connection requirement mentioned previously and cannot be used to enable 3 or more displays. They do, however, offer an affordable solution to adapt legacy displays to DisplayPort connections.
Active dongles use true DisplayPort signaling to 'actively' translate and re-transmit the signals as the required outputs. Because they use the true DisplayPort signaling, they are considered a DisplayPort connection and meet the requirements to enable 3 or more displays.
DisplayPort to DL-DVI dongles require an external power supply which is usually through a separate USB connection (the USB connection must meet the USB 'high power' specification).

Would that means should I even have Windows7 installed, I would still have to buy that adapter even though my DELL U2410 has DP port? Do you know how much would that cost? Thank you so much in advance...

 

[Supermuncher85]

The active display port adapter costs about $30-35, but you shouldn't require it since you have a DP monitor. The active DP adapter is needed only when you want to run another DVI single link port. So for example had you a 30inch dell 2500x1600 monitor you would not be able to run it via the dp port but would instead have to hook it up to the DVI port and connect one of the s2409 via a active adapter to the DP output.

Your U2410 should run just fine.

As for how many monitors it can drive, I'm not sure. I believe the 5770 can run up to 3 monitors, with the exception of the special powercolor version which has 5 DP ports (but each requiers active display port adapters $30 each). The 5870 can run 5 screens, and the 5870 eyefinity can drive up to 6 screens.

The cheapest way to add more monitors, if you have a motherboard that supports more than one graphic card, is to simply add another 5770 for $100 no crossfire bridge required, since you just want it to run more screens.

 

[dragonsoul]

Thank you so much for the answer Supermuncher... I've been a quite headache to think about hooking up my 3 monitors. Hope that as soon as I reinstall the O/S with Windows7, everything will just be ok. I'll get back to you as soon as I know what the outcome would be...
Thank you so very much....

 

[dragonsoul]

Best answer selected by dragonsoul.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey