Problem with multimonitor support on Radeon 8500LE

[jamesblond]

Somebody please HELP!!?!??

I own an ATi Radeon 8500LE 128MB and two Iiyama A705MT 17"CRT monitors. One of them is hooked to the VGA output of the card, the other to the DVI-output using a DVI>RGB Convertor. But somehow I can't get the second monitor to work. Windows correctly recognizes the card as being capable of driving two monitors, but I cannot apply any properties for the monitor, such as brand and type. I can select it and set some properties, but pressing "APPLY" immediately turns the second monitor to grey and dismisses all changes and it still won't work. Recently I installed DirectX 9.0b and ATi Catalyst 03.8, but it didn't change a thing. Ati's control panel says I don't even have a second monitor connected. Only one power button is green, all other three are grey and cannot be pressed. Available options are: "monitor" (connected and working), "TV" (not connected), "Digital FlatPanel" (not connected) and "YPbPd" or something (Not connected). I know the second monitor works fine on the primary VGA output AND that all cables and connectors are fine. Is something wrong with the card, or am I missing something? Any hint would be helpful.

Thanx!

 

[Vapor]

Have you installed ATi's Hydravision?

RDRAM = (ENEMY)^2

 

[phsstpok]

Most 8500LE's don't have a second RAMDAC hence no support for a second CRT. A DVI/VGA adapter won't work. It's not really a converter anyway. It just carries the RGB signals forward. There are provisions for the RGB signals on a DVI-I connector but they are useless unless the video card has the second RAMDAC.

Check your video card. Here's a <A HREF="http://www.sysopt.com/articles/radeon8500/8500-l.jpg" target="_new">pic</A>. Sorry I don't have a place to host my own pictures. It's the best pic I could find. Anyway, the RAMDAC is the small 3/8" x 3/8" chip at the upper left corner of the GPU, just below the capacitors.

If your card doesn't have this chip then you don't have support for a second CRT.

[edited for typos]

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 11/03/03 07:09 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[jamesblond]

Thanx. I checked my board to see if I actually have this chip you mentioned and -ofcourse...- I don't... I guess that explains why I can't use my second monitor. I'm already thinking about a replacement card. Would a Radeon 9600Pro or XT be a good idea? Any suggestions?

 

[Ion]

You need 2 VGA output right?

AIW9600pro will match up perfect.

 

[phsstpok]

Don't have any personal experience with dual displays, not with a single card anyway, so I can't offer any recommendations.

I believe genuine retail ATI 9600 Pros and and XTs will do what you want but I'm not certain. Some of the OEM cards do not support dual CRTs. I don't know about third party cards.

In any case, you should look for dual CRT functionality mentioned by the vendor or better yet contact the vendor directly, just to be certain.

Hopefully, someone will chime in with genuine recommendations.

If you are concerned with 2D performance at high resolution with dual display you might want to wait for such a recommendation. I seem to recall some people mentioning slow redraws.

<b>56K, slow and steady does not win the race on internet!</b>