Setting up eyefinity

[primecaliber42]

Ok so im looking at setting up eyefinity as i already have a gaming rig i just want to step up the game a little and go all out. looking at getting a 6970 from asus heres the item number on tigerdirect A455-6972 and the link to the page
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7280378&sku=A455-6972

And looking at using 3 of these here the item number on tigerdirect A204-2101 and the link to the page http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1717286&sku=A204-2101

Now i have a couple of questions. One is do i need to buy an active display port adapter in order to use these monitors in eyefinity? Becuse from my understating there is a difference in active display port adapaters an adapters that say they are not active. My plan was to use the two DVI ports then one of the display ports. So what would be recommended that i use for the disport cable?

Also is there any tricky steps to setting up eyefinity that i should be aware of? I was planning on deleteing all of my older dirvers for my current GPU ( EVGA GTX 460 ) and then removing the card and install the 6970 from ASUS then loading all of the drivers. Would that be the correct way to set this up?

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[tlmck]

This should help with most of your questions. http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/amd-eyefinity-technology/Pages/eyefinity.aspx

 

[slicedtoad]

1x6970 is not powerful enough for 3x1080x1920 unless you turn the graphics down quite a bit, sorry.

Basically a 6970 will run one 1080p display perfectly on any game (With a decent processor). Two would be able to run three screens with slightly reduced graphics.

Eyefinity is relatively easy to set up though.
Here is some additional reading on active/passive adaptors:
http://www.overclock.net/t/721931/active-vs-passive-displayport-adapters-the-truth

 

[alrobichaud]

Yes you need and active display port for monitor number 3. I am currently using two of the xfx brand from newegg. They are less than 30 dollars. Setting up eyefinity is fairly straightforward. What games are you playing? You need at least crossfire 6970's to play games like BF3, Skyrim, Need for speed the run, Dirt3, Deus Ex HR, FEAR 3 at 5760x1080 in ultra. You will probably get no better than med settings and you may need to turn off AA in order to maintain good framerates. But even med settings are pretty good when you are playing on 3 monitors.

 

[slicedtoad]

^i've seen so many confusing threads about active/passive. Linking the ones you use (or equivalents) would probably be useful.

For example, active is sometimes defined as an adaptor that needs a power source (not true), but not always. The vendors don't help either, since their definitions often vary as well.

 

[alrobichaud]

^i've seen so many confusing threads about active/passive. Linking the ones you use (or equivalents) would probably be useful.

For example, active is sometimes defined as an adaptor that needs a power source (not true), but not always. The vendors don't help either, since their definitions often vary as well.

Good point. In the electronics world, anything that is active contains some sort of amplification. I do not fully understand how some active adapters require separate usb power and some do not. The manufacturers do not give up their trade secrets. You can rest assured if the device you buy is simply called a display adapter it is passive and will not power a 3rd monitor. I have two 'passive' mini display port to dvi-d dongles and they will not power my 3rd or 4th monitors. I had to purchase two 'active' dongles from newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814998050

If it says 'active' in the title it will work. If it does not, it probably won't. Future shop sells an eyefinity certified adapter that has separate usb power for just over $100. Not sure why you need to use it if the one that I linked works just fine.