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GFX Card that supports 3 monitors

Diakatarnis

Diakatarnis

Diakatarnis

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Joined
30 Jul 2003
Posts
442
Hi, so im using a 5870 and a lesser ati card so i can run my 3 monitors, but i want to free up some space, and the 2nd card is passivly cooked so its chucking out some heat.

Are there any cards on the market that support 3 monitors? i was looking at either the 5970 or gtx 480. Any suggestions?
 
As YoungRogue says, your 5870 can already do that.

Do you mean 3 monitors without having to buy one of those overpriced DP adaptors?

I seem to remember people saying here that you can actually get away with using a passive adaptor to VGA without any noticeable quality reduction.
 
Last edited:
p0rks0da said:
As YoungRogue says, your 5870 can already do that.

Do you mean 3 monitors without having to buy one of those overpriced DP adaptors?

I seem to remember people saying here that you can actually get away with using a passive adaptor to VGA without any noticeable quality reduction.
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orly? there are 3 ports on the back, but when i plug in a 3rd mon to port 3 it turns off port 2 :( didnt know there was some magical adapter i was meant to use? to me it looks like 2x dvi and 1 hdmi
 
Ok you might need someone else to chime in here who owns a 5870, but as i understand it you can run 2 monitors from any combination of DVI/HDMI, but for the third monitor you need to use the DisplayPort output, does your card not have one?
 
hmm im assuming it was a HDMI, it could be a display port, i just can plug a dvi cable into it and it works.

HP do a converter FH973AT does that do the same thing?
 
Diakatarnis said:
ok after closer inspection, i have a HDMI and another port that looks similar, which im assuming is the display port?
Click to expand...

Correct. Use a passive Displayport > VGA adaptor, there was another thread on here which people have confirmed that this works fine. They are a lot cheaper than the Displayport > DVI active adaptors that you would have to use otherwise.
 
Excellent, ill get me one of those on order now.

Also i have been offered a swap GTX 480 for my 5870, they are both a week old, the guy has got another 5870 so wants to crossfire them, so i get full warantee etc, worth the swap? I think the GTX 480 is a faster card?
 
Diakatarnis said:
Excellent, ill get me one of those on order now.

Also i have been offered a swap GTX 480 for my 5870, they are both a week old, the guy has got another 5870 so wants to crossfire them, so i get full warantee etc, worth the swap? I think the GTX 480 is a faster card?
Click to expand...

GTX480 is faster, but you can't run 3 monitors on it, you'd need SLI for that.
 
Diakatarnis said:
Excellent, ill get me one of those on order now.

Also i have been offered a swap GTX 480 for my 5870, they are both a week old, the guy has got another 5870 so wants to crossfire them, so i get full warantee etc, worth the swap? I think the GTX 480 is a faster card?
Click to expand...

Swap!
 
how annoying. Hmm, ok what about the 5970, i can probably get that for £100 after a bit of wheeling and dealing :D does htat have a display port, and the ability to run 3 mons?
 
Yep but that's a hellish overpriced card in my opinion. Just stick with the 5870 mate (480 is faster but it's not earth shattering), or send it back for a refund and go SLI GTX460's or something :)
 
If you're set on the 3 monitors, stick with the 5870. GTX480 is faster, but not able to power 3 monitors. If you can live with 2 monitors then make the swap to GTX480 :)
 
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