Three monitor (2x DVI, 1x HDMI) setup

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

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I've just purchased a new 24" monitor to replace or hopefully sit alongside my existing set of two 19" monitors.

I've got the Gigabyte GA-MA785GT-UD3H AMD 785G motherboard and I'm using the onboard graphics card, the chip for which is ATI Radeon HD 4200 (this is a work PC so I never game).

It's got enough ports, but will it support the running of 3 monitors drivers-wise? If so, what do I need to download (if anything)? If not, what would allow me to use 3 monitors?

Running Windows 7.

Thanks in advance :).
 
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After reading up it seems unlikely that the 4200 can support all 3 as it can't output through DVI and HDMI at the same time, but please feel free to prove me wrong!

So based on that, how else can I go about it? I'm happy to buy another graphics card if this would work, and I don't need anything expensive or decent as it's a work PC.
 
Russinating said:
After reading up it seems unlikely that the 4200 can support all 3 as it can't output through DVI and HDMI at the same time
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I would be surprised if this wasn't the case. Not even the ATI 69xx series can output on both DVI, plus the HDMI at the same time (or atleast not with different things on each. irrc, the HDMI can be a clone of the DVI, but not different to it, if the other DVI is also displaying something).

An additional gfx card should work, assuming you have the PCI/PCI-E slot(s) free to use. Another way to do it, is via a USB adaptor, I used one for a while before I upgraded to a ATI 6950, as I wanted a third screen. They are fine for office work etc, but lack much gfx ram, so struggle to display anything too intensive (hi res videos, games etc).
 
Your onboard graphics will only support 2 monitors.

You best bet is another graphics card, I would purchase a ATI pci epress card based on similar version/chipset to your existing onboard graphics.

Windows 7 apparently supports multiple monitors from different make graphics cards, however I installed an old S3 card (yes it was dam old) along side an ATI 5000 series card as like you was after a cheap 3rd monitor support for work, and Windows could not use both together.

There is another option, search everyone's favourite auction site for a card called Nvidia Quadro NVS 450. These are 4x display port cards, retail is £450 however I just got a clean pull (from Dell) for £51.

This is the NVS 450, well worth considering if you find one cheap, and theres plenty about at the moment!
http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/product_quadro_nvs_450_uk.html
 
2 graphics cards should work for 3 monitors, they dont have to be the same, or connected together (crossfire/SLI)

althou some motherboards disable the onboard when you use another card, in that case u wont be able to use the 2 together.

most cards generally only have 2 outputs, with the one of the dvi/hdmi outputs being shared

active display ports can be used to increase the outputs thou if the cards has displayport connections
 
The HD 6450 supports eyefinity. So long as you use one monitor connected through an active displayport adapter and another through a VGA (analogue) connection then it's all good.

If you want all digital connections then this card has two DVI ports and one mini-Display Port. Use this active adapter to allow for the connection of a third DVI monitor.
 
cmndr_andi said:
The HD 6450 supports eyefinity. So long as you use one monitor connected through an active displayport adapter and another through a VGA (analogue) connection then it's all good.
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Sorry, I'm a complete newb when it comes to Eyefinity so could someone explain how it works? Does all 3 monitors come out of the 2 ports on that card or does 1 stay connected to my onboard graphics?

I am on a budget here as I don't *desperately* need 3 monitors, so a cheap-ass graphics card to sit alongside my own board would be the best option if possible. Is there any reason why I couldn't just use this for example: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-120-MS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=168?
 
Unfortunately most graphics cards these days only support up to two monitors unless they are "eyefinity capable". The 5450 for example does not support eyefinity, so will only be able to drive two monitors at once.

Also, I believe with that motherboard you can not install a discrete graphics card and use the onboard graphics alongside the discrete graphics to get more than two graphics outputs.

With eyefinity capable cards you can drive more than two monitors (using only the connections on the graphics card). Most eyefinity capable cards can only drive up to three monitors (like the 6450 and 5750) and you need to use at least on displayport output from the card to run three monitors. If you don't have any monitors with displayport inputs then you will need to use an active adapter (like the one I linked to above).

Your cheapest option is either get the HD 6450 I linked to above and get an active Displayport (full size) to DVI-D adapter or get two cheap 5450 cards and run them independently.
 
No, and to the best of my knowledge no.

Although they talk about eyefinity support I'm 99% sure that wont work on that card.
Why? Because the magic formula is you can connect 2 monitors to VGA/DVI/HDMI tops. Then you can add one extra for every displayport on an AMD 5xxx or 6xxx card.
There are afaik only 1 or 2 cards on the market where this doesn't hold true and they basically intergrated the cable you're looking for in the card itself.

The adapter needs to an active adapter. The cheapest I know of is the Sapphire active displayport to dvi adapter. It's twice the price of the one you linked, and like every other displayport->something useful it needs an external power source (USB) to work its magic. The cable you linked to has no external power source which I'd say would render it useless for how you intend to use it.
Perhaps they managed to reduce the power usage and it can be selfpowered off the displayport but I doubt it. Might want to mail OC UK about it and ask if it's an active adapter. If it isn't, look up the mentioned sapphire adapter elsewhere.

The cheapest card matching your demands at OC UK is the ASUS ATI Radeon HD6770 which is quite pricey if you don't need the decent performance it provides.
The cheapest option I can find with an 5xxx series GPU and a displayport is the Gigabyte GV-R545D2-512, but it's not advertised as eyefinity capable on most sites (did say it was on some hungarian site). So if you want to be 100% sure, contact gigabyte.
If you're rather lazy than poor the EAH5450 SILENT/DS/1GD3(LP)is the cheapest option that I could find that most definetely supports eyefinity.
 
Thanks for your help.

And yes, just to confirm, this is for NO gaming whatsoever. It's for a work PC which does do video rendering but that's not an issue. It's simply for 3 monitors.
 
Russinating said:
Thanks for your help.

And yes, just to confirm, this is for NO gaming whatsoever. It's for a work PC which does do video rendering but that's not an issue. It's simply for 3 monitors.
Click to expand...

In that case, your probably better off just getting 2 gfx cards (assuming you have the PCI-E slots available)
 
Axeia said:
The adapter needs to an active adapter. The cheapest I know of is the Sapphire active displayport to dvi adapter. It's twice the price of the one you linked, and like every other displayport->something useful it needs an external power source (USB) to work its magic. The cable you linked to has no external power source which I'd say would render it useless for how you intend to use it.
Perhaps they managed to reduce the power usage and it can be selfpowered off the displayport but I doubt it. Might want to mail OC UK about it and ask if it's an active adapter. If it isn't, look up the mentioned sapphire adapter elsewhere
Click to expand...

Yes, it does need to be an active adaptor, but you don't have to have it powered through USB, as long as your ok with a single-link DVI connection. (I have an active displayport adaptor, which doesn't have a USB cable, but I'm only using it to run a 1280*1024 screen)
 
Russinating said:
Yes, both my PCI-E slots are available. Any cards in particular?
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Pretty much any card, as long as it's got 2xDVI, or 1xDVI & 1xHDMI, as I can't think of any card currently available that doesn't support 2 monitors.

If, however, you don't mind having one of your monitors connected up using VGA, you *might* be able to get away with a the single 5450 that you linked to earlier, as, after a bit of googling, it looks like it's capable of an output on all 3 outputs at once, just not in eyefinity mode. - I'm not 100% sure about this though, and I would recommend getting 2 cards anyway, then you can have all your monitors on digital connections.
 
Yes, your motherboard has 2 16x PCI-E slots so that shouldn't be a problem.. unless your power supply isn't up to task, the cards draw 38watt max so unless you're already pushing it quite close you'll be fine.
 
Thanks to everyone that helped :). Got two 5450s in the end.

D2vd6l.jpg
 
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