How to set up dual monitors ?

bulldog147

bulldog147

bulldog147

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My brand new 6850 had arrive but now got a problem of dual monitors set up - As you can guess by the title I just bought a Asus ATi Radeon 6850. It has 4 ports on the back. 2 x DVI, 1 x HDMI and 1 x Display Port. I had an Asus nVidia GTX 260 running dual DVI however dual DVI will not work on the 6850. I've gone through all the settings and removed/re-installed the display drivers. The second monitor is not present in Device Manager. Any thoughts? Please help! As I need dual monitors as I had 2 x same make and model of 21.5" AOC monitors come with 2 x VGA, no DVI or HDMI at all.
 
Hi there,

Unfortunately the HD 6850 (and most modern AMD cards) only have one DVI-I port (which will work with a simple DVI to VGA adapter). The other DVI port is a purely digital DVI-D port and won't work with such an adapter and can't be used to drive a VGA monitor.

Therefore, to drive your second VGA monitor with that GPU you will need an active displayport (or mini-displayport depending on the card) to VGA adapter.

If you card has a full-size displayport connector - then I would recommend the "Accell B101B-003B".

If you card has a mini-displayport connector - then I would recommend the "Startech MDP2VGA"
 
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Well, I am not happy about it, as my geforce gtx 260 work fine on dual monitors and why it so much too complicated will not work on both vga monitors ?

The top DVi to VGA adaptor to 1st monitor work but bottom DVi to VGA adaptor won't work on 2nd monitors ? The geforce will work but why not on ATi Radeon ? I cannot use DVi direct or HDMI because my both monitors only come with two VGA !

Which adaptor part do I need for the bottom DVi to VGA convert ?
 
Yea, I think it is because AMD are more shifting towards displayport and away from older display standards like VGA (but still allowing VGA via a singe DVI-I port and displayport adapters).

In contrast Nvidia has maintained dual DVI-I ports, even on their most recent cards, while not including a displayport connection.

If you really aren't happy then you could always send the HD 6850 back and get something like a GTX 460 1GB.

As for converting the second DVI port (the DVI-D one) to VGA - that will be rather expensive as it would require an adapter that will do active digital to analogue conversion. Such an adapter will cost ~£100.

Therefore, you would be much better off using an active displayport to VGA adapter (like the one I mentioned earlier or one of the relevant ones on this list) or swap the card for an Nvidia one.
 
Oh I am so disappointed - I should have gone for GTX 460 1GB instead, never thought of HD 6850 will not work on both VGA monitors.

You must be joking ? over £100 for converting the second DVI port (the DVI-D one) to VGA (cost more than the grapghic card itself!)
 
bulldog147 said:
Oh I am so disappointed - I should have gone for GTX 460 1GB instead, never thought of HD 6850 will not work on both VGA monitors.
Click to expand...

Aye, it is a shame. But to be fair to the shop (assuming ofcourse you bought from OCUK) it does say on the product description:

Display Connectors: 1 Dual Link DVI-I and 1 single link DVI-D, 1 HDMI & 1 DisplayPort
Click to expand...


bulldog147 said:
You must be joking ? over £100 for converting the second DVI port (the DVI-D one) to VGA (cost more than the grapghic card itself!)
Click to expand...

Ha, I wish I was. Have a google for "DVI-D to VGA/RGB/Component Video Converter", that just seems to be the price they are.

As you have a free displayport connection then you are much better off going for a DP to VGA adapter than trying to make use of the DVI-D port. As numatic.nathan points out, DP to VGA adapters like the ones I mentioned above usually cost in the region of £15-25 (the Accell full-size displayport to VGA adapter costs £20.34 at a reputable place).

As it's against the forum rules I can't give you a direct link to a competitor site (even though OCUK don't sell this particular product), but I'm sure with the above information google will provide.
 
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I found one: StarTech DisplayPort to VGA Video Adaptor Converter as I had to order it and will be with me in 5 working days. I had to use my GTX 260 for now until this one come and I hope it will work! Finger cross
 
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