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Quick ATI 5450 question

Naan_H

Naan_H

Naan_H

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Currently running a q6600 @ 3.4Ghz , 8GB RAM and a GTX 570.

I bought the card for gaming but just do not have the time to game anymore, so might sell it on.

I have a dell u2711 on the way, will the following be able to run this monitor and two 24 inch monitors, at their native resolutions, without any issue using eyefinity?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-193-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1711

All i want the card to do is accelearate HD video/movies and be able to handle windows running on all three screens.

Will this be enough or would it need some more grunt to run all three?
 
Sorry for being a noob, but i have always used nvidia cards.

Ive read the eyefinity FAQ and not sure what extended mode is.

Am i right in thinking you cannot run 3 displays in their native (and differing resolutions) unless you have one with displayport?
 
Extended mode is a Windows mode when you extend the desktop to another monitor instead of cloning, so while you have a larger desktop, each monitor will still act independently (and hence allows different resolutions). This is possible with any card. Eyefinity takes this further by merging the monitors into one super large resolution (so when you maximise something it covers all the screens in the Eyefinity group), but for this to happen all monitors must have the same resolution.

As for running the third monitor, Displayport is needed as the cards themselves only supports two DVI/HDMI/VGA ports as they need to have their own clock source, but Displayport has the ability to have multiple monitors running off the same clock source. Because of this, while the first two monitors can run off DVI/HDMI/VGA, the third or more will need to run off the Displayport. And you will need an active adapter if you want to convert that port into DVI/HDMI/VGA as DP signals are electrically different from them.
 
So is the description in the card i have linked wrong?

Despite having 3 outputs it can only display 2 independently, like my GTX 570 can? Seems a bit silly saying it can support 2 or more monitors if it cannot without a displayport?

Im very confused!
 
Yup it's wrong. Basically if you want a third monitor the card must have Displayport for it to work. I think manufacturers often leave it out in order to reduce costs.
 
Well have seen one with DP for £27

Think i will get rid of the 570 as i just dont do any gaming - wasted purchase really.

I want something like this to tide me over if i do a massive upgrade - and thats a big if!
 
Looks like gigabyte and Asus do DP offerings - the gigabyte has 2 HDMIs, 1 x DP and 1 x VGA but has active cooling.

The Asus does DP, DVI and VGA and is passive cooling with 1gb RAM. Think i might go for the Asus - decisions decisions!
 
Ok so got the passive Asus ordered - one quick question - if i eventually use the card in a HTPC - will it bit stream HD audio tracks?

There is no HDMI port so im not sure :(
 
Naan_H said:
Ok so got the passive Asus ordered - one quick question - if i eventually use the card in a HTPC - will it bit stream HD audio tracks?

There is no HDMI port so im not sure :(
Click to expand...

It should come with a DVI to HDMI adapter and should still be able to output sound. If not then you may need to hunt around for an AMD one as some DVI to HDMI adapters don't carry sound from the DVI to HDMI port.

Don't think I asked before, but what ports does your monitors have?
 
Dell U2711 that is on its way has displayport, other monitors have hdmi/dvi. Im looking in a few months possible to get another 2 dell 23/24 inch and get rid of the 2 other monitors im using now
 
Just a quick question, monitor and gfx card have arrived - will a straight uninstall through the control panel suffice for removing all drivers for the 570GTX? Do i need to run any programs to prevent ati/nvidia driver conflicts?
 
Uninstalling it through control panel and device manager is fine, though some people recommend using driver cleaner software.
 
Naan_H said:
Ok so got the passive Asus ordered - one quick question - if i eventually use the card in a HTPC - will it bit stream HD audio tracks?

There is no HDMI port so im not sure :(
Click to expand...

The 5450 is designed to be a HTPC card - it definitely bitstreams audio.

However, I'm fairly certain there's no Asus 5450 without HDMI :confused:

Are you sure it doesn't have HDMI?
 
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