This is something that really bothers me, but why is it that most GPUs (and all Nvidia) GPUs only have one DisplayPort output? Why can't they have at least two mini-DP instead? I prefer using DP cables with my dual monitors but a lot of cards end up screwing that up for me.
I currently have a 7970 Lightning with 4 mini-DPs and expected the top end AMD cards to continue with something like that but I'm not seeing it. Is this ever likely to change?
Industry stupidity mostly. When AMD put a bunch of mini dp's on, everyone complained. Why, because screens are stuck in the past. how long did most screens have a d-sub long long after d-sub was obsolete? Why is 4k still an issue, industry standards. Running joke, getting a bunch of people together to agree on a standard, to agree on a cable, to agree every screen should just move the hell on and get a new standard that everyone can work behind.
One of the biggest reasons we got stuck at 1080p on desktops, which mobile devices went as high as they wanted as quickly as they wanted... industry cable standards. dvi was stuck at 2560x1600 for dvi dual link and that was a fight, 120hz is stuck at, well it was stuck at 120hz for a dual link at 1080p, now 144hz. Display port/hdmi/dvi had no compatible 4k standard. You have one screen doing it's on bodged dual dvi dual link 4k screens, another monitor company doing 2x hdmi, most being stuck at 30hz which no one wanted. It's all a joke.
One company wants to push HDMI because certain companies get a few pennies for every device with an hdmi port sold, most people want an open standard that costs nothing extra(think about making 500million screens a year x $0.05, it's a significant cost).
Why don't mobile devices have the limitation, they don't need to make sure that graphics card X works with screen Y. they can use whatever connection they want, make their own one, use as much bandwidth as they want and connect the screen however they want.
When you have to make multiple graphics cards work with multiple monitors, everyone's logic goes out the window and no one just gets together and agrees on anything. Nothing stopping all gpu makers and all monitor makers getting in a room 10 years ago, coming up with a new standard, laying out a time table(like we'll do dvi ports on gpu's for 2 more years, then one dvi and 3 dp's and in the meantime we'll put a dvi and display port on every monitor we make. The only problem is these guys won't all get in a room and agree on these things.
AMD tried to go mostly display port, but too many users have 2 or 3 screens with dvi as the only viable connection. I have two screens, both have hdmi and dvi, they only do 120hz over dvi. I'd have paid £5 more for a display port on both screens, 120hz over display port or dvi, then if I moved to a display port only gpu I'd be fine.
ALl companies are caught in this, if we move forward, half the customers find themselves incompatible, but if they don't, have the customers moving forwards still find themselves incompatible. Three screen setups when you have 3x dvi, screwed, 3x setups with all display port, easier but not many monitor makers are doing display port(more now, finally). It's a cluster **** of the industry not planning or agreeing on anything together.
