Graphics card for 5 or 6 monitors

[spixel]

I'm looking for a card which supports 5 or 6 monitors. Are all 6 series cards capable of this or do they need 2 display port outputs? I can't find any solid information about it. I'm hoping to find a 6850, 6870 or 6950 with this option.

If I was to put two 6850's in crossfire would I get 6 then? or maybe even 12?

Thanks

[Volkszorn88]

5870 2gb Eyefinity edition that does up to 6 displays at once.

[spixel]

Yes I know that card does, but is there any others? I thought I read something that all 6 series support up to 6 monitors, not sure though.

Is there anything additional required for the 5870 to display 6.

[Lionheart]

HD7970 when it release's

[puma99dk|]

AsusTek says their EAH6950 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5 can do up to 6 monitors.



SIX monitors output for the win!
Exclusive 6 monitors output via 2 DVI & 4 DisplayPort Output.



Asus EAH6950 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5

just be aware that this beast fills up 3 slots.

and the same goes for the Asus EAH6970 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5 it can also take 6 monitors at once.

[spixel]

Yes I saw that Asus one earlier. I'm still not sure what I would need though for 6 monitors to work with it. Would I need an adaptor for each monitor that's using a display port?

[Bo$$]

yes you would

[spixel]

Thats alot of adaptors... why can't they use more dvi outputs instead.


http://www.dabs.ie/products/sapphire...?q=6750&src=16

This says it supports 5 monitors but can't find any other information.

[LordJummy]

I think most of the 6 series reference cards support five monitors max. Only cards that specifically say they do six can, I believe. However, I've heard you can do up to six using daisy-chained powered active displayports and such with cards that have less than six outputs.

Best to go to AMD's website, or the card manufacturer and check directly!

[MN12BIRD]

Originally Posted by spixel

Thats alot of adaptors... why can't they use more dvi outputs instead.


http://www.dabs.ie/products/sapphire...?q=6750&src=16

This says it supports 5 monitors but can't find any other information.

I think it's because the hardware on the video card can only sync two monitors at once be it HDMI, VGA or DVI these all need a sync signal but Display Port monitors don't. I guess that's why those active Display Port adapters are so expensive. It might be cheaper to buy monitors with DP rather than buying monitors plus the adapters. That's if you require the active adapters. I think "some" of the eyefinity cards can use the passive ones. Oh what did Sapphire call it... Flex? I think even the 5770 Flex Edition for example could run 3 monitors at once without an active DP adapter while a normal 5770 can only run 2 monitors unless you use DP or an active DP adapter. I could be wrong here just something to keep in mind.

[AngryChief]

I've got 2-Powercolor 6870's in crossfire driving 2-Dell 30" 2560 x 1600 monitors plus an old 37" Visio 1920x1080 HDTV. I wound up buying 'bout $100.00 worth of "powered" and "unpowered" dongles to make it work. I would strongly suggest that you draw it out on paper, and get the Mfg or some "expert" tell you exactly what you need. What you'll find is few of them really know. You can only use 1 DVI-I port in my configuration.

[davele]

On initial release most vendors ship the "reference" card. After a few months they bring their "Value-Add" card to market.
It is these 2nd generation cards where they add unique functionality & capability to their cards.
From what I've seen the "FLEX" versions of Sapphire cards have by far the most flexibility & capability for Eye Infinity. ie: supporting 5 VDU's when the reference model only supports 3.

It is definitely not a 5 Series or 6 Series thing. More Monitors demand i) More GPU speed, ii) more RAM & iii) more power for more Outputs. As you add this to a card the cost, heat output & power increases. Thus the low end models in any series card will not drive as many VDU's as the higher end models.

Why don't they offer more DVI?
An advantage of Display Port is that you can power 3 monitors with the same number of transistors that 1 DVI-Dual Link requires. (As DP doesn't need individual sync signals.) That is why cards which support 4+ VDU's do so via DP.
Also the recent DP 1.2 spec permits serial connection of VDU's this will mean in future one output of the card could drive 3 monitors each. Perhaps more VDU's in future if they move to faster fiber optic connectors.

PS: The 7 Series cards are likely to support even more. The 28nm fab means lower heat, lower power, so more room for custom extras.

[Phillip]

AMD's site Eyefinity FAQ page details maximum monitors supported for each series they offer.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/techn...ximum-monitors

Important to note individual card manufacturers determine implementation. Both in number of ports & maximum number of monitors supported. In other words a card can have 4 ports yet only support 3 monitors (see last paragraph).

Find the series from AMD's FAQ then always check implementation by looking up card manufacturers website before buying.

Currently the norm for display ports is to need an active adapter after you connect two monitors. This is to do with the implementation of each card. Active adapters provide additional hardware only implemented for 2 monitors (specific combinations of ports) on the card. This saves both money & space for card manufacturers.

Also consider the memory available for each GPU. Some newer games may use more than 1GB when eyefinity resolutions are implemented & therefore benefit from newer larger memory cards.

I have a 5850 triple monitor setup at present. The maximum supported by card even though it has 4 ports. 58xx series can support 6 monitors so limit is implementation. I also have a 5870 eyefinity 6 2GB card I'm looking forward to trying out in the future. Will crossfire the 5870 & 5850. This will slow the 5870 to clock of 5850 reducing efficiency by only a small percentage. Could also overclock the 5850 to 5870 spec but personally prefer to under-clock for reliability & longevity.

[NinkobEi]

Originally Posted by Volkszorn88

5870 2gb Eyefinity edition that does up to 6 displays at once.

I'm pretty sure this was said at some point during the casting of Sasha Grey for a film.