Monitor confusion

[cardi777]

Hi I'm a newbe really. Have a question about monitors.

I have a sapphire HD 7850 2gb oc in the mail.

I have 3 monitors, and I understand that there are 4 outputs.

1 x HDMI
1 x dual dvi
2 x mini display port

So I'm keen to use the HDMI and dvi, but I'm confused about the 3rd display ports.

My monitors don't have display ports, so I need a convertor. And active one, passive will not work I'm told?

But here is where I'm confused. My understanding is that this card uses eyefinity... So will this stretch one of the HDMI or dvi screens to be wider, like extra space as if the screen was twice the width? Or will it treat it like an extended monitor like I'm used to?

It's a bit hard to articulate, but will 3 screens used on 3 independent monitors

...or...

2 screens stretched over 3 monitors

Hopefully I'll have an option

Thanks!

Note this is an upgrade from the hd4800 1gb, I'm hoping it is a big improvement for gta iv on an i7 920

 

[newtekie1]

And active one, passive will not work I'm told?

I believe you need an active adapter to get HDCP to work properly. This adapter should do: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812423138

But here is where I'm confused. My understanding is that this card uses eyefinity... So will this stretch one of the HDMI or dvi screens to be wider, like extra space as if the screen was twice the width? Or will it treat it like an extended monitor like I'm used to?

It's a bit hard to articulate, but will 3 screens used on 3 independent monitors

...or...

2 screens stretched over 3 monitors

Hopefully I'll have an option

Thanks!

Note this is an upgrade from the hd4800 1gb, I'm hoping it is a big improvement for gta iv on an i7 920

You will have an option.

Eyefinity makes all 3 monitors appear to the system as one large monitor. This is good for gaming, but not good for desktop use, IMO.

You can also disable Eyefinity when not playing games to use the traditional multi-Monitor setup you're used to. Where each monitor is detected by the system independently and you can use the extend desktop option on the extra monitors.