Using 2x5750 to Build a 6 Monitor System

[6MonitorTrader]

I'm building a system using 2 of the Sapphire VaporX 5750 cards to drive 6 LCDs at 1920x1080 each, for trading, not gaming. Rest of the system is i7-920, Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7, Corsair HX850W, 6 GB RAM.... Will use a DP to DVI adaptor to get the third output on each card.

I've been searching cyberspace looking for someone who has already done this, surprisingly with no luck. I'd like that confirmation before I order parts. Part of the reason I am feeling wary about this is I keep seeing statements from ATI that "only 3-monitor Eyefinity is currently supported" and that future releases will enable 6 monitor Eyefinity. Are they referring to the single-card Eyefinity Six, or are they saying that the drivers will only support 3 monitors and that someone like me will end up with 3 active displays and 3 black? It seems reasonable to assume that if one 5750 will drive 3 monitors then two 5750s will drive 6, but placing this order on assumptions makes me nervous. I'd feel alot better knowing that someone somewhere has actually done this before I take the plunge into murky waters.

Can any of you help? Do you know of anyone who has used 2 5xxx cards to drive 6 displays? Thanks for any info.

 

[linkin]

they should work fine. the technology is new, so it can only get better. that means better drivers for big fixes or added support.

 

[funkysnair]

i have heard that eyefinity doesnt work in crossfire at the present time, you need to email someone at saphire and ask this question!

ask if it is possible to run eyefinity in crossfire yet-or when will it be available

 

[6MonitorTrader]

Crossfire won't work with Eyefinity yet, you're correct, but I'm not interested in Crossfire anyway. I don't want the 2 5750s for graphics acceleration, only for the 6 monitor outputs that I need.

 

[funkysnair]

the problem with the question you are asking is the fact that eyefinity is just new technology and i dont belive 1 single person in this forum has used it for 3 monitors let alone six!

if i was you i would email saphire and hear it from the horses mouth, but come back here and shed a light for us!

there might be someone who will come on later that knows but if i was you i would contact saphire as it is a big investment.

 

[Leopold Butters]

I know of someone on youtube who has 2 5970s running in crossfire and he uses 3 monitors. I am not sure if the rest of you guys are saying eyefinity doesn't work at all with CF or just if 6 displays do not work in crossfire. I know that three of them do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IW3gbggqXg

EDIT*

Well. As it turns out I was wrong. Only the 5970 supports Eyefinity in crossfire. Sorry.

 

[just a noob]

i don't see why you couldn't run 6 monitors off of the 2 cards(assuming that the drivers allow you to see them as two separate cards), otherwise i guess the next option would be to do something like buy 3 9800gt's and do it that way

 

[linkin]

If everything goes down the shitter, buy a motherboard that has 3x pci-e x16 slots, and get 3 cheap cards, maybe 9600gt's, and you're laughing.

 

[tlarkin]

That is extreme over kill. I would look into a Matrox card, since they are kind of the best card in the industry for mutli-display video outputs. Probably cheaper too. You also don't need the i7 or 6gigs of RAM if it is going to be used for day trading. Then again, it's your money.

 

[starlitjoker]

i would go on youtube and look up "MAXISHINE" he is a british tech wiz lol, he does lots of eyefinity stuff and some of it is pretty amazing, ask him he would probably know i could ask him for you just tell me in this thread

 

[6MonitorTrader]

I appreciate the input from everyone. Thanks.

Yeah, the backup plan is to use 3 x EVGA Nvidia 9500GT 1GB, which is a card I like for its low power, cool, and quiet attributes. But the 5750 also has those attributes, and lets me do it running only 2 cards and at full PCIex16 speed, and would likely give much better performance. If I end up having to go the Nvidia route, then using 3 cards means the PCIe bus will drop down to 3 cards each working at x8 speed. Not sure it would make much difference x8 or x16 anyway.

I'll try contacting Sapphire, but may not get a timely enough response to matter. I really need to get on with this project. I have read endless forums chocked full of scary and mostly contradictory information, and I really don't know if a definitive answer is out there anywhere. It may be that the only way to really know, is to build it. I have the feeling that before all is said and done, no matter what I will end up with a bunch of components for Ebay.

Thanks for the info.

 

[6MonitorTrader]

Starlitjoker, thank you for that. That's a resource I hadn't come across yet. Excellent.

Looks like between maxishine on youtube and all the forums and stuff on maxishine website, it'll keep me busy for awhile. Good job, thanks.

 

[ganzey]

I appreciate the input from everyone. Thanks.

Yeah, the backup plan is to use 3 x EVGA Nvidia 9500GT 1GB, which is a card I like for its low power, cool, and quiet attributes. But the 5750 also has those attributes, and lets me do it running only 2 cards and at full PCIex16 speed, and would likely give much better performance. If I end up having to go the Nvidia route, then using 3 cards means the PCIe bus will drop down to 3 cards each working at x8 speed. Not sure it would make much difference x8 or x16 anyway.

I'll try contacting Sapphire, but may not get a timely enough response to matter. I really need to get on with this project. I have read endless forums chocked full of scary and mostly contradictory information, and I really don't know if a definitive answer is out there anywhere. It may be that the only way to really know, is to build it. I have the feeling that before all is said and done, no matter what I will end up with a bunch of components for Ebay.

Thanks for the info.

with a 9500gt, there wont be any difference

 

[Theblackoutow]

I know of someone on youtube who has 2 5970s running in crossfire and he uses 3 monitors. I am not sure if the rest of you guys are saying eyefinity doesn't work at all with CF or just if 6 displays do not work in crossfire. I know that three of them do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IW3gbggqXg

EDIT*

Well. As it turns out I was wrong. Only the 5970 supports Eyefinity in crossfire. Sorry.

Sorry to go off topic but, OMG I WAS JUST ABOUT TO RECOMMEND EFACO!!! Xd!!!

 

[G25r8cer]

That is extreme over kill. I would look into a Matrox card, since they are kind of the best card in the industry for mutli-display video outputs. Probably cheaper too. You also don't need the i7 or 6gigs of RAM if it is going to be used for day trading. Then again, it's your money.

Why buy a Matrox when you can buy 2 5750's for the same price. Plus with the Matrox you still NEED a decent gpu to run it. Physical cards to run the monitors WILL work much better

Edit: I am fairly sure that with the new Catlyst Control you can run Crossfire with Eyefinity