Need help to power 6x VS247H-P with 2x HD7970-DC2T-3GD5 with Eyefinity

[AllGamer]

currently they are wired as per Advertised on the Card micro site http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/HD7970DC2T3GD5/


here's the configuration

EAH7970 ___________________________ VS247H-P
DVI-D ------------------------------------------> HDMI
DVI-D ------------------------------------------> HDMI
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> HDMI
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> HDMI
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> HDMI
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> HDMI

I choosed to use HDMI on the other side for easier cable management through the inner tubes of the 6 monitor mount

(the picture doesn't make it justice, the real thing is super sturdy and of very fine quality build, with very nicely done hollow tubes to run the cables from the inside), because the DVD-D connector is too big to fit through the holes of the Hex Monitor mount.

Running Win7 x64 with 12-3 catalyst drivers

maximum i can only manage to power on 4 monitors, but windows only lets me use 2 monitors at a time
it's having trouble detecting the 6th monitor, the 5th monitor i need to change another cable as it seems like a cable issue with #5

but regardless of that It should at the very least let me use my 4 monitor if i physically disconnect the cables on the other 2 problematic ones, yet Win7 will still not let me use more than 2 monitors, so what's the deal with that?

If i go to Screen chooser in Win7 or from Within Catalyst Desktop Manager, all 5 monitors shows up, but it wont let me use them all, not even as separate desktops.

i can do a combination of 2 anything

2x DVD-D or 2x DP, or 1 DP + 1 DVD-D

but it wont let me use all 4 at any given time 😞

it's been driving me nuts for the past couple of days

I want to enjoy my new rig, but can't do that until i get this thing sorted out.

I just got hold of 4 DP to DVI-D just for troubleshooting shakes, but i'm sure it won't make any difference.

so, the new setup will be:

EAH7970 ___________________________ VS247H-P
DVI-D ------------------------------------------> DVI-D
DVI-D ------------------------------------------> DVI-D
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> DVI-D
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> DVI-D
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> DVI-D
DisplayPort ----------------------------------> DVI-D



And if you must know, the tiny Switch in the video card it's set properly to the "Left" to allow the use of DP + DVI-D instead of "Right" which only allows Dual link DVD-D as per factory default.



I'm I missing something on the software side?

Any help or ideas will be very much appreciated

[stitch]

Okay.... First question, DUDE!

Second question, so you can't get them all to power up (power light turn on?) or do you mean you can't get Windows to detect all of them?

Next question, have you pulled the cabling out of the frame to confirm that the cabling works? Are your DisplayPort adapters active?

Consider testing each monitor individual with the system powered on and using a DP Adapter that you know works. Then try each cable with a single monitor that you know works.

Best way to troubleshoot is to check everything step-by-step.

[AllGamer]

I've individually tested each monitor, and each port DP & DVI
all 6 monitor are fine, if i hook them up using either of the active DP or DVI ports

Testing each DP port i found 3 out of the 4 working, 1 of them is not detecting the monitor for whatever reason, but in windows if i hit Detect displays button, then it comes up as unknown "VGA" monitor, which obviously is wrong, as the same monitor is properly detect by any of the other 5 ports.

both DVI-D ports are working perfectly

------

All cables are working fine, except for 2 seems to be too lose on the Displayport end, they will work fine if i plug them in properly, otherwise they won't get detected properly; i'll be changing them all back to DVI-D later today, so i'll be pulling all the cables out again regardless 😛

------

i've been reviewing all the setup over and over again, that's why now i've decided to go back to the Mfg suggested "DVI-D" configuration, just for the heck of troubleshooting and get this to rest

if it works, then i'll be getting the proper cable lengths for my setup as the ones that came with the monitors are too short for this type of setup.

[HiVizMan]

stitch wrote:
Okay.... First question, DUDE!

So so agree with this question. DUDE?


Ok that just rocks my world. Love to know what you are going to be using that system for, and can I come round and game sometime.

I am totally not able to help you at all. But I am subscribed to this thread just because I want to see the outcome.


Way coolest thing I have seen today.

[stitch]

Which DP port isn't working? Is it the one under the left DVI port in the top image? Flip the switch on the card as it may have been set to Dual Link DVI accidentally.

EDIT: Corrected my DVI port identification XD

[AllGamer]

actually you might be right, and the factory picture might be wrong


i have it set as the picture indicates to enable the last DP port and it seems to be doing the opposite as i get absolutely no feedback from that DP port circled in RED

i'll try flipping the switch back the opposite way, to see if that works (the way it was Not Supposed to work)

[AllGamer]

This is going to be a long one...

So, I finally got "Eyefinity 6" running properly and the way i want it to., and our guest was right, the SWITCH documentation was really wrong! it was the opposite side.

(however drivers issues still remains, but i'll save that for another story)

Right at boot up, you only get 1 and 4 during the BIOS POST

Then inside win7 this is how the monitors shows up "logical" representation




and the drivers confirm the same



but physically the monitors are lined up as:

5 - 3 - 1
6 - 4 - 2

needless to say everything was out of whack, and before we move on further just wanted to make a comment about using Display ports only / DVI-D ports only

when only the 2x DVI-D ports are in use, it comes up as:
monitor 5 = 2
monitor 6 = 1

when only the 4 DP ports are in use, it comes up as the picture above just with 5 & 6 missing.

when i plugged them in, i did it sequentially

using this pic as reference it'll be:
DP 4 .....
DP 3 ..... DVI-D 6
DP 2 ..... DVI-D 5
DP 1 .....


which corresponds to win7 monitors:
DP 4 = 3 .....
DP 3 = 1 ..... DVI-D 6 = 5 (1 when using DVI-D only)
DP 2 = 2 ..... DVI-D 5 = 6 (2 when using DVI-D only)
DP 1 = 4 .....




So, in the end i made the cables play the music chair game, to finally have it set up the way i like them to be in order bottom row for main, and top row for less important stuff




All of the above "home work" was necessary before creating the actual Eyefinity display area (virtual desktop 6:1)


5760 x 2160



Additional info regarding cables / adapters

DVI-D .......... DVI-D
DVI-D .......... DVI-D
DP .......... DVI-D (via Active Link adapter)
DP .......... DVI-D (via Active Link adapter)
DP .......... DVI-D (via Active Link adapter)
DP .......... DVI-D (via Active Link adapter)

apparently the original problem i had about being limited to 2 monitor was due the missing Active Link adapters, which is a PITA

so even after win7 was able to detect all 6 monitors after flipping the switch, it would still not let me use all 6 of them at once, because they were not using an Active Adapter

(*Take Note: as this little piece of information was never expressed or highlighted the importance of it well enough on all the review blogs/forums and other web postings, etc..

so again, windows will not let you use all 6 monitors even if you have everything perfectly setup and all 6 monitors detected and usable in groups of 2, if the DP ports are not using the annoying Active converters appendage)

so the absolute only time you can ignore and bypass those stupid adapters / dongles is when your LCD/LED monitor has a DisplayPort input, in which you will run a

DP .......... DP


level 1 completed
lets move on to level 2 (find a stable driver for 7970 on xfire)

[AllGamer]

"Eyefinity 6" in action inside game 😄


my first impression was WOW!this is Ginormus!, I felt like a 6 year old again 😄

my rig

[stitch]

Wow! Nice rig! This link explains why you need active adapters for Eyefinity. Passive adapters are apparently not part of the spec anymore and don't work when trying to support a number of screens.

Just noticed you have 6 HDDs and 2x DC2T with a GS800 800w PSU. I now know for certain my card issues aren't PSU related XD Thanks lol

[AllGamer]

just made additional changes to my rig
that stuff that was on the previous photo are now sitting in my HTPC

this is my current gaming rig



RAMPAGE IV Formula + i7-3960X on Corsair H80, to keep it at 41c running 4.7Ghz

unfortunately i can't no longer use the RAM fans that came with the G.skill set due the odd CPU / RAM slot design on the Rampage iv formula.

anyways back on topic regarding Eyefinity and HD7970-DC2T-3GD5
seems like the only stable drivers are 11.2
anything else it just hangs, or crashes randomly, even the latest 12.4 beta drivers
12.3 i can't even boot Win7 properely

the only problem with 11.2 is that it has no control over the fans
crossfire and eyefinity works good on 11.2
works with most games at least, but still fails to finish a 3DMark bench test