2x eyefinity 6 = 12 displays ?

**timdas** · February 19th, 2012, 01:28 PM

Hello
Is it possible to use a dual PCI-e Motherboard and 2 PowerColor 6870 Eyefinity 6 Graphic Cards (without Crossfire) to display different or seamless content to 12 different displays?
Will my Windows 7 64Bit and ATI Drivers see and extend on all 12 displays ?
And what MB can handle this ?
Thank you.

**SoloCamo** · February 19th, 2012, 02:07 PM

Welcome to TechIMO!

Yes, you *should* be able to, theoretically

However, though it's been done before it seems most people are reporting instability due to driver issues.

The motherboard will be fine, assuming it's of decent quality. And also, make sure to have a very capable power supply, as this setup will draw tons of power from those 6870's. If you don't you risk even worse instability and furthermore inability to run it at all.

**timdas** · February 19th, 2012, 02:12 PM

so a NOX URANO II 530w it's out of the question .....

**SoloCamo** · February 19th, 2012, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by timdas

so a NOX URANO II 530w it's out of the question .....

I take it this is the psu?

NOX. Be yourself.

___

If so, then no, I would not trust that at all for what you are trying to do.

The specs for it are;

+3.3V: 23A
+5V: 28A
+12V1: 17A
+12V2: 18A
-12V: 0.6A
+5VSB: 2.0A

So it's not bad (assuming the brand is decent, never heard of them myself ) but it's low for a 530w psu, and definitely not something I'd be pushing those graphics cards on.

What are you goals with the 12 displays? Presentations, gaming, or?

**timdas** · February 19th, 2012, 02:26 PM

i don't want to use it for gaming but for video playback.
I have 5 videoprojectors side by side and 4 lcd side by side, mounted in different corners of a showroom.
I want to display video content on these compositions.
One option is to use windows 7's extended displays and play clips using VLC or use Resolume which can select the desired display to play on.

But before I buy such a configuration I wanted to ask you guys if it will work.
It's definetly cheaper than a digital signage splitter.
Do you have any other opinion ?

**SoloCamo** · February 19th, 2012, 02:33 PM

Sounds good, assuming you find decent drivers that should work. However, one thing to keep in mind is your CPU, what one are you running? This is still going to require a fair bit of processing power and I still highly suggest you upgrade the psu as well to play it safe.

**timdas** · February 19th, 2012, 02:36 PM

I thought of AMD Athlon II x4 640 AM3
what version of drivers should work best ? do the ATI 12 will work ?

**timdas** · February 19th, 2012, 03:05 PM

do you have any idea how many watts an Eyefinity 6 card in full load can use ?

**SoloCamo** · February 19th, 2012, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by timdas

do you have any idea how many watts an Eyefinity 6 card in full load can use ?

Those two 6870's should roughly use about 300 or so watts for the both of them, but thats a rough estimate. Total system wattage would be too close to 500w for my comfort on that psu

**ShyguyXPC** · February 19th, 2012, 05:49 PM

add in the use of Active Display Port adapters if your monitors don't have Display Port Inputs for the video, which will add another $30 or per card, not sure if you need 2 Active DP adapters for each card, since normally a 3 display card you need at least one for.

For example with a 3 Display card, and you have standard DVI or HDMI monitors, you'd need an Active DP Adapter for the DisplayPort to convert it to DVI or HDMI in order to get 3 Display Support, so you can connect all 3 via DVI or HDMI.

For Dual Display support, using the DP, you can get by with just a passive DP Adapter (non powered), using the DP and a DVI or DP and HDMI port.

but for 6 display cards, not sure if that rule still applies, but considering those most of those 6 display cards all have 6 Mini DisplayPort connectors. You'll need Active DP adapters anyways.

From reading this, sounds like you will need an Active DisplayPort Adapter for each one of those ports on the 2 cards

AMD Eyefinity FAQs

How many non-DisplayPort monitors can I use with an AMD Eyefinity technology-enabled graphics card?

You can connect up to two non-DisplayPort monitors at one time to an AMD Eyefinity technology-enabled graphics card using non-DisplayPort connections or passive DisplayPort dongles. To enable and drive 3 or more non-DisplayPort monitors at one time, the additional non-DisplayPort monitors must be connected with an active DisplayPort dongle.

6 Per Card, 12 in all, $360 in additional Costs @ $30/each.

Looks like the card has 4 Mini DP to DP adapters, so you'd need 4 DP to DVI or HDMI adapters at least (8 in all), since it comes with 2 Mini DP to DVI already per card.

XFX sells an Active Mini DP to Single Link DVI adapter for $30: Newegg.com - XFX Active Mini DisplayPort to SL-DVI Adapter Model MA-AP01-ND1K

**timdas** · February 20th, 2012, 06:24 AM

@ShyguyXPC Thanks for the tips. I will use active adapters for all.
@SoloCamo What do you mean by "assuming you find decent drivers that should work" ? Should i try anything else than ATI 12.1 ?