ATI Eyefinity Triple Monitor Setup Not Working
Error: You Must Disable One Monitor to Enable Another
Ok, so I can’t recall if that is the exact error message but that is the gist of it. I ran across this issue the other day while helping a customer and had trouble finding a straight answer right away so I wanted to post this for anyone else who is running into this issue.
The Issue: ATI Eyefinity does not enable all three monitors
The issue the customer was running into was that they had 3 displays and wanted to setup a triple monitor system. Our sales reps had sold the customer the Sapphire ATI 5770 which featured ATI “Eyefinity” to support up to three monitors on one video card.
ATI’s spec sheet details that this can be done by connecting 2 monitors via DVI with the third monitor connected via the “Display Port” connection.
(For those unfamiliar with “Display Port” a relatively new standard, check this link on Wikipedia: Display Port. It is basically a royalty free version of HDMI.)
The Configuration: ATI Eyefinity with DVI & Display Port Adapter
Our customer was connecting everything just like it was outlined on ATI’s website. They were using two DVI connections along with a third DVI cable with a Display Port adapter connected to it. This should have worked according to what ATI had listed on their site.
The Problem: ATI Eyefinity requires an “ACTIVE” display Port Adapter
After about a half hour researching the problem, it turns out that to utilize Eyefinity through the dual DVI, single “display port” configuration listed on ATI’s site you need to have one of two things.
- A monitor that is equipped with a display port. (Most people are using older monitors, and only new LCDs are coming equipped with this.)
- An “ACTIVE” display port adapter that costs anywhere from $100 – $200 dollars.
Since most people have no reason to replace older LCDs that are working fine, they are probably going to go the Display Port to DVI adapter route. That being the case ATI needs to make a proactive effort to let their customers know Eyefinity WILL NOT WORK WITH A PASSIVE DISPLAY PORT ADAPTER.
How can I tell if my Display Port Adapter is ACTIVE or PASSIVE?
An active display port adapter actually has a USB cable that runs into it because it requires power from the system to do a real time video signal conversion. The passive adapter does not have the additional USB cable connected to it. A lot of the time the active adapters also look like a box, with cables running out of it, where the passive adapters just look similar to a HDMI to DVI adapter.
Price is also an easy identifier with passive adapters running about $15 – $25 bucks, while the Active display port adapters tend to run about $100 – $200 dollars and are in short supply with most distributers.
Conclusion:
Eyefinity is being sold under the assumption that if you are buying a new system or video card that offers this feature you are also buying monitors that come with a “Display Port” built in. In this case you could just connect the LCD to your video card via a display port cable and avoid this whole issue.
For those needing to use a display port adapter, (Which I am guessing is pretty much anyone reading this article.) ATI assumes you are either planning to buy 3 new LCD monitors with display ports. (Since most people buy their triple monitors at the same time for matching specs, color balance, color temp, etc.) or that you are willing to spend an additional $150 dollars for the proper adapter.
Although in that case you could have always just gone with a second video card for the additional monitor connections, up to 4 (quad) monitor support and for better GPU performance.
In any event this article is not about what brand, configuration, or multi display technology is the best. It is simple a reference for people who are running into this issue, and have not been able to find any relevant information online since many people are still unaware of this issue.
