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  1. Member
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    Can anyone suggest a 3 monitor graphics card so I can a) stretch my desktop across all three when editing and b) sometimes use 2 for editing and the third as an HD monitor when I'm fine tuning my masterpieces?

    I'm using Sony Vegas so the gigybitty thingys dont matter too much although it would be nice to have perhaps 1gb as Vegas 11 can now use some of this magic!

    Its going into an HPZ800 and I know I can use 2 seperate cards of the same make but would like to use just 1.
    + I get confused with all the technical stuff when looking!

    Budget is also tight at £300 or below? (if thats possible).

    Thanks!

    P.S. Note to forum grammer Police: I dont care if I have made any spelling mistakes or put question marks in the wrong places. I'm sure that any right minded semi intelligent contributor to this forum completely understands what I am asking!!!!! If not I'm sure they will ask for clarification. So please dont bother with your petty, pointless observations!!!!!
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    I think any of ATI's grahics cards with Eyfinity can do what you want, although one of the three monitors will need to be hooked up using a display port. An active display port to single-link DVI adapter can be used to hook up a DVI monitor to a display port, although user reviews indicate the adapters don't work well with every graphics card or every monior.

    This is one of the less expensive Eyefinity cards.
    http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/AMD_Series/EAH6670DIS1GD5/#specifications

    I don't know if NVIDIA presently has a solution that only requires one graphics card.
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  3. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    ATI Efinity using a display port.
    Murphy's law taught me everything I know.
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    Ok Thanks. I get it now! I understand how Eyefinity works.

    I was looking at AMD Radeon HD6870.
    Now then not being a computer type, merely the driver not the engineer for most of my life, It would seem that AMD Radeon HD6870 is simply the "chipset" (is that the right bit?) and this bit is fitted to a range of cards from a range of companies.

    Some say "with Eyefinity" and some dont?

    Q. Do all HD6870 cards support Eyefinity?
    Q. Which companies card should I get, who's the best, most reliable and quietest?

    ...or are they all much of a muchness!!
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  5. A: AMD and nVidia make the GPU chips but rely on other manufacturers to make the videocard.
    A: As long as it has a DisplayPort, the AMD HD6870's are great for gaming but IMO overpriced for everyday use.
    A: I've owned ASUS, Gigabyte and Powercolor but this card has good reviews(and it's cheap): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139056
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  6. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    ATI Efinity using a display port.
    Murphy's law taught me everything I know.
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    Originally Posted by Compo View Post
    Ok Thanks. I get it now! I understand how Eyefinity works.

    I was looking at AMD Radeon HD6870.
    Now then not being a computer type, merely the driver not the engineer for most of my life, It would seem that AMD Radeon HD6870 is simply the "chipset" (is that the right bit?) and this bit is fitted to a range of cards from a range of companies.

    Some say "with Eyefinity" and some dont?

    Q. Do all HD6870 cards support Eyefinity?
    Q. Which companies card should I get, who's the best, most reliable and quietest?

    ...or are they all much of a muchness!!
    You need an AMD HD 6870 with at least one display port, plus two additional ports to use Eyefinity and have the ability to run 3 monitors using one video card. I wouldn't say any particular maker stands out as the best, but the HD 6870 cards like anything else vary somewhat in quality. Look at user reviews before deciding which version to buy. The fan seems to be one weak point with all video cards. People either complain about the noise, insufficient cooling, or that the fan wears out too fast. If you are not using the card for gaming, you may not experience those problems.

    Originally Posted by MOVIEGEEK View Post
    I've owned ASUS, Gigabyte and Powercolor but this card has good reviews(and it's cheap): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139056
    Its a good choice for everyday use, but just so the OP knows, it won't run 3 monitors all by itself.
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    Originally Posted by dragonkeeper View Post
    ATI Efinity using a display port.
    Forgive my ignorance but when I look for the above It just shows me how Efinity works and does not show me an actual card to purchase?
    When I search for "ATI Radeon HD 6870" I get a list of cards that vary in price, look and some start with the words "Saphire" "XFX" "EK" "Apple" " Visiontec" etc etc etc all looking slightly different?

    So which one do I choose!
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    Originally Posted by Compo View Post
    When I search for "ATI Radeon HD 6870" I get a list of cards that vary in price, look and some start with the words "Saphire" "XFX" "EK" "Apple" " Visiontec" etc etc etc all looking slightly different?

    So which one do I choose!
    How to choose... It is hard to recommend a specific model, since the same models are not sold everywhere. Read reviews and see what people who have one think of them. Look for a model that says "Eyefinity". They will have at least one display port, for the most part. I did see one card from Sapphire that did not have a display port, although still says Eyefinity. I don't know what made it possible to do that. From day one of Eyefinity's existence, using more than 2 monitors at a time was impossible without at least one of them being connected to a display port.

    You do not have to get a 6670 Radeon HD. There are other ATI chips that support Eyefinity. This is another Eyefinity card that received good reviews http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-624.shtml

    Here are a few hints: Make sure your case has enough room for the card. All but one model I have looked at are full height, and nearly all occupy 2 expansion slots. Some are fairly long too. Check the manufacture's product page to be sure your PSU is sufficient to power the card. Get a model with a fan. These cards generate a lot of heat. The only ones I saw without a fan had a huge bulky heatsink instead, and might overheat unless they are installed where a fan sends air in their direction.

    [Edit]Here are Amazon listings for the two cards I mentioned, for the sake of illustrating that their selling price is within your budget. You will also need an active display port to DVI adapter if you do not have a monitor with a display port.
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/HIS-6750-GDDR5-1024MB-HDMI/dp/B004YJBMB4/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=U...7&sr=8-1-fkmr2
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asus-Radeon-Graphics-PCI-Express-Dust-proof/dp/B004XANO24/ref=...5829873&sr=1-1
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 30th Apr 2012 at 19:55.
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  10. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Compo View Post
    Originally Posted by dragonkeeper View Post
    ATI Efinity using a display port.
    When I search for "ATI Radeon HD 6870" I get a list of cards that vary in price, look and some start with the words "Saphire" "XFX" "EK" "Apple" " Visiontec" etc etc etc all looking slightly different?

    So which one do I choose!
    Click on the details tab for the card, make sure it has at least 1 display port. Also I look for cards that has a lot of reviews, with at least 80% of the reviewers giving the card 4 stars or better and less than 10% of reviewers giving the card 1 egg. There are other factors i use as well but this is the jest of it.
    Murphy's law taught me everything I know.
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    I have a PowerColor 5770 Eyefinity 5 video card in my main project PC. I am using it to display the desktop across four monitors (2 x 23" & 2 x 26"). The only issue I ran across when setting it up was that it required active display port adapters in order to use more than two video ports at one time. It didn't matter which two ports were used initially, the 3rd and 4th ports needed active adapters to work simultaneously. I don't know if this requirement has changed on newer AMD cards, but you might want to investigate this. Also, as Dragonkeeper mentioned, if your 3rd monitor does not have a displayport you have no choice. If you need one, make sure the adapter has the same type of plug as the port on your card. Some have full size display port plugs, some have mini display port plugs. Price is about $25 - $30.
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    OK I think that does it!

    Ive gone for:

    XFX HD 6870 AMD Radeon Graphics Card - 1GB
    HD-687A-ZHFC - 1GB XFX HD 6870, 4200MHz GDDR5, GPU 900MHz, 1120 Cores, EyeFinity, HDMI/ 2x mini DisplayPort/ 2x DVI-I

    That seems to cover everything ya all sayin!

    Thanks to all!!
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