Question

Need quad head with Radeon as main card

Asked by: CraigHarris

I need a quad head graphics solution, all 4 outputs must be DVI and capable of 1920x1200 -- at least 1 head must be capable of dual link DVI (2560x1600)

I'm planning on an X1900XT (PCI-E) as main card, but I will need a 2nd card (will have to be plain old PCI) with 2 additional DVI outputs .... I believe I may run into driver problems using a completely different 2nd card. I need suggestions for the 2nd card, preferably with links to articles which proove the compatability.

If I can just get one quad head card then you are welcome to suggest a product, but it must be capable of good DirectX 9 performance without breaking the bank!

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Asked On
2006-10-16 at 13:34:40ID22026394
Tags

quad

,

head

,

card

Topics

Miscellaneous Hardware

,

Computer Displays / Monitors

,

Video Cards

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Answers

 

by: CallandorPosted on 2006-10-16 at 13:55:58ID: 17742349

The problem is that a PCI card is going to be extremely slow, compared to PCI-e, and if you are set on the X1900XT as the main card, you will probably use the Radeon 9250 as the PCI card, which is NOT DirectX 9 compliant (Radeons are DirectX 9 compliant starting at the 9500 series).  You may want a Crossfire or SLI motherboard, to give you two PCI-e video card slots and the ability to get another X1900XT.

 

by: CraigHarrisPosted on 2006-10-16 at 14:20:59ID: 17742559

I only need DirectX 9 from the main card - the others will only be used for web browsing and video playback.
I do not have the budget for a new motherboard etc - the board I have is 1 PCI-E slot (16x) and 3 PCI slots
The 2nd card must have dual DVI though, and each of those heads must do 1920x1200.

 

by: garycasePosted on 2006-10-16 at 14:52:25ID: 17742913

Okay, the X1900XT satisfies the requirement for Dual-Link DVI and good DirectX-9 performance ... so all you need is a nice dual-head PCI card with two DVI outputs.   You'll have the fewest driver issues if you stay with an ATI-based chipset, so I'd suggest this card:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814103013

 

by: CraigHarrisPosted on 2006-10-26 at 12:14:44ID: 17814525

I'm having trouble finding a suitable second card in the UK.
Requirements summary for 2nd card:
+ PCI
+ Dual DVI
+ 1920x1200 on each head
+ Compatible with X1900XT (which will occupy the only PCI-E slot)

 

by: garycasePosted on 2006-10-26 at 12:37:53ID: 17814711

 

by: garycasePosted on 2006-10-26 at 12:43:08ID: 17814757

Whoops !!  That card will only go to 1600 x 1200 on the DVI outputs (but 2048 x 1636 if you use it via VGA outputs).
Although it will work very well, you would have to use a lower widescreen resolution if you use the DVI outputs (you would still get a superb display, however).

 

by: garycasePosted on 2007-02-21 at 06:43:17ID: 18578640

CraigHarris,

What cards did you wind up using for this ??

 

by: CraigHarrisPosted on 2007-02-27 at 10:58:25ID: 18619436

I sorted this out ages ago - sorry guys for not closing the question.
I have X1900XT as main card, the onboard shows up as Radeon 1150, and I settled for a single DVI and a VGA on the PCI card, which I think is 9200Pro -- can't quite remember exactly, but CCC shows "9200 Pro series" so it might be an SE model or something but it has 128mb RAM (not that I need any of it !)

 

by: Computer101Posted on 2007-03-27 at 19:31:13ID: 18805295

PAQed with points refunded (300)

Computer101
EE Admin

 

by: kengi2Posted on 2008-10-01 at 04:06:37ID: 22612997

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121247

 
ASUS EAH3870X2/G/3DHTI/1G Radeon HD 3870 X2 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card


wanted to post this here for future searchers

hopefully a 4870x2 quad head will be coming out shortly

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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