I installed the Apple 5770 card in my Mac Pro 3,1. Works great with my monitor on the DVI port. However I have a second monitor and it won't work on either of the mini displayports. I've tried the displayport -> DVI adapter, and the displayport -> HDMI adapter. I've also tried putting both monitors on the displayports with adapters. The only configuration that works is 1 monitor on the DVI port. Any ideas on this?
Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)
If it's a larger monitor you may need the active adapter rather than the default passive adapter that came with the card.
If the monitor has a resolution greater than 1920 x 1200 you need a dual link DVI adapter.
Also check your display system preferences to see if the second monitor is even being detected (look at arrangement) and you may need to click Detect Displays and set the proper resolution. If the monitor is detected click Gather Windows to get the display preferences for all the monitors on to your main monitor.
BTW, if you decide you need an active (dual link) adapter then shop around, I picked up a new one (not white) from a big electronics store for a third of the price of a "white" one.
Also, Mini DisplayPort can be tricky to install correctly. You need to push on the adapter until essentially ALL of the metal part disappears inside the connector.
Monoprice has a dual link dvi adapter for $69.
Huh! now I'm not sure. I run a 30" and two 24"s on a 5770 card. I got another regular mini DVI adapter for the third monitor from apple at $29.99. That didn't work. I went to Fry's Electronics and got an "active" mini DVI adapter for $9.95 at that time. That didn't work. After reading forums I went and got a second active DVI adapter, for another $9.95.
I found that if I wanted to run 3 monitors on high resolution I had to get two active adapters, not one passive and one active, plus the regular DVI out.
Now I don't know what the difference is with a "dual link adapter" compared to an "active" adapter, but my $9.95 x 2 solution worked.
For three monitors on a 5x70 card, yes, you need two active adapters. For DVI you only need dual link for resolutions greater than 1920 x 1200. 24"s only require single link so that is probably what you are using, i.e., single link active DVI adapters (see below). I assume you have the 30" in the DVI port of the 5770.
For info about DVI here's a helpful article:
For info about the active vs. passive adapter requirements for 5x70 cards here's apple's articles:
Mac Pro (Early 2009), Mac Pro (Mid 2010): Supported display configurations
And for a chart of the various passive and active adapters for 5x70's:
AMD Eyefinity Validated Dongles
Presumably you got something from that list or something compatible with one of those on the list (mini displayport to single link DVI active adapters). Single link adapters are relatively cheap. It's the dual link active's that are more expensive due to the handling of additional power requirements. That's why the dual link adapter I referenced has two plugs. One is for the mini-displayport. The other is USB to supply the additional power to the adapter.
Correct. The 30" Dell is on the DVI port and the two 24" Acers are on two active adapters.
Also, Mini DisplayPort can be tricky to install correctly. You need to push on the adapter until essentially ALL of the metal part disappears inside the connector.
O.M.G. thanks what it was 🙂
Hi, I have a similar issue.
I have got 2 Samsung 23" monitors with 1920x1080 resolutions and a 27" Apple Cinema Display.
I have bought a Ati 5770 card, however the Monitor running from the DVI does not register with the computer (Mac Pro 1,1 Quad 2Ghz).
If I was to replace the apple mdp to dvi with an Active mdp to dvi adapter, could that potentially solve my problem?
Many Thanks
Paul
The rule from ATI/AMD is, "when using three 'legacy' interfaces, ACTIVE adapters are required". DVI, HDMI, VGA all count as legacy interfaces.
Apple's guidance is that you will need their top-of-the-line ACTIVE interfaces that include a USB cord for even more power for the interfaces..
I bought a standard XFX Active Mini Displayport to DVI adapter for around £17 on amazon. Works a treat, no need to shell out for any expensive products.
I have a similar problem, but the circumstances suggest a problem with MacOSX 10.7.x.
I have a MacPro model 5,1 with a Radeon HD 5770 card. This machine has 2 hard drives. One (the original) is set up to boot with MacOSX 10.6. The other is set up to boot with MacOSX 10.7. I can choose which one to boot from at startup by pressing the option key at the chime.
I
Somehow my post got sent before I finished writing it.
Here is what I intended to post:
I have a similar problem, but the circumstances suggest a problem with MacOSX 10.7.x.
I have a MacPro model 5,1 with a Radeon HD 5770 card. This machine has 2 hard drives. One (the original) is set up to boot with MacOSX 10.6. The other is set up to boot with MacOSX 10.7.4. I can choose which one to boot from at startup by pressing the option key at the chime.
I needed to be able to view the screen on the TV in the next room, so I got a NewerTech mini displayport to HDMI adapter. This works well, but only under 10.6.
When booted with 10.6, the system profiler shows the following for Graphics/Displays:
ATI Radeon HD 5770:
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 5770
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 1024 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x68b8
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-C0160C-155
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.436
Displays:
SHARP HDMI:
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: On
Mirror Status: Master Mirror
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Interlaced: Yes
Television: Yes
Cinema Display:
Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Mirror: On
Mirror Status: Hardware Mirror
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Display Connector:
Status: No Display Connected
Note that there are 3 entries under Displays. One of these is an unused mini displayport output.
When booted with 10.7.4, the system profiler shows the following for Graphics/Displays:
ATI Radeon HD 5770:
Chipset Model: ATI Radeon HD 5770
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
Slot: Slot-1
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 1024 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x68b8
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-C0160C-155
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.436
Displays:
Cinema Display:
Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Rotation: Supported
Note that there is only one entry under Displays. There isn't even any indication that the card has more than one output.
I know that there is nothing wrong with the hardware because I can switch back and forth between the OS's. The mini displayports are recognized in 10.6.8. They are not recognized in 10.7.4.
This looks like a bug in the display driver in 10.7.
Anyone have any ideas how to fix this?
Thanks for any insights.
Start with a PRAM Reset, which is supposed to rebuild the What-Hardware-Is-Where tables.
Radeon HD 5770's mini displayports not working
