How can I use all 3 ports on 5870 on a 2008 Mac Pro?

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How can I use all 3 ports on 5870 on a 2008 Mac Pro?

Firstly, the card is the PC version of the 5870 that has not been flashed and works without any issues. When I was running one monitor I was able to use the HDMI port wiithout any issues. However, now I have 2 - 23" Cinema Displays connected via the 2 Dual Link DVI ports on the card and when ever I connect the HDMI port I lose a monitor. Is there any way to run all 3 at the same time?

Thanks, any help is greatly appreciated.

Mac Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jun 20, 2013 6:33 PM

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Answer 1

Jun 21, 2013 2:18 PM in response to Taiko713

What standard ports are provided by the card directly? Exactly what adapters, if any, are you using?

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Answer 2

Taiko713 Author

Level 1

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Jun 21, 2013 2:22 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks for responding.

The standard ports are as follows: a pair of dual-link DVI ports, one HDMI, and one DisplayPort. I am not using any adapters as the 23: Apple Cinema Displays are dual link DVIs.

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Answer 3

Jun 21, 2013 2:53 PM in response to Taiko713

"AMD Eyefinity technology supports up to six DisplayPort™ monitors on an enabled graphics card. Supported display quantity, type and resolution vary by model and board design; confirm specifications with manufacturer before purchase. To enable more than two displays, or multiple displays from a single output, additional hardware such as DisplayPort-ready monitors or DisplayPort 1.2 MST-enabled hubs may be required. Maximum two active adapters supported. See www.amd.com/eyefinityfaq for full details."

from: http://support.amd.com/us/eyefinity/Pages/eyefinity-dongles.aspx

The straightforward solution is to convert one Single-Link DVI (good for display up to 1920 wide or 1080p HDMI which is 1080 by 1920) from DisplayPort using an ACTIVE adapter (that contains re-drivers for the signal levels) such as those listed on the page that quote above comes from, about US$35.

I do not yet understand how an un-flashed card is working, since BIOS-only cards do not contain the EFI firmware required to show a picture under Mac OS X.

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