Major Issues with Radeon 5770 Upgrade - No 3rd Screen and Choppy Video

Question

Major Issues with Radeon 5770 Upgrade - No 3rd Screen and Choppy Video

I hope someone here can help.

I have upgraded the video card in my 2008 Mac Pro Xeon 2.8 Ghz machine, and the installation was fine. However I have 3 major problems:

1. I can only get 2 monitors to display

2. Video is very choppy - not nearly as smooth as the previous graphics card.

3. I can't move windows completely onto the 2nd monitor.

_____________

1. I have DVI dual-link connected to my DELL monitor 27 inch, mini display port to VGA to an old monitor I use for a second monitor in my equipment rack (I se it to keep an eye on my virtual mixer) and a minidisplayport to HMDI to go to my television, to play back video of projects I am working on.

I can't connect the 2 mini display ports without losing the DVI.

2. The video is really choppy - moving windows around is not at al smooth and everything seems a bit laggy. Obsiouyl no such issue before the upgrade.

3. I have the 2nd monitor on the equipment rack where I can see the levels of the various audio I have got going around. That's it's prime function, but I can't move the mixer window all the way over to the second monitor - the edge gets stuck on the main screen. No such issues before.

Does anyone know anything that might help me out of this?

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 14Gb RAM, Konnekt 48

Posted on Nov 22, 2013 10:00 AM

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Answer 1

RatVega™

Level 4

2,005 points

Nov 22, 2013 10:18 AM in response to Rohan Stevenson1

Rule One: Mini DisplayPorts must have active adapters when you are using three displays. I use these:

Amazon.com: Accell B087B-006B UltraAV Mini DisplayPort to DVI-D Single-Link Active Adapter ATI Certified (Black): Computers & Accessories

Rule Two: Choppy video can be a disk speed problem, a cable/bus problem, a video format problem, or a video board problem.

What a monitor will/will not do is often a monitor problem. I have two 27" 1080p displays on mini DisplayPort and a 37" 1080p HDTV on the main DVI without issue.

hope this helps

EDIT: if the Dell monitor is greater than 1080p, it probably requires two ports. And if that's the source of the window you talk about, it's too big for the other monitor.

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Answer 2

Nov 22, 2013 10:23 AM in response to RatVega™

Thanks for your response.

Bear in mind - I am coming from the same twon montior scenario with the old card. Exactly the same resolution and setup and it was smooth. This is not. I wonder if there is a software upgrade that is required or something, Also every other part of the hardware setup is exactly the same. The only thing that has changed is the new card and worse performance which really surprised me.

That is truly depressing news about the active adapters. Not sure about this - I may just send the sodding card back to apple.

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Answer 3

Nov 22, 2013 10:24 AM in response to RatVega™

Oh and one other thing: Do I need active adaoptrs for both the VGA monitor and the HDMI TV?

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Answer 4

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

Nov 22, 2013 10:53 AM in response to Rohan Stevenson1

Apple Mini DisplayPort adapters: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3382

Guide to Apple graphic display adapters needed
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT3235

Atlona (Dual Link) DVI to Mini DisplayPort Converter for Apple 27-inch LED and 27-inch iMac

http://www.atlona.com/Atlona-Dual-Link-DVI-to-Mini-DisplayPort-Converter-USB-Pow ered.html

Mac Pro (Early 2009), Mac Pro (Mid 2010), Mac Pro (Mid 2012): Issues with three displays and multiple DVI, HDMI connections
It's not the USB data that is needed to run three displays. It's the extra POWER. If you read the Apple article, they say the only solution they endorse is their US$100 Dual-Link adapters. Check the table at the end of the article.
Mac Pro (Early 2009), Mac Pro (Mid 2010): Supported display configurations

Readers here have found that if you have two Brand-X Powered adapters, aka active adapters, it also works fine. These do not always require another USB. If designed recently, they can pick up a power pin in the Mini DisplayPort interface.

AMD (makers of the 5770 and 5870) lists the qualified POWERED adapters that meet their most stringent requirements. Look down the page and you will find several qualified Active Mini DisplyPort to various others, such as HDMI. These adapters are available from other outlets, such as Amazon, sometimes for far less than the Apple adapters.

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

The other desktop monitor will plug directly into the DVI port on the card and the 40 inch tv will still connect via HDMI over the second Mini Display port.

That will work only if you use an active Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter.

The only (someone) have found to work (2009)

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/337561577/miniactive_display_port_tohdmi.html

but you should confirm that they are really active before buying 500 of them.

You can connect a DVI to HDMI adapter or cable to an active Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter but that won't give you any audio over HDMI. You could connect the DVI displays to the Mini DisplayPorts with active adapters and use a DVI to HDMI cable or adapter from the DVI port to the TV.

If you want audio via HDMI, you can use audio from the Mac Pro's optical output with this DVI to HDMI converter:

http://www.apogeeinc.net/products/item.aspx?item=2745

Active MDP to HDMI audio and video converter:

http://ca.startech.com/AV/Displayport-Converters/Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI-Active -Video-and-Audio-Adapter-Converter-Mini-DP-to-HDMI-1920x1200~MDP2HDS

Discussion: Using three ports.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2734984

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Answer 5

Nov 22, 2013 2:04 PM in response to The hatter

Hello Hatter, thank you for your effort but that does not really solve my problem.

I am trying to connect the DVI output of the Radeon card to my Main monitor, and that works fine. I can also connect the mini display port to the old VGA monitor, and that also works fine. But I cannot also connect the mini display to HDMI TV (via the adpator I bought for it) all at the same time. I can have 2 out of the 3 but not all three.

But before I bother with this anymore I need a resolution as to why the grpahic performance is so terrible. If anyone has any insights to that I would be grateful.

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Answer 6

Nov 22, 2013 11:23 PM in response to Rohan Stevenson1

For three displays, both Mini DisplayPort adapters must be active. VGA and Dual-LinK DVI adapters are always active, but most single-link DVI and HDMI adapters are not. If you replace your HDMI adapter with one that is active you should be able to use all three displays.

<http://ca.startech.com/AV/Displayport-Converters/Mini-DisplayPort-to-HDMI-Active -Video-and-Audio-Adapter-Converter-Mini-DP-to-HDMI-1920x1200~MDP2HDS>

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Answer 7

Nov 23, 2013 1:47 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Thanks Malcolm, that is a lot better.

Do you have any thoughts as to why the radeons performance is so poor? Additionally, I can't freely move windows over to the second screen (obviously I have disconnected the hdmi 3rd screen for the moment)

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Answer 8

Nov 23, 2013 2:09 AM in response to Rohan Stevenson1

Is the 5770 in slot 1 (lower slot)? Is the auxiliary power cable connected?

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Answer 9

Nov 23, 2013 2:18 AM in response to Malcolm J. Rayfield

Yes to both. I am aware that the 5770 needs to be in th 16x lane. It was a stright replacement for the grpahics card that was in slot 1. It is better this morning - smoother and less sticky and clunky. Also the windows are now able to be dragged across to the second monitor. But it still isn't as smooth as the previous card and a little dissappointing performance wise - one would ahve hoped to notice an improvement rather than worry about a degradation....

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