AMD Radeon HD 5750/5770

[monraaf]

You tell me.

Checking distrowatch, Debian, Ubuntu and Mandriva, for examples, seem to agree that X-Server 1.7.5 is stable. Can there still be problems? I don't know. What is their definition of stable?

Latest Debian stable is Lenny: xorg-server 1.4.2
Latest Ubuntu stable is Karmic: xorg-server 1.6.4
Latest Mandriva stable is 2010.0: xorg-server 1.6.5

[mirv]

At first glance it would seem that e17 might not be what I'm after in an environment. The second test box should be back tomorrow so will throw it on that. I prefer a bare metal install for things where an initial impression is important. What distro would you suggest for said install?

I use Gentoo - kind of can't keep away from it - but I think on all systems E17 takes a little bit to setup. Unofficial packages exist for most of the common package managers.

ATI stable where nVidia isn't? Not a very common outcome there.

Probably not, but there you have it. Different people get different experiences.

[bridgman]

I'm lead to believe that you need the dongle for more than two DVI monitors. I need to drive three 1920x1200 screens via DVI. Two DVI and one Display-port is doable without the dongle though.

If you have better info though I hope you're right.

My understanding is that you definitely need a dongle, but that you don't always need an active dongle (the passive ones are a lot cheaper). Alex's post goes into some of the active/passive details.

I just discovered that we maintain a list of validated dongles :

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

There has been some discussion related to firmware updates for some of the dongles; not sure what the firmware does on a dongle but apparently said firmware needs to be very current for good results

[mugginz]

My understanding is that you definitely need a dongle, but that you don't always need an active dongle (the passive ones are a lot cheaper). Alex's post goes into some of the active/passive details.

I'm lead to believe that you need an active dongle as the display port on the Eyefinity cards aren't capable of producing a native DVI signal.

Passive dongles will pass through a DVI signal sent over a Displayport output if the source is producing it. I don't think that the ATI cards do this, hence the need for the active electronics to generate a DVI signal from a Displayport signal.

It would be good if you could get confirmation from the horses mouth (ATI) if possible.

[bridgman]

My vague understanding here is that the cards do support DVI pass-thru, but only until you run out of pixel clock generators (max 2). If that is the case, then if you are using a DP output as your third display then it seems to me that an active dongle should be needed.

If you are using DP for the first or second display and are within the clock limits of a single link connection (1920x1200 60 Hz) then a passive dongle should be OK. Take all this with a grain of salt, of course...

[mugginz]

My vague understanding here is that the cards do support DVI pass-thru, but only until you run out of pixel clock generators (max 2). If that is the case, then if you are using a DP output as your third display then it seems to me that an active dongle should be needed.

If you are using DP for the first or second display and are within the clock limits of a single link connection (1920x1200 60 Hz) then a passive dongle should be OK. Take all this with a grain of salt, of course...

Sounds accurate. I was thinking in terms of triple head as this is my use case.

[agd5f]

You can use a passive DP->DVI converter on any DP port; all of our DP ports support pass-through. However, you are limited to 2 active non-DP monitors (due to there only being 2 plls) at a time. Also the monitors being used for pass-through (passive converter) have to be single link DVI since DP only has one digital transmitter connected to it.

For more than 2 non-DP monitors, or duallink DVI, you will need an active converter.

[mugginz]

For more than 2 non-DP monitors, or duallink DVI, you will need an active converter.

Thanks for the clarification.

For my use case I will absolutely need the active dongle with the standard format 5770.

From your earlier post I gather that even the cards with 6 DP outputs still only have 2 PLL's. If that's the case I'd still need an active dongle for three DVI monitors with a 6 DP version of a 5770 I assume.

[agd5f]

Thanks for the clarification.

For my use case I will absolutely need the active dongle with the standard format 5770.

From your earlier post I gather that even the cards with 6 DP outputs still only have 2 PLL's. If that's the case I'd still need an active dongle for three DVI monitors with a 6 DP version of a 5770 I assume.

Yes, there are only 2 plls regardless of the card.

[mugginz]

Yes, there are only 2 plls regardless of the card.

That make it a standard 5770 as the card I want then assuming I can get my hands on a lender.

I need to test the drivers for myself as there is conflicting views on their current state.

Thanks for the info