4

I have a pair of HP ZR2740w monitors which have a native resolution of 2560x1440. They have DisplayPort and (dual-link) DVI inputs. I just got a Sapphire 1 GB Radeon 5450 with two DVI outputs. I'm running Fedora 16 and have tried the included drivers and the ATI proprietary one from their website.

In all cases, it seems that I can change the resolution of the first monitor up to 2560 pixels, but the second one only to 1280. Why is this? Is there some maximum total resolution limit that I am running into? Does the card not support two dual-link DVI outputs at once? I can't tell from the packaging nor from my experience so far.

If you know of an ATI card that definitely supports dual 2560px outputs with either DVI or DP, and which takes only a single PCI slot and no 6-pin PCIe power, I'd love to hear about it.

Improve this question

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
2

I found a forum thread posted just three days ago that explains:

None of the Radeons come with two dual-DVI ports. If there are two, one is always single-DVI.

This certainly seems to mirror my experience, and is a real let-down from ATI. Oh well, I guess I'm off in search of a DisplayPort card instead.

It is bizarre that they don't just list these facts on the box.

Edit: the solution ended up being the ATI FirePro 2460. It has quad DP outputs and requires no extra power cable. It's also low-profile and fanless.

Improve this answer
2
  • Hi , How do you find the ATI FirePro with dual 2560 monitors?
    – hybrid
    Jul 4, 2016 at 7:33
  • @hybrid: The FirePro card worked OK. In my particular system it would sometimes freeze the whole system if run with four monitors; with only three it was more stable (with Fedora 17/18). I never figured out why. That card is very outdated now anyway.
    – John Zwinck
    Jul 5, 2016 at 18:55
0

On the back of the card, what do the DVI connections look like? There is a difference between a dual-link DVI and a single-link DVI. Or possibly it could be a DVI-D.

Improve this answer
1
  • They look like dual-link. And I'm using dual-link cables (that came with the monitors). Single-link DVI should handle at 1920x1080 anyway, or 1600px. One of the ports definitely is DVI-I also, as the card came with one VGA adapter (which I'd try using if my monitors had VGA inputs, but they don't).
    – John Zwinck
    Feb 29, 2012 at 16:57
0

Have you tried arranging one monitor above the other, instead of next-to?

Some cards had a restriction of total desktop size of no more than 4096x4096px, which means two such monitors would not fit horizontally.

Improve this answer
3
  • I haven't, though if that's all it can do it may as well be outright broken--the users of this thing mostly don't use vertical monitors.
    – John Zwinck
    Mar 1, 2012 at 9:04
  • It's more a matter of arranging monitors on the virtual desktop. They could physically stand next to each other, but the OS will think they are on top of each other. Leads to some confusion on how to move pointer between the two (up/down, not left-right), but it could be a reasonable workaround. I've worked like this on Matrox G450s with two CRTs 2304x1440 years ago, confusing, but still better than just one monitor.
    – qdot
    Mar 1, 2012 at 16:22
  • Yeah, that's not a workaround I'd be willing to entertain. Seems moot anyway (see my own answer).
    – John Zwinck
    Mar 1, 2012 at 20:04

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .