NVidia GTX 970: Second monitor disables when third is plugged in

Question

I just got a new PC with a GTX 970 video card. It has a DisplayPort, HDMI and 2 DVI ports. When I plug a monitor into the DisplayPort and one into a DVI port, they work perfectly. When I plug another monitor into the second DVI port, the one plugged into the first DVI port is disabled (doesn't receive a signal any more). From what I learned from google, this card is supposed to support 3 monitors simultaneously.

I'm running Windows 10, with the driver downloaded from GeForce Experience (version 355.60).

I just noticed that while booting, the only active monitor is the one that's disabled while in Windows. So the BIOS etc shows on monitor 2, while monitor 1 and 3 become active instead when Windows starts.

Answer 1

It turns out the NVidia Configuration utility was the culprit. It disabled the second monitor once I connected the third, causing it to be unavailable to the standard Windows monitor configuration. There was no mention from the utility saying it disabled the monitor. Enabling the monitor in the NVidia utility solved the problem.

Answer 2

NVidia claims this card can connect 4 monitors but only at a certain resolution. Checking other forums like Tom's Hardware Page, people state it won't or not recommended.

Other thing is instead of using two DVI port have you tried the the HDMI port. So one using the DP, one using the DVI and another using the HDMI.

You know the saying a chain is only as good as the weakest link. Ensure the resolution is all the same for each monitor.

On the Nvidia site you can connect up to 4 monitor at a resolution of 5760x1080 that means each monitor needs to be at max 1440x1080 (5760/4 = 1440)