9800GTX and dual ouput DVI

[crazydog]

I bought a DVI splitter so I could hook up two monitors and an HDTV to my graphics card at the same time.

Sadly, I cannot get it to work well.

The following configurations produce the following issues.

Code: [Select]

DV1 => Splitter =>1 DVItoHDMI to TV
=>2 DVI to Monitor
DV2 => DVItoVGA to monitor
HDTV does not display right. I can see my desktop, but it flickers all over the place, is not centered, and the colors are wrong.
Monitor attached to splitter has tons of dancing pixels, is not recognized enough by system, so the resolution is locked. It is seen as a Generic PnP monitor.
(If the HDTV is unplugged, BUT THE DVI->HDMI ADAPTER IS LEFT PLUGGED IN, the monitor is fully recognized, but I still get a handful of dancing pixels on the screen. If I remove the DVI->HDMI adapter, the monitor loses signal.)

Code: [Select]

DV1 => Splitter =>1 DVItoVGA to monitor
=>2 DVI to Monitor
DV2 => DVItoHDMI to TV
Monitors receive no signal

Code: [Select]

DV1 => Splitter =>1 DVItoVGA to monitor
=>2 DVItoHDMI to TV
DV2 => DVI to Monitor
Monitor and TV receive no signal


Does anyone know how I can get this working? Would buying a DVI cable for the second monitor do the trick? That would give me this config:

Code: [Select]

DV1 => Splitter =>1 DVI to monitor
=>2 DVI to Monitor
DV2 => DVItoHDMI to TV
The TV only has VGA, so a DVI cable for that wouldn't work.
Would I need to end up getting some component cables and using one of those HD breakout pods that's come with every graphics card I've owned?

Edit:
I just tried using 2 DVI cables, and when I do that, the computer only recognizes the FIRST monitor plugged in.
Therefore, if I plug in the smaller monitor first, my resolution on both is stuck at the smaller one.
If I plug in the bigger monitor first, the second display is out of range.
Is there any way to fix that?

[Hitman Smurf]

Is your VC software recognizing the output devices? I'm trying to figure out how you'd do this with a splitter as I've only seen it with a dedicated DVI/cable for each device.

[crazydog]

I've come to realize that the aplitter will only duplicate the signal, not create two seperate signals. I guess I gave to go the component route..

[LTK]

I've come to realize that the aplitter will only duplicate the signal, not create two seperate signals. I guess I gave to go the component route..

Correct. You could run dual video cards and support up to 4 seperate devices and outputs though.

[Rally Pig]

ya need 2 video cards, cause my 8800gt has 2 dvi slots but only expands the desktop, you can run a window on each but defeats the purpose so i went back to single monitor....

[Hitman Smurf]

I was asuming you'd need two video cards so that looks like that's your only option.

[crazydog]

I just decided to use the s-video port and get some component cables.

[V.I.P.]

That will give poorer quality picture though right?  I tried using S-video cables on my old TV and it looked terrible ( although that could have been from it being older)

[crazydog]

Well, it's not REALLY s-video quality. It's still a high definition picture. It will be outputting an HD signal through the component cables.

It will look worse than the HDMI, yes, but it's the best I can do to get two monitors + and a TV hooked up all at the same time without getting another graphics card.

[V.I.P.]

With the new ATI 5 series coming out, you can get sli 4870's or 4890's for a steal pretty soon...

[crazydog]

No use to me. I only have 1 PCI-E slot.

I do need to get a new motherboard, but now's not the time.

[V.I.P.]

On the contrary, now is the perfect time to build a rig.  New processing architecture types won't be out for another year, and DDR3 RAM isn't much more than DDR2.  Get a DDR3 board and RAM and keep the rest...except for your graphics card situation.

[Rally Pig]

yea i wish i waited a little, cause i can now build a rig without hdds and optical for a few hundred more than what i paid for my current and it will wipe the floor with it

[Video_Master]

It is not an S-Video slot.  They are known as HDCP or HDTV-7 slots.  It is so you can output an HD signal over Component cables.


http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=601-EV-1024-S1&family=Accessories%20-%20Hardware

[crazydog]

On the contrary, now is the perfect time to build a rig.  New processing architecture types won't be out for another year, and DDR3 RAM isn't much more than DDR2.  Get a DDR3 board and RAM and keep the rest...except for your graphics card situation.

I don't need to build a new system, just a motherboard upgrade would be nice.

I'm out of SATA slots and USB ports!

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