Realize multi-screen interaction / Active DP to HDMI DVI VGA (Source: STC Electronic Co., Limited)

We know that a very attractive feature of AMD Radeon HD5000 series graphics card is Eyefinity multi-screen output technology, which breaks the traditional dual-head 2D output mode of the graphics card, allowing gamers to use the incredible three-screen, five-screen or even six The screen display effect greatly increases the game visual experience.

However, Eyefinity technology has a major limitation, that is, at least one display with DisplayPort interface must be used in order to form a display configuration with more than three screens. As far as the current situation is concerned, there are not many monitors equipped with DisplayPort interface, even if it is valuable, which undoubtedly raises the threshold for users to set up the Eyefinity platform.

Regardless of the combination, the DP interface must be used.

In order to reduce the threshold for HD5000 users to set up multi-screen systems, AMD and its AIB partners have introduced a dedicated DisplayPort to DVI adapter. With this small accessory, users can implement Eyefinity multi-screen output on displays with DVI only interface. It is. That is to say, three ordinary LCDs with only DVI interfaces can also form a three-screen system through the HD5000.

In fact, there have been a lot of DP to DVI adapters before, but after using this adapter, the display does not support Eyefinity technology. Why is this?
Why is the normal passive DP-DVI adapter not available?

The secret of the Radeon HD5000 series supporting multi-screen display is its output module. The high-end Cypress core has 6 display channels, and the mid-end Juniper core has 5 display channels. These channels can be designed in various combinations to connect various types. display screen.

Among them, DVI and HDMI go with the traditional 165MHz TMDS channel, while DP uses a new transmission format, and the bandwidth is even larger than the 340MHz high frequency TMDS. In order to make the HD5000 series compatible with all displays on the market and support the top resolution of WQXVGA (2560×1600), the HD5000 series must be equipped with at least one DP interface to achieve Eyefinity three/multiple output.

If you want to turn on all six display channels, you must use the DP interface all. The native DP interface is not the same as the DVI/HDMI transmission format. If you use the normal passive DP-DVI interface, then the TMDS channel is actually running. The catalyst driver cannot detect the DP output of the graphics card. Therefore, when you set up Eyefinity, The prompt failed.

Therefore, you must use the active DP-DVI adapter with chip to enable the HD5000 graphics card to correctly display the data through the DP channel, in order to activate Eyefinity technology and set up a three-screen system.
The single-channel DP-DVI adapter is available at an affordable price. Passive DP-DVI adapters are available in the market, and the price is relatively cheaper about 50 yuan, but it is essentially a compatible TMDS channel. There is another active adapter with a chip inside that can convert the DP “lossless” into a Dual-Link DVI interface that supports 2560×1600 resolution, but the adapter is very expensive.

Now, the active single-link DVI adapter comes. STC-Cable successively launched the Displayport to DVI active adapter, Mini Displayport to HDMI Adapter, Mini Displayport to DVI Active Adapter, Mini Displayport to VGA Active adapter, Displayport to VGA Active Adapter, Compared to Apple’s dual-link adapter, its power consumption and complexity are greatly reduced: only one half of the TMDS transmitter is required to drive a single-link DVI interface, and the power required to connect a DP interface after hardware simplification is only 3.3V@500mA, no USB auxiliary power supply required.

Most importantly, the price of active single link adapters has also decreased. According to AMD estimates, the active single-link DVI adapter is the cheapest at around $10. Of course, it can never be cheaper than a passive adapter, but it can already greatly reduce the cost of building a multi-screen system.

Both DP and Mini-DP can be transferred to DVI
In addition, this adapter also supports standard DP and mini Mini-DP interfaces. The former is common in ordinary desktop graphics cards, while the latter is often used in notebooks and special graphics cards such as Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6.
Of course, single-link DVI means that the maximum resolution of each display can only reach 1920×1200, which is much lower than the 2560×1600 supported by dual-link DVI, but for multi-screen systems with higher system resource requirements, The former is basically enough. Tests show that the active single-link DVI adapter works fine and can drive a 3×1920×1200 Eyefinity system.
Active DP-DVI is the perfect partner for Eyefinity

About STC Electronic (Hong kong) Co., Limited

Leadership
STC-CABLE is an industry leading manufacturer of high performance cabling and connectivity solutions. Founded in 2008, STC provides end-to-end connectivity solutions serving a variety of markets–including corporate, digital signage, education, healthcare, home theater, and hospitality.

As a professional cable assembly factory, STC brings a complete portfolio of products and solutions including USB 2.0 Cables, USB 3.0 Cables, USB C Cables, Drive Cables, Network Cables & Adapters, Audio & Video Cables, Serial & Parallel Cables, Audio-Video Products, Computer power Cables internal and so on.

Leo Zhang
Sales Manager
hevenz@stcforcable.com
Tel: (86) 134 2285 3610
www.stc-cable.com
STC Electronic (HongKong) Co,.Limite