[RndTbl] 3+ monitors

Wyatt Zacharias wyatt at magitech.ca
Fri Jun 28 17:34:14 CDT 2013


I can't recall if I've run Linux of my 4 Monitor machine, but Windows runs
fine with 2 graphics cards. Even with one being Nvidia and the other ATI.
If I have some time tonight I'll see if I can boot a live disc and try it
out.

--
Wyatt Zacharias



On Fri, Jun 28, 2013 at 5:35 AM, Trevor Cordes <trevor at tecnopolis.ca> wrote:

> Has anyone had success with 3+ monitors (on 1 computer) in linux with
> Core2-era hardware (or otherwise)?  Note: I don't care about 3D
> performance at all, just 2D linux desktop (no compiz!) with the very
> rare 3D app that won't be at all important.
>
> I have an existing 2 monitor setup but I want to move to 3 or 4 after
> a recent monitor death.
>
> I see two ways forward, but both have uncertainty:
>
> 1. Add a 2nd (cheap) PCIex card to my Intel D975X board (has 1 x16, 1
> x8, 1 x4 slots).
>
> 2. Swap out my existing card for a new ATI 3-display card (like 7750).
>
>
> #1 will be cheaper (I probably have some here already), #2 may be
> faster, but will require many expensive adapters to be purchased, as
> well as the card.
>
> Sounds easy.  But there are many gotchas:
>
> 1.
>  a) 2nd card may not work at all: some boards have issues, some cards
>  have issues.
>  b) 2nd card may work, but at 1x.  I previously ran a system on x1
>  video (even though it was in an x4 slot!) and even 2D was slowed down
>  by the x1.  x4 is the bare minimum I want to run.  Many board/card
>  combos don't "downspeed" very well, and often just go to x1
>  c) will linux be happy with 2 video cards (with my board)?
>
> 2.
>  a) do the free radeon drivers support the new Eyefinity (3+ monitor)
>  spec or am I forced into proprietary drivers (yuck)?
>  b) and do the proprietary drivers even support it and happily in
>  xrandr and xinerama, etc?
>
> While in theory there should be no problems, I've learned "weird" video
> card issues abound in reality.  I'm trying to minimize delays waiting
> for parts to try, and expense.  As such, notes like "I've done it with
> X and Y" would be most helpful!  Or, "I'm really really sure X and Y
> should work" would also help :-)
>
> PS: I'll be doing super thin bezel models in the shape of "BO" (2
> horizontal, 1 vertical) with one of the B's inverted because the bottom
> bezels aren't as small as the top ones.
>
> Thanks!
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