Widescreen Gaming Forum

I've had a 3x1 Eyefinity setup running for 6 days. Initial setup and days 1 and 2 were perfect. However starting day three and continuing to present I have been experiencing random loss of display port activity on all three monitors.

Suddenly the displays will start cycling through each of the three monitors; they go dark (loss of displayport activity popup onscreen), come back repeat. This continues for 30 seconds or so before two of the three monitors going dark. The lone working monitor is functional at this point, and checking the Eyefinity settings I consistently see that the Eyefinity group is gone. I have to recreate the group, which works fine and all is well until the next dropout.

No overclocking anywhere(inc GPU/CPU/RAM); although I have unlockled Overdrive to manipulate the fan speeds on both GPUs

Here is the involved hardware:

-Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
-x3 ASUS VE276Q Displays (No Windows driver; Windows detects as plug and play CCC detects as ASUS 276)
-Single Sapphire HD 6990 Currently running 11.9 (was 11.9, I upgraded to 11.10 and am now back to 11.9 however I am still experiencing the dropouts)
-Power Supply = CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200
-Mother board = ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX
-CPU = AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W

The monitors are each connected to the video card courtesy of three Diplayport to miniDisplayport 6.6 foot cables.(SIIG 6.6 ft. Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort Adapter Cable Model CB-DP0E11-S1 - OEM)

My initial theory was possible heat issues because the first time it happened was after an hour of gaming. So I pursued granular heat metrics and also increased both GPU fan speeds up to 70% and also installed a 3000rpm fan in the side of my case next to the HD 6990. The temp on both GPUs is now staying below 60 deg Cel when gaming.

However I've now experienced the dropout several times just browsing the internet (outside of gaming) in addition to in-game dropouts.

I am not an expert on CCC settings so most are default. I have never setup a multi-monitor system before so its possible I'm neglecting some basic step.

I disabled power save mode in Windows. I can't find any power saving settings on the monitors.

Other theories:

-CCC driver issues
-Faulty Displayport cables (although having all three bad doesn't seem realistic)
-Display cable length (6.6 feet) to long
-Not enough power to the monitors (Everything on this system is plugged into power strips feed off the same wall outlet)
-Some power/settings I'm not aware off

I've read several user reviews (newegg in particular) that successfully use three ASUS 276's with Sapphire HD 6990 in 3x1 Eyefinity.

It's frustrating because when it's working it is AMAZING. Please help.

Guys I think I'm battling a defective monitor.

The frequency of dropouts ramped up considerably tonight (six times in the past two hours) and what I started noticing is that the middle display goes completely dark and a pop-up stating displayport loss of signal shows up only on this monitor. The other two do not display this pop-up nor do they go completely dark.

So I tried a mini displayport to HDMI adapter that shipped with the GPU, and hooked up the middle monitor via HDMI, recreated the eyefinity group and shortly there after had the samne issue, this time an HDMI loss of signal on the middle monitor. If I turn the middle monitor off during the cycling things immedialtely stabalize.

I swapped displayport cables next. Same issue, same monitor.

Finally I swapped the center monitor with one of the side monitors. Didn't have to wait long and the issue occurred again but his time the loss of signal pop-up and the dark screen followed the suspect monitor.

I will RMA and let you all know if the replacement fixes the issue.

If anyone has any other thoughts please let me know. Thanks

Since the problem follows that particular monitor, I think you are on the right track to RMA it. Keep us posted on the outcome.

_________________
~Windows 7 x64 Professional~MSI X58A-GD45~Intel I7-950~6x2 GB DDR3 1600 RAM (Triple Channel)~RealTek Onboard~XFX HD 6950 2 GB GDDR5~3 ViewSonic 24 inch LCDs in Eyefinity~SATA Dual Layer DVD RW~1000 W PSU~And a Whole Lot More!~Done with Vista~XP Pro on the way out, too!~AND....250 GB XBOX 360~

*Update:

I've had the new replacement monitor for exactly one week and, coinciding with some vacation time from work, I've been able to throw 25 hours at Skyrim (multi-monitor using one of the two wsgf fixes). Not a single instance of flickering/droptouts. It was definetely a defective monitor causing the problem.

Basically something was wrong with the internal power supply of the faulty monitor such that it would shut off, turn on, shut off etc..and of course when you turn off one of your multi monitor displays it cycles through a new arrangement.

Just wanted to post this update in case anyone else encounters this issue!!