Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hi all! I posted this in the Dave + Sunsp*t thread but would also like to get opinions and advice from the rest of you. So here's my situation:

I use two IBM T221-DG5 ultra-high res monitors for my work. Each panel is 3840 x 2400, a resolution still unmatched in the sub $40,000 category, and takes two DVI-DL inputs. Each input gives a 1920x2400 vertical stripe at 48Hz, the max refresh of the monitor.

Under WinXP, Nvidia's drivers easily allowed me to do a horizontal span of the two 1920 x 2400 stripes @ 48Hz, creating a seamless desktop. However, XP is very long in the tooth and I was seriously looking forward to Eyefinity as a potential solution in Win7. I bought two 5750 cards to test this.

Here is my problem. So far I am only testing one of the T221 monitors, which as I mentioned takes 2 dual-link DVI inputs from one of the 5750 cards. From the EDID of each link, the possible resolutions for each link are:
1. 1920x2400 @ 48Hz (preferred, of course)
2. 3840x2400 @ 24Hz (refresh too slow)
3. 1920x1200 and a handful of lower resolutions like 1280x1024 all at 60Hz.

Now if I do duplicated desktops or extended displays, there is no problem. I can get 2 x 1920x2400 stripes @ 48Hz. BUT: and here is the problem, when I try to create an Eyefinity group spanning these two stripes, I only get THREE OPTIONS:
1. 7680x2400@24Hz (useless, this is trying to send 2 x 3840x2400 @ 24Hz to a panel that is only 3840x2400 physically)
2. 3200x1200@60Hz (this is 2x 1600x1200, of course again useless, only using a tiny bit of the panel)
3. 1600x600@60Hz (laughable, one of the highest resolution monitors ever made, running at 2 x 800x600)

I of course do not get the one I want, which is 3840x2400@48Hz (this is 2x 1920x2400@48Hz).

Question: Why are the Eyefinity group resolutions limited to only these 3 when the resolution I want is fully supported as a duplicate or extended desktop?
and 2. is there some registry tweak I can try to enable the resolutions I want in an Eyefinity group?

I tried playing with the "Alternate DVI operation" and "reduce DVI frequency for high resolution displays" which did not help.

The last time I tried an ATI card with the T221s was back in the X1900XT days. I remember having a lot of trouble even in XP getting them to span properly - the only (buggy) way was to use ATI Tray Tools and "enable large panel support". I went back to Nvidia since then.

Well, please - if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks again to everyone and to Dave and Sunsp*t for helping out in these forums!

Yeang

..

It looks like the EyeFinity control panel is reading the max res reported on each of the DVI jacks (3840) and then multiplying by 2.

It's a behaviour that works for 99% of other cases, but this one is special, since your monitors are reporting a max resolution that you don't actually want to use.

I don't suppose there's a way to doctor the edid, so it sends the 1920 mode you want to use as the max supported res?

So, I solved my own problem with the T221-DG5 stripes and Eyefinity! Hallelujah! Here's how for those who are interested:

I literally cried out loud when I saw the magical full desktop at 3840x2400@ 48Hz! Took quite a bit of fiddling but here's how I did it.

Briefly, I used the EDID override approach instead of the firmware updater approach - the EDID override approach was really easy, but for some reason Catalyst did not want to allow Eyefinity spanning across both 1920x2400 stripes even though I had killed all other resolution options except for 1920x2400@48Hz. Trying to make a Eyefinity group spanning both stripes did nothing. But the key was to close the Catalyst control panel, and reopen it, DISABLE the group (now it'll revert to 1280x1024 in both stripes or something like that). NOW, if you create a fresh Eyefinity group, it works!!

Step by step:
This is for folks with two converter boxes for each DG5. I have 2 DG5's and 4 converter boxes. I am using Windows 7 x64 and two Sapphire 5750 cards.
You should also download Moninfo and Phoenix EDID designer (easily googled).
1. I read off the EDID from the DG5 in the mode which allows for 2 x 1920x2400@48Hz (can't remember off hand which number it is), using Monifo from Entech (the company that makes powerstrip).

2. Using Phoenix EDID designer, make a new (blank) EDID file and type in as many values from the real EDID that I could, EXCEPT for all the timings (leave everything blank).

3. In the "Detailed timings" section, set up in Block #1 the 1920x2400 @ 48Hz timing:
Modeline............... "1920x2400" 312.490 1920 2072 2280 2640 2400 2401 2404 2466 -hsync +vsync
Took me a while to figure out which numbers corresponded to what in Phoenix EDID designer. I'd attach the INF file here but am not sure how.

4. Once you get everything close (by saving the EDID file as a .dat file and opening/confirming with MonInfo), you can use MonInfo to generate a EDID override monitor INF file.

5. This part I am cribbing from user Tulli in the AVSforum. He wrote a nice step-by-step guide to overriding the EDID with a INF file generated by Moninfo:
==========================================================
- Right click on desktop and select "Personalize".

- Click on Display->Change display settings.

- Now click on the Screen of the AVR display.

- Click on "Advanced settings"

- Select Monitor Tab and click on "Properties".

- Select Driver Tab and click on "Update Driver"

- Select "Browse my computer for driver updates".

- Select "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".

- Click on "Have Disk".

- Click on "Browse".

- Navigate to directory with the display device .inf file (Note: just in case, make sure that it's THE ONLY .inf file in that directory).

- Click on Open, OK, and install the new driver.

- Reboot.
=====================================================

6. So now you have tricked the card into thinking that the only available mode on the DG5 is 1920x2400@48Hz. On reboot the display should show up as 2 x 1920x2400 stripes @ the magical 48Hz.

7. Now go into Catalyst -> Desktops and Displays panel. Right click on your primary monitor, it will give you the option to "Create Group". Click yes to the dialog box if one pops up warning about disabling extended desktop. Another dialog box pops up "Select Layout". Here, choose horizontal span (2x1) layout.

8. Now, the Screen will flash, and usually go back to 2 x 1920x2400 stripes with duplicated screens on each, which is obviously what we don't want. Also, the Desktop and Displays panel is sort of frozen too, but you can close the panel. I was stuck at this step for several hours. Here's how to get around it.

9. Close the unresponsive Catalyst panel. Open it again (right click on desktop -> catalyst). Again, go to Desktops and Displays, and right click on the desktop icon. Choose "Display Group -> Disable".
Click yes.

10. The monitor goes blank and comes back with 1920x1200 x 2 stripes, again duplicated.

11. Again, in the Desktops and Displays panel, right click on the desktop icon, and select "Display Group -> Create Group"

12. Again, choose the 2x1 option here.

13. Voila!!!! Hallelujah! 3840x2400@48Hz, one desktop, Aero acceleration, all the Win7 goodness!!! Thank you ATI ENGINEERS!!!! I'm so psyched to be able to move away from XP though it did serve me well.

Yeang

Excellent investigation ychng. :rockout

Your hard work will help lots of people I think. I was able to raise my refresh rate using your method. Before I was locked at 60Hz even though my Dell 2209WA is capable of 76Hz. Thanks for posting your findings. Maybe make a new thread with the fix so a Moderator can sticky this useful information.

Thanks Sideeffect! Great point - the EDID override method is known in audiovisual circles to get proper refresh rates with projectors and such on NVIDIA cards but have not heard it talked about here - I'm glad you benefited from it!! I'll try and make a new post today as time allows.

Yeang

Excellent investigation ychng. :rockout

Your hard work will help lots of people I think. I was able to raise my refresh rate using your method. Before I was locked at 60Hz even though my Dell 2209WA is capable of 76Hz. Thanks for posting your findings. Maybe make a new thread with the fix so a Moderator can sticky this useful information.

So, I solved my own problem with the T221-DG5 stripes and Eyefinity! Hallelujah! Here's how for those who are interested:

I literally cried out loud when I saw the magical full desktop at 3840x2400@ 48Hz! Took quite a bit of fiddling but here's how I did it.

Briefly, I used the EDID override approach ...

Step by step:
This is for folks with two converter boxes for each DG5. I have 2 DG5's and 4 converter boxes. I am using Windows 7 x64 and two Sapphire 5750 cards.
You should also download Moninfo and Phoenix EDID designer (easily googled).
1. I read off the EDID from the DG5 in the mode ...

13. Voila!!!! Hallelujah! 3840x2400@48Hz, one desktop, Aero acceleration, all the Win7 goodness!!! Thank you ATI ENGINEERS!!!! I'm so psyched to be able to move away from XP though it did serve me well.

Yeang

Wow that is amazing. Persistence pays off. And as I mentioned in the other thread, three cheers to you for discovering this.

Seems like there ought to be an easier way to do this... (I'll ask around).

Well done Yeang!

I'm trying to get this to work for my situation and it seams that I'm unable to do so.

But my situation is that I want to fool EVE-Online to think that I can display at 5040x1000 resoultion. This is so I can play in window mode at that resolution.

I'm only runing a 8800GT and secondary 7600GT no SLI or Dual head 2 go.

Any thoughts on how I could do this?

regards.
Oskar

Hi Oskar,

Just saw your post on this thread. Well, first off, Eyefinity is exclusive to ATI 5xxx series cards (5750, 5770, 5850, 5870, 5970 etc). You're using Nvidia cards which haven't even dreamed of supporting something like this in hardware.... so that'd be your first problem. Unless you are running in WinXP still and using horizontal span across your 8800GT/7600GT though mixed card situations I don't really have experience with.

Why don't you try the 5750? I got two of them for $150 each or thereabouts, and they are almost certainly better than your 8800GT despite being the entry level 5xxx series.

Good luck!
Yeang

I'm trying to get this to work for my situation and it seams that I'm unable to do so.

But my situation is that I want to fool EVE-Online to think that I can display at 5040x1000 resoultion. This is so I can play in window mode at that resolution.

I'm only runing a 8800GT and secondary 7600GT no SLI or Dual head 2 go.

Any thoughts on how I could do this?

regards.
Oskar