Dell precision m6500 + docking station + 3 displays + ATI FirePro 7820

Question

I have the following configuration:

• Dell Precision m6500

• Video card: Ati FirePro 7820

• Dell E-Port Plus port replicator

• 3 x Dell P2411H ( DVI or VGA)

Dell says:

Supports a maximum of three independant displays when configured with the ATI FirePro M7820 graphics solution and docked with the Dell E-Port Plus port replicator http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/precn/en/precision-m6500-spec-sheet.pdf

I want to use all 3 displays independantly like in this videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq4QTQ66kI8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPWSeiSK_8Y

Now I am able to use only 2 displays at once. I connected 2 x DVI in the docking station.

I have the latest drivers from ATI. I use Windows 7.

How to connect the displays to the docking station for this to work ?

What cables / adapters do I need ?

Solution 1

I have an M6500 with the ATI Eyefinity technology and saw the youtube video you reference. Could not get the three monitor setup to work, but was able to get two monitors and the laptop display to work. I had to buy two active displayport to DVI dongles to get this to work.

I have two DVI monitors connected to these dongles which are plugged into the displayport jacks in the back of my docking station. Now I can open up the laptop to use its screen along with the two monitors.

Note: It would not work just using the DVI cables connected to the DVI monitors, I had to use the adapter.

To use another monitor, I think you need to get another port replicator to get the extra video channel.

Solution 2

Your OS will support it fine, from the ATI website itself:

"ATI Eyefinity technology can support multiple displays using a single enabled ATI FirePro™ professional graphics card; the number of supported displays varies by card model. Microsoft® Windows® 7, Windows Vista®, or Linux® is required in order to support more than 2 displays."

You can run 1 monitor via the VGA cable, the second via the DVI and the third via the HDMI output by getting a DVI to HDMI wire seeing as the monitor doesn't have a HDMI port.