Widescreen Gaming Forum

"Kinda", as usual. Thanks goes to the mysterious "Flabado" on the Entech forums for the heads up. I originally started this ATI + TH2G quest months ago and hit a brick wall due to an ATI driver bug (massive corruption at 5040, even when you set it up manually). So I got in contact with Entech (makers of Powerstrip, a GFX tweaking program) and hung out on their forum. Recently ATI fixed the bug, so I tried again.


I tested this on my "old" (but never really used) HD4870 512MB, it works!


Plug the TH2G into the DVI port furthest from the motherboard on the Radeon (ie the Dual Link DVI port).

Install latest Powerstrip:
http://entechtaiwan.com/files/pstrip.exe

Install and reboot when prompted.
Install latest Matrox SW.
Run both PowerDesk and Pstrip once, you should have 4320x900 installed and working now. The Matrox Wizard will reset your config, so dont run the Wizard again.

After running Pstrip it creates a file "pstrip.ini" in your "C:UsersyournameAppDataRoaming" folder (in Vista, dunno in Xp), just do a file search for it. Open pstrip.ini and add "Unlimited=1" (no quotations) under the Global Options section. Close and save the file.

Open Pstrip. Right Click the icon on the taskbar, goto "Display Profiles", then "Configure"
Click on "Advanced Timing Options"
Click on "Custom Resolutions"
Input these settings exactly (watch tick boxes) for 5040x1050@57Hz




I tried a couple of tests. Fear2 (DX9) ran fine, seemed slower than the GTX280 I usually use.
Farcry 2 Benchmark, both DX9 and DX10 modes had massive corruption with VSync Enabled. With it disabled, it ran, but its much slower than the nVidia card (which is odd as its an "ATI" game, usually faster on ATI)
Farcry 2 Ranch Small Benchmark - HD4870 512MB DX10 - no Vsync - Ultra High Settings

* Total Frames: 642, Total Time: 51.01s
* Average Framerate: 12.59
* Max. Framerate: 20.74 (Frame:594, 47.67s)
* Min. Framerate: 7.14 (Frame:371, 28.56s)


Farcry 2 Ranch Small Benchmark - GTX280 1GB DX10 - with Vsync - Ultra High Settings


* Total Frames: 1570, Total Time: 51.03s
* Average Framerate: 30.77
* Max. Framerate: 43.57 (Frame:261, 7.19s)
* Min. Framerate: 24.31 (Frame:988, 31.23s)


Farcry2 supports DX10.1, but the benchmark made no reference to it, just DX9 or 10. 10.1 would bench higher (assuming its not defaulted to 10.1 already). I should also point out that maybe the Radeon drivers simply do not handle 5040 correctly, the performance is much worse than I thought it should be.


So there you have it, working ATI support with no Matrox software help or support (of the human kind). The HD4870 certainly doesnt seem to be a very good card for 5040 in the limited tests above. Maybe with 1GB like the GTX280 it would be more competitive.
According to Flabado neither Crossfire or X2 ATI cards work correctly at this resolution. though he tested with much older Catalyst drivers than we have today.

I might be able to test this if I borrow a HD4850 (cross GPU Crossfire baby!) from my brother.


EDIT: Maybe I was expecting a bit much from a 512MB Radeon HD4870, according to http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3539&p=19, the 1GB GTX280 is 3.5x (!) as fast at the lower resolution of 2560x1600 ("lower" as its 4.1m Pixels vs the 5.3m of 5040x1050).
The much newer 1GB HD4890 is in the region of 2.5 to 3x faster at high resolutions, though still not as fast in that game as the old GTX280.

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[GTX1080 - 4.48GHz 4690k - planning projector mayhem]

Amazing news, maybe I'll stick with ATI longer after all.. only other thing tempting on Nvidia now is the 3d Glasses.

What about on the HD 4870 X2 (2GB)? :D

Yeah, the X2 would be a killer card at this res. Ill try to get hold of the 4850 today, if Crossfire works, then surely X2's work too.

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[GTX1080 - 4.48GHz 4690k - planning projector mayhem]

Hi all,

I wanted to wait to make this announcement until Catalyst 9.7 was officially released, but since I forsee lots of discussion about this, I've decided to let everyone know now.

As of the 9.7 Catalyst build (releasing in July), combined with Matrox's new Powerdesk 2.05 (released yesterday), all of the outstanding ATI bugs should be officially resolved.

This includes:

- Lack of general 5040x1050 resolution for all ATI HD series cards.
- Problem with the "DVI 4" output head not allowing 4320x900 and 5040x1050 mode. (Now both heads of ATI boards will behave the same and will offer all modes properly)
- Fix to enable widemodes with multi-board crossfire configurations
- Fix to enable widemodes with X2 series ATI cards
- and a big final item: increased timing support for 5040x1050 mode with ATI cards to allow 5040x1050@59Hz in all scenarios. (This has been tested with most panels previously found not to sync with nVidia GPUs at 57Hz. Those panels now DO sync correctly at 59Hz).

To enable these fixes, users will simply need to install ATI's 9.7 Catalyst, and then install Matrox's 2.05 Powerdesk:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/support/gxm/software/
the powerstrip method mentioned above should not be necessary. (Cataylst 9.6 also has a few of the fixes already, but not everything. So feel free to use it for trial & error in the meantime at your own discretion).

We will be counting on feedback from you guys to determine if all the fixes are functioning correctly for various scenarios. So we'll be watching your comments carefully.

We should also give thanks to ATI for this support, since I have been working with them for almost a year now to enable these features and they have been very receptive to making the necessary changes. (It just took some time) :)

Happy TripleHead gaming everyone :triplewide

-Mark

Brilliant news, I guess I should take back my comments about your silence, things were obviously afoot behind the scenes. This opens up a myriad of excellent cards, in both performance and value. More choice is always a big win for the consumer!

:D

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[GTX1080 - 4.48GHz 4690k - planning projector mayhem]

WOW! That's amazing news!

My poor HD4870X2 has been collecting dust, and I've been fighting with the finicky Nvidia Custom Resolution settings. I would love to go back to my ATI card!

Great news!!!!!

But damn, a few weeks ago Isold my 4870´s!!!!

If this is really true, i´ll go back to ATI!!!!





Big THX to ATI!!!!!


Tobi

fantastic. I would never have 3 screens but at last the red guys sorted this problem.

Great stuff!

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P8Z68-V Pro | 2600K | HR02 | HD5850 | 2x4GB Vengeance LP | 128GB M4 + 6TB | X-Fi > HD595 | AX850 | Tai Chi | PB278Q | G110 + Deathadder 2013
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DC3217IYE | 1x4GB Vengeance | 64GB M4 | TX-42VT20E

Someone tried it out already?
Situation now is just like using nVidia?

ATI + Catalist 9.6 + PowerDesk 2.05 = 5040x1050x57? :P

Hi all,

Just a minor update to my previous post:

In addition to the 2.05 Powerdesk and 9.7 Catalyst driver, you will also need to flash your TripleHead2Go firmware to a new version that supports the 59Hz timing.

This will be available for download around the same time that 9.7 releases.

I will keep everyone posted.