amd firepro w4100 AMD FirePro W4100 and Dell U2415 combination for a Quad/4 Monitor Set-up.

[LUCKY STRIKE]

Hi, Everybody!

My Desktop details are as under:-

1) Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor (3 CPUs), ~3.2GHz

2) Motherboard: ASUS & M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3

3) Memory: 20480MB/ 20 GB RAM

4) SSD:- Samsung 850 PRO 256GB (Dedicatedly used only for running OS & Soft wares)

5) Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1

6) Present GPU:- Integrated On-Board Graphic Card (ATI Radeon HD 4250)

7) Expansion Slots Empty on Motherboard:- PCIe 2.0 X 16 Slot-1 No., PCIe 2.0 X 1 Slot-2 Nos. &

PCI Slot-1 No.

 

After lot of help from you all and my subsequent research, I have finalised to go ahead with the following for my Quad/ 4 Monitor Setup,

1) GPU:- AMD FirePro W4100 1 No. and

2) Monitors:- Dell UltraSharp U2415, 24”, 16:10 (1920x1200) 4 Nos.

 

Links showing details for both the above products are given below,

http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/graphics/workstation/firepro-3d/4100#

http://www.amdfireprohub.com/onlineselector/en/next/downloads/11/W4100_Datasheet_EN.pdf

http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dell-u2415?c=in&cs=indhs1&l=en&s=dhs

http://www.dell.com/support/home/in/en/indhs1/product-support/product/dell-u2415/manuals

 

I will install the GPU in PCIe 2.0 X 16 Slot which is empty on my motherboard.

As you can see W4100 has 4 Mini DisplayPort 1.2a Output, EACH capable of MST (Multi Stream Transport) and Dell U2415 has DisplayPort Input as well as DisplayPort Output with Daisy Chaining.

 

Just wanted to make sure of the following before investing so much,

1) Will I be able to do a Quad/ 4 Monitor Setup with this GPU & Monitor on my above-referred system?

 

2) Will I be able to run each monitor at 1920x1200 resolution in Extended Display?

 

3) If “Yes” for 2 above, then, can I use ANY of the following options given below to achieve this,

Option 1st:- Directly connect each monitor DP Input with each GPU Mini DP Output by a Mini-DP to DP Cable.

 

Option 2nd:- Connect 1^st Monitor DP Input with GPU Mini DP Output by a Mini-DP to DP Cable and Daisy Chain the 2^nd Monitor and then

Connect 3^rd Monitor DP Input with GPU Mini DP Output by a Mini-DP to DP Cable and Daisy Chain the 4^th Monitor.

 

Option 3rd:- Connect 1^st Monitor DP Input with GPU Mini DP Output by a Mini-DP to DP Cable and Daisy Chain the 2^{nd, 3rd} and 4^th Monitor.

 

4) Which of the above 3 Options will be best suited for my purpose?

 

5) Are there any other options besides the above 3 which can be used?

 

6) As far as my understanding goes for any of the above 3 options I will NOT have to buy any “Active” or “Passive” Adapters, correct?

 

Any other valuable suggestions will be more than welcomed.

 

Waiting for your confirmation.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Warm Regards

Lucky Strike

[ForumTryhard]

3 minutes ago, LUCKY STRIKE said:

Waiting for your confirmation.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Warm Regards

That's a big closing lol

[tekgeek1205]

what do you use the computer for?

[Cereal5]

I would go with the first or third option. Second seems kinda ghetto rigged. Might have to daisy chain 3 and plug the4th in separately, I don't know how long you can make daisy chains

[LUCKY STRIKE]

4 minutes ago, tekgeek1205 said:

what do you use the computer for?

I want to create this Set-up for my Equity, Commodity, Forex and Binary Options  Trading business where I need to manage lots of critical transactions at once — and that often means multiple displays. That means applications have to present lots of Tables, Charts, and Graphs — each in their own windows, and all at a glance.

 

There will be STRICTLY NO Video Games, Graphics or Video Editing work at all on this Set-up.

[W-L]

@LUCKY STRIKE Please refrain from making multiple post of the same topic in different sections of the forums. 

[LUCKY STRIKE]

4 minutes ago, W-L said:

@LUCKY STRIKE Please refrain from making multiple post of the same topic in different sections of the forums. 

I WILL JUST THE DELETE THE POST UNDER THE "DISPLAY" FORUMS.

Will remember for future also.

Regrets for the inconvenience!

 

[tekgeek1205]

unless your using one of the firepro's special features, you get more performance from a RX4xx or GTX10xx. But option 1 and 2 will work, 3 is out of DP spec.  See here for DP daisy chain options.

[tekgeek1205]

quad monitor set-up can be done with a cheep ($40)GPU and the on-board graphics. I used to do it with a GT710 and HD4200 On-board.

[LUCKY STRIKE]

8 minutes ago, tekgeek1205 said:

unless your using one of the firepro's special features, you get more performance from a RX4xx or GTX10xx. But option 1 and 2 will work, 3 is out of DP spec.  See here for DP daisy chain options.

3

Thanks for such a wonderful link.

 

I have gone through it and the article clearly mentions that "GPUs usually have an inherent limitation in how many simultaneous displays they can drive; some can drive up to three displays, while others can drive four or even six."

As far as I understand W4100 is capable of driving 4 Displays very easily, so NO PROBLEM on this front.

 

The article also mentions " The table below provides maximum monitor count vs. display resolution, based and DisplayPort 1.2 bandwidth limits", it also clearly suggests that maximum 4 monitors can be displayed with each having a resolution of 1920x1200, which is our requirement.

But, you know what since I want to run the Setup in "Eyeinfinity" when I watch movies etc., the best thing would be to go for Option 1. Since each monitor will be connected directly to each output of the GPU this would resolve any issues.

 

What do you say on this?

 

 

[LUCKY STRIKE]

24 minutes ago, tekgeek1205 said:

quad monitor set-up can be done with a cheep ($40)GPU and the on-board graphics. I used to do it with a GT710 and HD4200 On-board.

 

Yes, I agree with you completely.

But, the challenges I was facing were,

1) I wanted to run each monitor at a 1920x1200 in Extended Display.

2) At times I also wanted to run all the 4 monitor in "Eyeinfinity".

3) We tried a lot of permutations and combinations to achieve this but were unsuccessful.

 

Hence, after a lot of research, I found out that the W4100 and Dell U2415 is the best and lowest compatible combo without burning a hole in my pocket and hence I opted for that.

 

Hope this addresses your concerns!

 

Sincere thanks for your  valuable suggestions.
 

[LUCKY STRIKE]

36 minutes ago, tekgeek1205 said:

you get more performance from a RX4xx or GTX10xx.

1

I am very new to this.

What do you exactly mean by the above line of yours?

[LUCKY STRIKE]

1 hour ago, Cereal5 said:

Might have to daisy chain 3 and plug the4th in separately, I don't know how long you can make daisy chains

 

Thanks for the reply.

If you want to know more about it, kindly see this link,

http://www.displayport.org/cables/driving-multiple-displays-from-a-single-displayport-output/

It was sent to me by tekgeek1205 in one of his replies above and was very helpful.

 

[scottyseng]

1 hour ago, LUCKY STRIKE said:

I am very new to this.

What do you exactly mean by the above line of yours?

He means that you would get better performance graphics wise by using a gaming GPU rather than a workstation GPU. As a owner of two FirePro V7900s (One FirePro is capable of running four displays), I would agree.

 

Though I'm guessing this if more for office work so GPU performance isn't too important? I would still try to get a mid range gaming GPU instead though.

[LUCKY STRIKE]

4 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

He means that you would get better performance graphics wise by using a gaming GPU rather than a workstation GPU. As a owner of two FirePro V7900s (One FirePro is capable of running four displays), I would agree.

 

Though I'm guessing this if more for office work so GPU performance isn't too important? I would still try to get a mid range gaming GPU instead though.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Now I get the point.

I fully agree with your point and we did this homework, but the cost of a mid-range gaming GPU was not justifying my kind of work which is COMPLETELY & TOTALLY office applications .

In fact, even the W4100 is too powerful fro my needs, but that is the best I am getting at this price point which is sufficient my purpose.

Here the lowest price for W4100 is USD 218.00 and for V7900 it is USD 708.00

 

Moreover, to my understanding the W4100 has following advantages,

1) Supports 4 Monitor Display without any hassles.

2) Has 4 DisplayPort 1.2a outputs.

3) At under 50W TDP this card does not require additional power connections from the power supply and in most cases does not require a power supply upgrade

4) 3 Year Comprehensive Warranty.

5) 5 year Life Cycle.

Honestly, the main reason being the Price point.

 

[scottyseng]

1 minute ago, LUCKY STRIKE said:

-snip-

Oh, it's for office? Then yeah, just go with the FirePro W4100.

 

Ah, you should be able to find lots of used V7900s on ebay for 100-200...heck, I have one that's just laying on my shelf....but yeah, get the W4100. It's much newer.

[LUCKY STRIKE]

3 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

Oh, it's for office? Then yeah, just go with the FirePro W4100.

 

Ah, you should be able to find lots of used V7900s on ebay for 100-200...heck, I have one that's just laying on my shelf....but yeah, get the W4100. It's much newer.

1

Hey, would you kindly answer my queries in the Original post above?

Since you are already using an AMD FirePro 7900 series card, it will be a great help.

Thanks in advance!

[scottyseng]

2 hours ago, LUCKY STRIKE said:

-snip-

1. Yes

2. Yes, my FirePro V7900 is capable of four displays at 2560x1440, if I remember right, the W4100 is capable of the same

3/4. I personally would connect each monitor with a separate mini DP to DP cable for each. I don't like daisy chaining too much.

5. Not that I'm aware of

6. No, you do not need any active adapters. You only needed those if you planned to do connect a dual link DVI (2560x1440 via DVI) display to a displayport on the GPU.

 

Do note though, my FirePro V7900 is quite old, and only has DisplayPort 1.1 I believe. It doesn't support daisy chaining. HDMI on my FirePro only supports 1080p HD, but you're not using displayport so you're fine there.

[LUCKY STRIKE]

2 minutes ago, scottyseng said:

1. Yes

2. Yes, my FirePro V7900 is capable of four displays at 2560x1440, if I remember right, the W4100 is capable of the same

3/4. I personally would connect each monitor with a separate mini DP to DP cable for each. I don't like daisy chaining too much.

5. Not that I'm aware of

6. No, you do not need any active adapters. You only needed those if you planned to do connect a dual link DVI (2560x1440 via DVI) display to a displayport on the GPU.

 

Thanks for such a wonderful and Point-by-Point reply.

Just a quick assurance on the matter,

1) Were you using your V7900 4 display Setup in Extended Display?

 

2) What was the resolution of each monitor in your Quad Setup?

 

3) Did you ever use your Quad Setup in an Eyefinity Display Mode?

 

4) If yes, for 3 above, then what was the sum of the final resolution in this mode?

[This is important to me since I plan on using my Quad Setup in a 2x2 Array with the resolution of each monitor being 1920x1200. Hence in the Eyefinity Mode the final resolution will be {3840 (1920 x2) x 2400 (1200x2)}.]

 

5) Will I be able? to achieve this (Eyefinity Mode 3840x2400) effortlessly  with my W4100 connected to each monitor with a separate Mini DP to DP cable for each WITHOUT daisy chaining as suggested by you?

 

Waiting for your reply!