opengl pci express

I'm getting conflicting opinions on this one. I need to build a 4
monitor capable machine from a EP45-UD3P Gigabyte board. It also has
to run OpenGL cards. This board has only 1 PCIEx16 and 1 PCIEx8 slots.
Will it work and multi-monitor with identical cards in each slot?

seth1066 wrote:
> I'm getting conflicting opinions on this one. I need to build a 4
> monitor capable machine from a EP45-UD3P Gigabyte board. It also has
> to run OpenGL cards. This board has only 1 PCIEx16 and 1 PCIEx8 slots.
> Will it work and multi-monitor with identical cards in each slot?

The P45 has x16 lanes on the Northbridge. These can be split, to make
two x8 interfaces. If you look at a number of P45 boards, which have
two video card slots, there are four small chips next to the primary
slot. Those chips are used for "lane steering". When two video cards
are present, the slots run x8/x8. When a single video card is used
(in the primary slot), all x16 lanes are connected to the primary
slot. The four little chips take the place of the "paddle card" which
was present on previous generations of motherboards.

So to answer your question, when you use two slots, chances are
they'll each be getting x8 bandwidth. (Since I don't know the part
number of the four small chips used, I don't know if both PCI Express
version 2 and version 1 modes are supported. I presume they are.)

As for OpenGL capabilities, check the advert for your prospective card.
For example, on this card...

http://ati.amd.com/products/fireglv8650/index.html

"... has added even more innovation with features like
native multi-card support, so users can see more and do
more with four displays and AutoDetect"

Check your advertising, to see if there is some notion of
multi-card support.

While I couldn't find a statement on the Nvidia site, this
article mentions four display support with a pair of Quadro
FX5600.

http://machinedesign.com/article/sof...s-display-0424

If there wasn't multicard support, there is still a way of
doing it. You can use one video card with two display
connectors, then connect two Matrox DualHead2Go adapters,
to drive four monitors. The pairs of monitors have a fixed
relation to one another then (as a 2560x1024 output on one
of the video card connectors, is split mechanically into
two 1280x1024 displays for a pair of monitors). Some cards
support wider display modes than others, and the resolution
of each display fed by the DualHead2Go, will be limited by
the video card's capability. The Matrox product page has
some tables for various cards, showing what resolution
limits exist.

HTH,
Paul

On Apr 7, 5:51*am, Paul <nos...@needed.com> wrote:
> seth1066 wrote:
> > I'm getting conflicting opinions on this one. I need to build a 4
> > monitor capable machine from a EP45-UD3P Gigabyte board. It also has
> > to run OpenGL cards. This board has only 1 PCIEx16 and 1 PCIEx8 slots.
> > Will it work and multi-monitor with identical cards in each slot?
>
> The P45 has x16 lanes on the Northbridge. These can be split, to make
> two x8 interfaces. If you look at a number of P45 boards, which have
> two video card slots, there are four small chips next to the primary
> slot. Those chips are used for "lane steering". When two video cards
> are present, the slots run x8/x8. When a single video card is used
> (in the primary slot), all x16 lanes are connected to the primary
> slot. The four little chips take the place of the "paddle card" which
> was present on previous generations of motherboards.
>
> So to answer your question, when you use two slots, chances are
> they'll each be getting x8 bandwidth. (Since I don't know the part
> number of the four small chips used, I don't know if both PCI Express
> version 2 and version 1 modes are supported. I presume they are.)
>
> As for OpenGL capabilities, check the advert for your prospective card.
> For example, on this card...
>
> http://ati.amd.com/products/fireglv8650/index.html
>
> * * "... has added even more innovation with features like
> * * *native multi-card support, so users can see more and do
> * * *more with four displays and AutoDetect"
>
> Check your advertising, to see if there is some notion of
> multi-card support.
>
> While I couldn't find a statement on the Nvidia site, this
> article mentions four display support with a pair of Quadro
> FX5600.
>
> http://machinedesign.com/article/sof...cs-cards-and-h...
>
> If there wasn't multicard support, there is still a way of
> doing it. You can use one video card with two display
> connectors, then connect two Matrox DualHead2Go adapters,
> to drive four monitors. The pairs of monitors have a fixed
> relation to one another then (as a 2560x1024 output on one
> of the video card connectors, is split mechanically into
> two 1280x1024 displays for a pair of monitors). Some cards
> support wider display modes than others, and the resolution
> of each display fed by the DualHead2Go, will be limited by
> the video card's capability. The Matrox product page has
> some tables for various cards, showing what resolution
> limits exist.
>
> HTH,
> * * * Paul

Thanks, Paul, that's good stuff. I'm thinking the PCIE standard would/
should be backward compatible.