ati dual monitor y-splitter cable

[philip_148]

I wonder if someone can help me.

I would like to make my ATI 7500 AIW card support dual monitors.

Is there a special kind of cable to connect to the video card output in
order to support
dual monitors? Where can I find one?

Right now I just have a single monitor so I connect it direct to the
video out.

 

[Barry Watzman]

First, "dual monitors" usually refers to dual INDEPENDENT monitors (not
necessarily showing the same display), which isn't what you are
referring to.

For what you want to do, there are devices available that will drive
multiple monitors from a single signal (all will display the same image,
of course). It's more complex than a cable, it's an active device in a
box and it's not "nominally cheap", it will probably cost $50 to $250.
Try www.pimfg.com or www.computergate.com. You are looking for
something like this:

http://www.computergate.com/products/item.cfm?prodcd=WSBAV835

[this one is 8 port, there are smaller ones available also]

Note that in modern systems, the video card and the monitor "talk" to
each other, and what signals the display card sends out depend to a
degree on the results of this conversation. That is a potential issue
when the signal is being split, because the video card is only going to
be "talking" to one of the monitors, and it's signals will be a function
of that one monitor. Thus, in some extreme cases, certain mixes of
multiple monitors may not work, because the monitors themselves are too
different.

 

[philip_148]

First, "dual monitors" usually refers to dual INDEPENDENT monitors (not
necessarily showing the same display), which isn't what you are
referring to.

Yes, that is what I want to do. I want two displays from my ATI AIW.
Display 1 and 2 showing different screens. I guess that means
dual INDEPENDENT monitors.

 

[Barry Watzman]

I think that the only way in which any of the AIW cards supported that
was when one of the displays was the TV. But it's possible that some
models also supported it when you used a VGA analog display and a DVD
display. Since the only connectors are a DVI-I output and an S-Video
output, you would need a funky and very uncommon "Y" cable that would
split the DVI-I output into a DVI-D output and a 15-pin analog output.
Such a cable is theoretically possible, but I've never seen one.
Separately, it's not clear if the AIW card (I'm not sure which one you
have) would support this, cable and connectors not withstanding. But it
might be possible, at least in theory.

 

[philip_148]

On my AIW 7500 it has a DVI out. I use a DVI to VGA converter that I
then connect into monitor one directly.

To add a second screen I tried a standard y-splitter but I get the same
display on both screens, even after I try to enable the second screen
from Windows. Windows doesn't enable it and it simply returns
without extending my desktop.

Any ideas?

 

[Barry Watzman]

What we don't know is what would happen if you used a splitter from the
DVI-I connector on the AIW to two different connectors, a DVI-D and an
analog VGA. I've never seen such a splitter, but it's conceptually
possible and it MIGHT support dual independent displays.

 

[philip_148]

So it sounds like you are saying I can split the DVI out.

If so, where do I get such a cable to split the DVI?

 

[Barry Watzman]

This is a kind of complex issue.

In theory (and in fact, actually), a DVI-I output can be split into a
DVI-D output and a VGA analog output. Both signals are present on
separate pins of the DVI-I connector.

But there are two possible problems:

First, although such a "Y" adapter could be built (definitely, no
question), I've never actually seen one offered for sale.

Second, while the DVI-I connector actually has two physical outputs
(DVI-D and analog VGA), those two outputs could be either just different
formats of the same signal (same image, always and unconditionally), or
they might be two truly independent video signals, capable of driving
two displays with two different images on them. This point is something
that we don't know ... exactly how ATI implemented the output stages of
the various AIW cards that have only a single DVI-I connector.

 

[ghotiez]

I ran across this posting. Perhaps this splitter would do the job.

http://sewelldirect.com/dvi-to-dvi-and-vga-splitter-cable-1ft.asp