New Mac Pro with Triple Graphic Out

[mlorenz]

Hey there,

will there be an upgrade to V4 so that with the new ATI 5770/5870 Graphic-Cards which will be installed in the new Mac Pros (available August 2010) it might be possible to output to 3 devices or will it still stay with 2?

Cheers

Marc

[ajmaudio]

shoot.. maybe we will get lucky and apple will pull there head out and adopt the 6 output version of this card.... Then Richard could hate us all for asking for 6 outputs :) Somehow I doubt it... apple seems very unconcerned with high end graphics solutions for some time now.

[foxrider]

I will be keen to see how many layers of HD 1080p it could run. The specs looks very impressive. 12 core!!! Will Catalyst be able to maximise it with the new software?

[NevBull]

The processor does not do the hard work - the hard drive/graphics card combination are where the server's performance comes from.

Nev.

[foxrider]

Hi Nev, please educate me as I'm pretty new to the Mac world and Catalyst. I'm assuming 8 core Mac Pro now runs more HD layers than a Quad core. How come the 12 core will not improve the situation?

If I were to buy a new machine now, should I just buy a 8 core machine or should I wait till for the 12 core machine?

[Peter]

Not directly related to cat but this site gives a good insight on cores, ram, ... :

http://macperformanceguide.com/index_topics.html

[samsc]

The processor does not do the hard work - the hard drive/graphics card combination are where the server's performance comes from.

Nev.

not true - with recent macs - 2009 - and 10.6.x every core has been useful-

and higher speed macs are able to do more layers-

All movie decoding is done on the cpus-

for hidef the more cpus and faster processors the better.

and movie playback uses as many cpus as are available.

[samsc]

Not directly related to cat but this site gives a good insight on cores, ram, ... :

http://macperformanceguide.com/index_topics.html

not very useful for catalyst

[samsc]

Hey there,

will there be an upgrade to V4 so that with the new ATI 5770/5870 Graphic-Cards which will be installed in the new Mac Pros (available August 2010) it might be possible to output to 3 devices or will it still stay with 2?

Cheers

Marc

using triple heads and dual heads it been possible to do 4-6 outputs since 2005-

so this wont change anything-

i believe the card seems to have 2x pain in the a** mini display ports - for double un-joy.

how this works with triple heads remains unknown- as does pricing and availability.

[samsc]

Hi Nev, please educate me as I'm pretty new to the Mac world and Catalyst. I'm assuming 8 core Mac Pro now runs more HD layers than a Quad core. How come the 12 core will not improve the situation?

If I were to buy a new machine now, should I just buy a 8 core machine or should I wait till for the 12 core machine?

who knows. there is not enough information out there- to determine whether the premium pricing will be cost effective-

with 2009 macs it does work better.

on my 2.26GHz 8 core 2009 mac pro with 10.6.x i get 6-8 layers of 1080p ( actual number depends on data rates in movies )

[ajmaudio]

using triple heads and dual heads it been possible to do 4-6 outputs since 2005-

so this wont change anything-

i believe the card seems to have 2x pain in the a** mini display ports - for double un-joy.

how this works with triple heads remains unknown- as does pricing and availability.


I dont think he was referring to the use of triple heads and dual heads... i think he was asking if there would be a software change in catalyst to support a 3rd actual output... so a screen 3 output in addition to the existing one and two if that makes sense. This would enable a control screen and 2 more full screen outputs WITHOUT the use of a DHTG or THTG...

[foxrider]

using triple heads and dual heads it been possible to do 4-6 outputs since 2005-

so this wont change anything-

i believe the card seems to have 2x pain in the a** mini display ports - for double un-joy.

how this works with triple heads remains unknown- as does pricing and availability.

Richard, is there any way to get 2x 1920 by 1080 or 3x 1280 by 720 outputs from a TH2G? Currently, I only few output resolutions option on Catalyst but the ratio is not what I want.

[Mr_P]

It is possible to get 1080p out of a DH2G if its the only interface connected to the graphics card DVI-D port...
(Ive done 3x 1080p outputs using this method: 2x from DH2G and 1x from graphics card direct)
Not tried programming a TH2G in to 'dual head' mode for this resolution... it might work if the matrox software supports it.

3 x 1280x720 is also possible - but you have to use the Matrox tool to program the TH2G as its not a 'default' resolution. - again - connect to DVI-D port.
Depending upon the graphics card and MacPro version - you may be able to run more than one TH2G at 1280x720 (I do with 2008 MP & 8800GT)

see post:
http://chaldee1.gotadsl.co.uk/~richardb/upload/showthread.php?t=1842&highlight=matrox

Simon

[ajmaudio]

What Simon said. Remember though... the 3x 1280x720 resolution does not show up as an option in catalyst for mix size... you will have to size and move the mixes manually.

[foxrider]

So that's the trick. Great!!!

[mlorenz]

using triple heads and dual heads it been possible to do 4-6 outputs since 2005-

so this wont change anything-

i believe the card seems to have 2x pain in the a** mini display ports - for double un-joy.

how this works with triple heads remains unknown- as does pricing and availability.

i know about the TH2G solution...
just thought about 3 x TH2G ;-)

and yes... it has 2 mini-display-ports...
never used a TH2G on it...
anyone has tried this before?
not on this card, on any actual available cards like GT120

[mlorenz]

I dont think he was referring to the use of triple heads and dual heads... i think he was asking if there would be a software change in catalyst to support a 3rd actual output... so a screen 3 output in addition to the existing one and two if that makes sense. This would enable a control screen and 2 more full screen outputs WITHOUT the use of a DHTG or THTG...

exact!!!
that was my idea

or even use 3 x TH2G when no control monitor is needed

[mlorenz]

i know about the TH2G solution...
just thought about 3 x TH2G ;-)

and yes... it has 2 mini-display-ports...
never used a TH2G on it...
anyone has tried this before?
not on this card, on any actual available cards like GT120

Just bought a server-panel from Pro System Groups (German Distributor for Catalyst, hi Mike ;-) ), with that panel you can use the mini-display-port in combination with the TH2G.

They are also making a new version with 1 x DVI and 2 mini-display-ports for the new MacPros

[samsc]

I designed it with at 4 outputs but I have to wait and see what happens when macs appear

It may or may not be easy to make it work

[mlorenz]

I designed it with at 4 outputs but I have to wait and see what happens when macs appear

It may or may not be easy to make it work

Great
Looking forward for hopefully good news (pressing both thumbs)

[samsc]

Great
Looking forward for hopefully good news (pressing both thumbs)

thumb pressing not much use when it comes to software.

[foxrider]

i know about the TH2G solution...
just thought about 3 x TH2G ;-)

and yes... it has 2 mini-display-ports...
never used a TH2G on it...
anyone has tried this before?
not on this card, on any actual available cards like GT120

My TH2G did not work on a mini-display port but I wonder if it will if I got myself a Mini Display Port to Dual Link DVI Adpater for Apple?Has anyone done it yet?

[Mr_P]

TH2G usually only works up to 2400x600 (is 3x 800x600) on a MDP-DVI single link (£20) adaptor

I've just purchased a MDP to DVI-D adaptor - so will let you know my findings with a standard TH2G-D (DVI) (Monday)

Matrox also have a MDP version of TH2G - I don't have one of these to test, but the specification seems to suggest higher resolutions:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/

Simon

[SourceChild]

My TH2G did not work on a mini-display port but I wonder if it will if I got myself a Mini Display Port to Dual Link DVI Adpater for Apple?Has anyone done it yet?

YES.
I use the DUAL Link MDP-DVI on my Mac Mini Cats and My 2009 4870 Macs. It's a major pain in the A$$

[SourceChild]

TH2G usually only works up to 2400x600 (is 3x 800x600) on a MDP-DVI single link (£20) adaptor

Just FYI. One of the biggest headaches I've had on TH2Gs is not realizing I have a single link DVI-D or a DVI-I cable.

If you don't have a Dual Link DVI-D cable, you'll have the same headaches. The larger images sizes don't work on single link. And if you use a DVI-I the TH2G will default to analog and won't do the majority of the configurations.




Matrox also have a MDP version of TH2G

I have only one of these and hate it. There were artifacts on 10.6 And 10.5.x. It's useless really considering I have to convert everything anyway. I might change my mind once someone creates a nice reliable MDP fibre/copper extender.

[SourceChild]

exact!!!
that was my idea

or even use 3 x TH2G when no control monitor is needed

If you want to do 9 Outputs from Catalyst then try one of these:

http://www.iiview.com/index.php/video-wall-videowall-datawall-controllers/video-wall-controllers

I got two of these for a nightclub install, attached them to both outputs of Catalyst that had 3 LFG4 card.

It was a switcher/router/media server I setup with 12 inputs 12 A-B playbacks, and 18 outputs. Of course the everything was 640x480.