ATI Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition Gaming

Name: ATI Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition Gaming - Page 2
Brand: ATI

by Marco Chiappetta — Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 12:01 AM EDT

ATI Eyefinity technology, in essence, allows for multiple monitors to be used as a single large display. As it stands today, for the most part, when multiple monitors are connected to a single PC, those monitors are recognized as independent displays and can be configured for desktop spanning or mirroring modes, etc. With ATI Eyefinity, however, the displays can be arranged in a single group (or in multiple groups) and they are treated as a single display by the OS. The technology was made possible in part by DisplayPort which does not require individual clock signals for each connected display and by a new Output Crossbar implemented within the GPU that allows for data to be sent from the display pipeline out to the necessary display, regardless of where it is connected on the card.

AMD Eyefinity Multi-Display Technology In Action

Eyefinity is enabled through a combination of hardware and software that was developed by AMD. On the hardware front, AMD's Radeon HD 5000 series cards sport between 3 and 6 display outputs of various types, DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, etc. And those outputs can be managed by software currently dubbed SLS, or Single Large Surface. Using the SLS tool built into AMD's Catalyst drives, users are able to configure a group of monitors to work with Eyefinity and essentially act as a single, large display.

11,520 x 4,800 - 55.3 megapixels, From Four Cards

The technology allows for some exciting possibilities. For example, six, 30" Dell 3008WFP panels can be grouped as a single display, in a 3 x 2 arrangement, with a resolution of 7680 x 3200--that's about 24.6 megapixels if you do the math. And a single Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition card is all that is necessary to power the displays. In such a configuration, the Windows desktop can function as one monolithic surface, with all of that expansive resolution available to the user.

Upcoming Samsung Thin-Bezel Displays

To help increase adoption of Eyefinity, AMD is working closely with some display makers, like Samsung for example, to introduce new displays with ultra-thin bezels, designed with Eyefinity in mind. Samsung's thin-bezel displays are pictured above.

Tags: ATI, Radeon, Gaming, multi-monitor, Eyefinity

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com