AMD Firepro w600 video cards

[mpt_adam]

I've not found mention of the older w500 or the new w600 cards in the forum. I spoke with AMD at Infocomm about it, and it seems like it would be a great card. Low power consumption, small footprint, multiple 1080 streams can be rendered off the gpu, and it will support all 6 outputs in Eyefinity mode. They seemed to think it would work well in this application, and slip a little compared to Radeon cards only in 3d game play scenarios.

 

http://www.amd.com/us/products/workstation/graphics/firepro-display-wall/w600/Pages/w600.aspx

[Jonas Dannert]

Hi Adam,

 

"multiple 1080 streams can be rendered off the gpu"

 

for the record: WATCHOUT does not render videos off the GPU, this is done off the CPU.

 

While it looks promising, and we will try it, when we can get one to test, it might not

have the DIrectX/Direct3D hardware acceleration horsepower WATCHOUT needs.

 

We will see more soon enough,

 

/jonas

[mpt_adam]

Good to know, thanks!

[Sedat Gunduz]

I used two server with W600 graphics card for 12 Full HD LCD TV. Totally 12 outputs running 12 HD movies at the same time. No problem at all.

 

There is a SAS with 15.000 rpm for media and Xeon Quad processor.

[Navypti]

i have an issue with the W600 amd 6 mini port graphics card:

 

initially i had all 6 screens working with no issues, then one of the guys pull the plug out of the extention lead and two tvs subsequently went off.

 

i have a problem where only 5 come back on and one is detected but when i try to extend it it says 'unable to save display settings'.

 

the 6th screen is present in the catalyst software and windows but will not allow me to extend it in windows as above.

 

When i try extend in the catalyst it swops screens around where 1234 and 6 work but not 5 and vice versa when i do it again.

 

Things i have done with AMD Support Desk:

 

checked leads/hdmi cables

re-installed software after unistall

changed cables around

deleted initial group and tried redect and configure new group

adjusted screen resolution so all screens are the same

they are in order of 123456 but as no 6 is present but wont extend this is the configuration 123465

reset to factory defaults and reconfigured.

 

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM????

 

Please help

 

please note all screens were working until two were unplugged by accident.

[Jonas Dannert]

"deleted initial group and tried redect and configure new group"

 

FYI: a WATCHOUT multi-output setup normally does not use an "Eyefinity-group", only Extended desktop mode.

 

 It has to work in Windows first, for WATCHOUT to work.

 

How are the screens connected?

 

/jonas

[Navypti]

they are connected via hdmi cables into minport hdmi connectors, 6 screens in a line with different browsers on.

 

I have replaced the w600 for a new one and still have the same problem. I have extended the displays but one remains blacked out and will not give me the option of enabling/extending it? So 5 screens are now working but not 6 and I have tried to extend it in windows (unable to save display settings) and it is blacked out in the catalyst software with a green tick on it - with no red option link below in the eyefinity to extend as I had previous.

 

I spoke with AMD support and they said the adapters had to be active, they are.

 

still no 6th screen.

 

So annoying :-)

 

Any ideas?

[RBeddig]

Hi Navypti,

 

your problem sounds a bit strange and it needs some structured analysis:

 

a) you claim that your miniDP>HDMI adapters are all active and working.

To confirm this, I would suggest to use 4 of the monitors which have been working so far and try to use all 6 adapters on those four monitors. Once all of your adapters have been tested this way and you have images on the four outputs with every combination of adapters, the adapters should be ok. The Eyefinity cards do need active adapters also when using only four monitors. (there are some adapters which do not work fine and only very few have the official AMD certification). 

 

are your 6 displays identical? They all need to have an identical EDID!!! If not, this can cause problems and lead to what you describe. Note that the EDID might be different on older and newer models of the "same" monitor. We normally use EDID detectives (tools) in between the graphic card outputs and the monitors. Important: do not copy the EDID from your display into the EDID tool since this would only change the position of the problematic EDID, not cure the problem. The best is to use only one EDID for the needed resolution and skip all others. You may need a more intelligent EDID tool for that, like DVI-Parrot, Lightware,... Then copy this single EDID onto all EDID tools for each monitor. Your graphic card will then detect identical displays, even though they might slightly differ in reality.

 

c) only install the important parts of the AMD driver (display driver, audio driver, control center. Do not install transcoding and their tool to clone monitors....!

 

d) Normally it is not necessary to change anything on the windows side, regarding the setup of the graphic card outputs. 

 

e) Inside the Catalyst Pro Control Center, you should NOT change anything on the "AMD Eyefinity Multi-Display" tab. We do not need this for WATCHOUT!

You can use "Desktop Management" to arrange your displays into the correct order. Click onto the little black arrows for the options.

If you use non-VESA frequencies, it might be necessary to tell your graphic cards about that, especially if you do not have EDID tools connected.

Go to the "My Digital Flat Panels" tab and there to "HDTV Support". Activate all needed "video" frequencies on all outputs. Change the output with the big bar in the upper part of that window.

 

All other settings should remain untouched!

 

We are using the W7000 and V7900 models for quite some time and never had any issues with monitors beeing deactivated. But it is important that all adapters are active and working, all monitors show the same identical EDID and Eyefinity and other grouping settings inside the graphic card driver should be set to default.

 

 

BTW: what do you mean when you write " with different browsers on"??

 

Hope this helps

 

Rainer Beddig

[Navypti]

Hi Rainer, (Administrator, many thanks for your input too!)

 

Many thanks for your input. I mean by  " with different browsers on", that there are IE/Mozilla URL's/pages of different websites displayed on the screens.

 

I will try your suggestions later when everyone leaves for the evening and see where we get to.

 

Once again many thanks for your time, I may need more of it lol ;-).

 

I will update once I try your suggestions......

 

P.S what do you mean by, 'We do not need this for WATCHOUT!' What is WATCHOUT?

 

regards,

Aid

[Jonas Dannert]

Re "What is WATCHOUT?"

 

Are you not using WATCHOUT on your PC?

 

/jonas

[Navypti]

I don't think so?? Not sure? I was looking for the solution to my W600 problem and this site came up.

[jfk]

I don't think so?? Not sure? I was looking for the solution to my W600 problem and this site came up.

 

The name of this forum at the top of the page is " DATATON FORUM  → WATCHOUT FORUM ".

It is a product specific forum for the multimedia software - DATATON WATCHOUT.

 

Therefore hardware discussions you see here are specific to Dataton WATCHOUT,

which uses Microsoft DirectX 3D at its core.

Issues with other software that may use OpenGL

or Eyefinity groups are typically a different set of rules,

as those functions are unrelated to WATCHOUT.

 

You should contact AMD directly.

The AMD/ATi FirePro w600 is from AMD's professional division

and their direct technical support is pretty good.

Much different than the tech support from the consumer Radeon line,

make sure you contact the correct division for assistance.

[Navypti]

many thanks and apologies for any inconvenience that I may have caused, but thank you for your time guys.

 

regards,

 

adi

[madhurvyas]

Dear All,

I'm using 2 nos of AMD FirePro W600 cards to manage 5x2 Video Wall.

I'm getting it very difficult to configure it.

I want to use it as 1 single screen to show videos and PPTs.

When I'm configuring, it is only extending the desktops but not as 1 single screen.

Also, when I'm creating a group, it is only taking 5 screens but not 10.

 

Kindly help on this. Need your expert advice.

 

Thanks!

Madhur

[Jonas Dannert]

Dear Madhur,

 

From: http://forum.dataton.com/topic/93-wo5-multi-output/

 

WATCHOUT 5 - Multi output

All outputs MUST come from one card.

WATCHOUT 5 Multi output ONLY works with one graphics card.

That one graphics card may have up to six (6) outputs, provided the graphics card vendor 
includes driver support for multiple outputs under DirectX/Direct3D mode.

 

This should be in extended desktop mode, do NOT involve any Eyefinity group setup.

 

All outputs also MUST be the same resolution AND refresh rate. 

This is not so much a limitation of WATCHOUT 5, this is inherent to the graphic card setup.
Also related to keeping the sync between the different outputs.

 

 

 

/jonas

[tallscott]

Hey Jonas,

 

How did you get on with testing on the w600 cards? What was the spec of your test system? Are they suitable for running 6 WUXGA displays

 

What's your current recommended consumer and firepro cards for 6 outputs? I've looked at the spec sheet but it's getting out of date now so cards are hard to find.

 

We currently use Radeon HD 7870 in our older Watchout Machines but I'm looking to build two new systems and these are hard to come by.

 

Many Thanks,

Scott

[tallscott]

Hi all,

 

Has anyone any views on the W600 card?

 

Thanks,

Scott

[Jonas Dannert]

Scott,

 

please look into this earlier post by Jim Kellner:

http://forum.dataton.com/topic/1420-coming-back-after-3-years-need-advices/?do=findComment&comment=5693

 

"As for those tempted to use the FirePro W600, beware, the GPU is a bit weak for WATCHOUT.

The W600 is targeted at home video applications, not so much for DirectX 3D accelerated apps.

If all you are doing is video playback and very little with tween tracks, no masking, no keying, etc.

you might get away with the W600. That implies you have control of the content and its programming".    

 

 

/jonas

[Fredrik Svahnberg]

Hi Scott!

 

We have used W600 in several video intensive WATCHOUT projects - with all six outputs active. As Jonas/Jim points out above, if you are just running video in WATCHOUT, this card will do just as well as any other graphic card. Another great feature is that the Catalyst Control Center allow EDID emulation alos for the W600 nowadays. Just open the AMD FirePro tab and select EDID emulation.