Connecting 8 720p projectors + Led Panel + Master Display

[Mariusblk]

I think that i'm set on the motherboard, Asus Z97 Maximus VII Hero.

The only thing i'm now thinking of, before buying 2 x Club 3d R9 270x is will they each support 6 outputs each using a Club 3d 1-4 MST?

If that so, problem solved and i'll get back with real feedback after all in place and rockin'

Thank you guys for all your support.

[Oaktown]

The only thing i'm now thinking of, before buying 2 x Club 3d R9 270x is will they each support 6 outputs each using a Club 3d 1-4 MST?

They will as long as they are not running in Xfire.

I've used R9-270X GPUs on project and I really like the XFX Double D R9 270X 1050M Boost Ready 2GB because they have two miniDP connectors instead of one DP so you end up with 2 miniDP, 1 HDMI, 1DL-DVI-I and 1 SL-DVI-D connectors even though you still only get four output (6 with MST Hub) because you can't use the 2 DVI outputs at the same time but it's more flexible. It's a good value card but don't expect amazing performance when you start loading them with 6 outputs.

Also you don't need to buy the Club 3d 1-4 MST, you can use the Club 3d 1-3 MST or the EVGA MST hub which will save you a few bucks and if you can afford it, I would upgrade the GPUs to either a 280x 3GB or even 290x with 4GB and even 8GB if you can swing it. You won't regret your investment.

[Mariusblk]

Thank you for the fast reply Oaktown, thing is that the projectors will run @ 720p and not 1080 so do you really think that a 280x or a 290x is a must for a smooth playback?

[Oaktown]

Thank you for the fast reply Oaktown, thing is that the projectors will run @ 720p and not 1080 so do you really think that a 280x or a 290x is a must for a smooth playback?

Running 8 @ 720p projectors + LED panel + UI (1920x1080) requires a large composition if you want 9 discreet signals and everything will be rendered on your main GPU (same as UI) so if you can afford the better cards, get the better cards. It's not an investment you'll regret.

You'd be amazed at what an extra GB of video RAM will do for you. I would take a look at the AMD R9-390X 8GB which has just been released and seems to be very well priced ($429) for what you get and based on benchmarks I've seen online it seems to be comparable to the Nvidia GTX980 but can run 6 outputs.

I run similar systems to what you're describing regularly but when I run large comps, I always try to stick to one GPU so I use one EVGA GTX980 SC ACX 2.0 4GB with 2 Datapath X4 controllers (with Displayport to DL-DVI active adapters). The GTX980 is a workhorse that works amazingly well with Resolume but it's limited to 4 outputs unless you use video controllers to break down the signals such as the Datapath X4s.

After years of using AMD cards, I've become a big fan of Nvidia cards and drivers so we've upgraded our media servers to EVGA GTX980 SC ACX 2.0 4GB GPUs. I'm currently considering getting one EVGA GeForce GTX TITAN X SC ACX 2.0 12GB for large systems but two EVGA GTX980ti in SLI might perform as well or better and give us more flexibility so our next batch of GPUs will probably be the EVGA GTX980ti SC ACX 2.0 6GB.

[Mariusblk]

Well, you got my attention. I will take in consideration what you said and i have to discuss on the budget. But like you said, i'm sure there will be no regret. Hope for the best so wish me luck

And as a general question, since i won't use Crossfire or SLI depending on the setup and budget, do the graphic cards have to be same manufacturer, or i can use an Evga and Asus for example?

[Oaktown]

And as a general question, since i won't use Crossfire or SLI depending on the setup and budget, do the graphic cards have to be same manufacturer, or i can use an Evga and Asus for example?

Technically, EVGA and ASUS are not manufacturer, they are resellers of Nvidia and AMD cards which they brand under their company name. They do offer minor tweaksand different output configurations on their cards, as well as their own software/drivers but they are Nvidia and AMD cards. Long story short, there are many different brands out there but only a few manufacturers (Nvidia, AMD, Datapath, and Matrox to name a few)

So yes, technically you could have an ASUS and an EVGA card on your computer as long as you're using both Nvidia GPUs but I'm not sure how it will work with the software and drivers since each company has their own offerings. To be honest, my recommendation would be to stick with one brand and build a consistent rig. My personal preference is EVGA for Nvidia and XFX for AMD but everyone will have different preferred brands out there for good reasons.

Now on the other hand, I would personally not use an EVGA Nvidia GPU and an ASUS AMD card on the same rig. I have never done it but my assumption is that you would end up with conflicting drivers. Maybe someone out there has tried it and can confirm my assumptions.

[AdevProjects]

I have run a rig with nvidia gpus and an amd gpu together with no issues. Resolume uses whichever card you primary display is connected to. But yes, if you are building a new machine it is best to stick with one or the other.

[Mariusblk]

Thank you for the info. I wasn't thinking to mix nvidia and amd, that's for sure. Just wanted to know if different brands with same specs will do the job. Anyway i will stick to 2x 290 because of the outputs they provide along with Club 3d MST.

One more thing before i start building it, what motherboard you recommend. I don't care about brand, and i don't intend overclocking the i7-4790k that i'll use.

[Oaktown]

As a word of caution, the i7-4790k supports only 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes so if you want to use two independent R9-290X, I would probably look into an X99 motherboard with i7-­5820K which supports 28 PCIe 3.0 lanes so that you can have some breathing room.

[hookerbot]

I read the whole thread, and it seems like you are on a different path OP, but I want to point out something from the original design.
A MST hub will ONLY ever work with a Displayport/Mini output from the video card, an hdmi to displayport adaptor doesn't transfer the data lanes that a displayport mst hub needs.

As another system theory to consider, I would like to suggest the much maligned triplehead2go.
I haven't had the problems others have noted, and on your matching projectors, they should play nice. With that plan you could rely on one 980ti to drive 4 "outs" (10 monitors) like this
DP 1 to triplehead DP edition to (the hated) VGA adaptors, Proj 1-3
DP 2 to triplehead DP edition to (the hated) VGA adaptors, Proj 4-6
DP 3 to triplehead DP edition to 2x VGA adaptors, Proj 7,8 and 1 DVI adaptor to LED (assuming, and this is an important point to know before you implement, that the led processor can take 1280*720. If you start mixing resolutions with tripleheads, you're gonna have a bad time.)
DVI/HDMI for local monitor.
The value of this designs is that the system doesn't have to transfer textures from the master gpu that is doing all the render work to the second gpu that is merely a set of output holes, since that process eats into your fps. You already are trying to cover a lot of pixels without unnecessarily chewing into fps in any other area.


As far as motherboards, check out Toms Hardware http://www.tomshardware.com/t/motherboards/ tech powerup, anandtech or many others for better information than anyone on this forum could probably provide. Not knocking this forum in the slightest