How to connect additional DVI monitor to HDMI port

tci · 14 Nov 2011

Hi

I have an i5-based DG67BL intel motherboard computer that has a DVI and HDMI ports with one DVI monitor connected to the DVI port.

I added an GeFORCE 210 graphics card to it that has a VGA and a DVI ports and connected additional two monitors to it.

So far computer is working fine with three monitors configured in windows as extended desktop.

This motherboard has just one PCIeX16 slot. It has 2 PCIeX1 and a PCI slot that are vacant.

I need to connect yet another DVI monitor. I took a HDMI<->DVI cable, connected it to the onboard HDMI port. the monitor was not detected.

I tried various combinations of monitors and bios settings in vain. Under no circumstances the HDMI port drove the DVI monitor.

The cable is working fine elsewhere.

What did I do wrong ? Is there something I need to buy/replace for this to work ?

Thanks !

DustSailor · 14 Nov 2011

you 'need' to connect a 4th monitor? I recommend getting graphics card(s) to support your endeaver, but up to you.

Why don't you get a dvi to vga or maybe its a vga to dvi cord and connect the dvi monitor to the graphics card vga port?

Does it have to go into the HDMI port? HDMI carries sound as well as the video signal, dvi only carries video, and vga carries a lesser quality video

tci · 15 Nov 2011

Well I already have a graphic card geforce 210 that has a dvi and a vga and two monitors are connected to it+ a third that goes on the onboard DVI port. I have no slot for another graphic card on this motherboard and it does not have a VGA on board, just a DVI and an HDMI. And the extra monitor I have does not have an HDMi input. So I am left with an on board hdmi port and a dvi monitor I am trying to hook together ....

Thanks

DustSailor · 15 Nov 2011

what motherboard do you have? I've never seen a motherboard with hdmi. by the way, you should fill out your system specs so i don't have to ask these questions: Fill out your system specs (this tool may help you out a great deal).

Assuming your hdmi dvi cable is in working order, that would mean the computer is to blame for not generating a signal.

Not knowing why the dvi on the motherboard works, usually when a graphics card is connected to the board the onboard video is disabled. It could possibly only have disabled the hdmi (so take out the graphics card and see if both dvi and hdmi work simultaneously on the board).

Is there anything in the BIOS that talks about vga/dvi/hdmi as primary and secondary output?

Barman58 · 15 Nov 2011

It is normal practice for the on-board graphics chip to be disabled when a discrete card is discovered, some motherboards will have the option in the Bios to override this, (I have an ASROCK board that does), Also it is quite possible that the HDMI/DVI on the board is a hybrid and will not work together. Unless you have this option on the MB you are limited to either changing the board or sourcing a PCIe card that will fit the slots you have free, (possible but rare, and obviously limited in capabilities)

If the HDMI and DVi are both live on the motherboard then an adaptor may be an option ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=hdmi...&ved=0CKkBEK0E

Hope this helps ....

tci · 15 Nov 2011

Thanks - I filled out the system specs. It is an intel DG67BL motherboard

HDMI<->DVI cable is working elsewhere

The bios of this motherboard does indeed disable the on board graphics when an additional card is identified. Yet there is an option to set it to "Always enabled" in the bios setup (F2 on hard reset). It was working fine for a long time, windows 7 had no problem identifying it

Bios setup had thw option "IGD Primary Video Port". It could be set to HDMI, DVI and auto. The side bar it says: "Auto will attempt to detect connected monitors and will display video on a maximum of two ports". So I concluded both DVI and HDMI can work, but perhaps not in presence of an additional card. I tried all three options. It made no noticeable difference

I will try next to remove the external graphics card

Thanks a lot

Mark Phelps · 15 Nov 2011

My Gigabyte motherboard also has onboard graphics, including VGA, DVI, and HDMI jacks --but it will not drive BOTH the DVI and HDMI jacks. Perhaps yours has the same limitation.

tci · 16 Nov 2011

Thanks Mark

Here are my results: Without an additional card, the motherboard drives both HDMI and DVI. With additional video card, it only drives the DVI.

So no luck here. Any idea how do I get 4 or 5 monitors attached in the least expensive way ?

(I guess a new motherboard with two PCIeX16 slots and two cheap cards is the best option for a new computer)

Barman58 · 16 Nov 2011

Cheapest may be a second card - but one that does not need the PCI-e x16 slot, there are basic x1 pci-e cards out there ....

One example (not a recommendation, just for illustration)

HP Store item details - NVIDIA NVS 300 PCIe x1 512MB Graphics Card (BV457AA)

tci · 16 Nov 2011

Hey that seems to be a workable and affordable solution ! Thanks much, Nigel ! I was not aware such things existed. It seems that there are pcie X 1 cards that can be added to my system. There are such cards that support 2 DVIs, I am still on the hunt but it seems that those are priced around $140 and will resolve this. I will report here my findings for other people. Thanks to everyone ! esp. Nigel