Ubuntu – 3 Displays Ubuntu, ATI Radeon

atidisplaymultiple-monitors

There are lots of questions on this but I've read them all and none helped me!

  • ATI Radeon HD 5400 Series

  • PCI Express 2.0

My co-worker attempted to use 3 displays on windows, that failed…

However he managed to get 3 displays on ubuntu using the exact same graphics card as me!

I know its possible!

  • Display One: 22" DVI

  • Display Two: 22" VGA

  • Display Three: 19" VGA

My graphics card has: HDMI, DVI, VGA.

  • The HDMI goes to Display One using a HDMI to DVI converter

  • The VGA goes to Display Two directly

  • The DVI goes to Display Three using a DVI to VGA converter

When I open ubuntu display settings, i see the 3 displays, however Display Three is set to OFF by default… When i try to enable it, my PC does nothing!

When I open Catalyst Control Center, i see the 3 displays again, but the 3rd is set to "disabled" and I cannot enable it…

What do i need to do?

Best Answer

Before we start, sometimes the HDMI port is pushed by the same hardware that pushes DVI/VGA so it might be that you need three 'real' ports not a port that works if and only if the other is disabled.

To find out if the previous is the case, disable your second monitor and see if the HDMI is enable-able then. If it is, then it's the case. If it still isn't then keep reading...

Mine is 2 DVIs and a displaylink port.

I currently have this working without 3D support using Xinerama like this:
xorg.conf

Section "ServerLayout"
    Identifier     "aticonfig Layout"
    Screen      0  "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0" 0 0
    Screen         "aticonfig-Screen[0]-1" LeftOf "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0"
    Screen         "aticonfig-Screen[0]-2" LeftOf "aticonfig-Screen[0]-1"
EndSection

Section "Module"
EndSection

Section "ServerFlags"
    Option      "Xinerama" "on"
EndSection

Section "Extensions"
    Option      "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
    Option      "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
    Option      "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
    Option      "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-1"
    Option      "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
    Option      "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
    Option      "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
    Identifier   "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-2"
    Option      "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
    Option      "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
    Option      "DPMS" "true"
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
    Driver      "fglrx"
    BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen      0
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]-1"
    Driver      "fglrx"
    BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen      1
EndSection

Section "Device"
    Identifier  "aticonfig-Device[0]-2"
    Driver      "fglrx"
    BusID       "PCI:1:0:0"
    Screen      2
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0"
    Device     "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
    Monitor    "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
    DefaultDepth     24
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
                Modes "1440x900_60.00"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-1"
    Device     "aticonfig-Device[0]-1"
    Monitor    "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-1"
    DefaultDepth     24
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
                Modes "1440x900_60.00"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

Section "Screen"
    Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-2"
    Device     "aticonfig-Device[0]-2"
    Monitor    "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-2"
    DefaultDepth     24
    SubSection "Display"
        Viewport   0 0
        Depth     24
                Modes "1440x900_60.00"
    EndSubSection
EndSection

with binary driver...

Where is xorg.conf: /etc/X11/xorg.conf
What is xorg.conf: It's a way to tell your computer 'No do not auto configure...I know better. Do it like this:'

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