Dual monitor recognition fail

Hi all,

Any advice appreciated. Thought I would give FCPX a try so had to upgrade graphics card. I can get to try out the trial version for 30 days but since installing the upgraded graphics card I can't get the system to recognise dual monitors.

I had an ATI radeon 512gb graphics card in the system (original card i think) and it recognises dual monitors but is not compatible with FCPX.

My system is: Mac Pro 3.1 with 2x 3 Ghz quad core initel xeon with 15 GB Ram 667 Mhz ddrFBdimm

OS x el capitan; version 10.11.6

installed an XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB Graphics Card. (I think the card was flashed as it does not show an apple start up screen and goes straight to the desktop).

I have tried the system preferences and then go to display and then hit the option key but when I try it I get nothing at all unlike under the old card where I get the second monitor recognised.

By the way it took me ages to discover the option key in system preferences to discover dual monitors - which was not in the apple manual. Is there many other hidden tricks like this and can anyone recommend a site that lists them. All the best. C23E

One of the caveats with flashed cards is that "often" not all features will work. It might not be flashed - it might just be a PC version card - thus no startup screen.
I think you need to try another video card.

Hi gsahli. Thanks for the reply. It is a flashed card. I did try a friends ATI radeon 5870 1 gig graphics card and also could not get it to recognise dual monitors but as I say when I go back to my old card which is not compatible with fcp x, i hit the option key and get dual monitors! Pulling my hair out and have searched high and low. cheers C23E

c23e said:

My system is: Mac Pro 3.1 with 2x 3 Ghz quad core initel xeon with 15 GB Ram 667 MHz ddrFBdimm

Click to expand...

Just a comment on the spec's. 667 Mhz RAM is not the correct RAM for a 2008 Mac Pro 3,1...should be running 800 MHz RAM. 667 MHz RAM is usually only associated with Mac Pro 1,1's and 2,1's.

Are you absolutely sure this is a Mac Pro 3,1?...because there is a Mac Pro 2,1 that also has 2 x 3.0GHZ quad core CPU's (8-cores). If this is actually a Mac Pro 2,1...then things can get a bit more complex...since max offical OS for a Mac Pro 2,1 is OS 10.7.5. And if this Mac Pro is a 2,1...and running El Capitan...that means this computer was unofficially upgraded to El Capitan (which many folks have done successfully)...but this does open up the possibility for hardware incompatibilities due to this unofficial/unsupported OS upgrade.

I mention this because setting up & running dual monitor's on a Mac Pro is usually very very very easy...about as easy "plug & play" as it gets.

- Nick

Hi Pigoo3 - I am now more confused. Definitely a 3.1 Serial number CK82003YXYL. had 8 gig memory in system and added 8gig from Mr memory which were 800mhz.

The system preferences panel says 667Mhs and the memory tab says: your mac contains eight slots each of which accepts a 667 mhz etc...Will have to check the memory now as well!

Even so why would I be able to get a dual monitor up and running on the old graphics card but not the upgraded one!

cheers Liam

What you've tried so far still leads me to the graphics card. Flashing replaces the card's BIOS/ROM/startup system. The person who flashes it has to (usually) make mods to a known ROM package, then flash it. Often, the modified ROM image doesn't have all the correct options set.

c23e said:

Definitely a 3.1 Serial number CK82003YXYL. had 8 gig memory in system and added 8gig from Mr memory which were 800mhz.

The system preferences panel says 667Mhs and the memory tab says: your mac contains eight slots each of which accepts a 667 mhz etc...Will have to check the memory now as well!

Click to expand...

Hello Liam. Thanks for the serial number...I checked well...and yes I agree it should be a Mac Pro 3,1. Since this seems to be the case...normally you aren't supposed to be able to run slower RAM in an Apple computer (computer doesn't like it...and sometimes improper RAM won't even fit). Sometimes you can install faster RAM (if it fits in the RAM slot)...and the speed of the faster RAM will be throttled back to the proper speed.

Maybe running 667MHz RAM in this Mac Pro 3,1 (which should be running 800MHz RAM) has been ok thus far. It would probably run better with all 800MHz RAM. By the way...you mentioned having 15gig of installed RAM. This is sort of an unusual number...can you tell us what RAM stick densities you have installed?

As far as the dual monitor problems. As member gsahli mentioned...if this is actually a flashed video card...that could be the issue. Windows video cards (used in a Mac) used to need to be flashed to work. But since Apple switched to Intel CPU's back in 2006...flashing video cards has not really been as necessary...and many times (with Mac Pro's) if a Windows video card is going to work...it will be plug & play (sometimes with some anomolies).

This is not to say that ALL Windows video cards will work properly in a Mac Pro (since there are sooo many Windows video cards)...but if it will work...usually it is plug & play with some possible quirkiness. Radeon 5770 video cards are pretty popular (there actually was an Apple version of this video card)...so I would say it should work. But...if it was flashed...this is where something could have gone wrong.

HTH,

- Nick