Graphics Cards

[jmartz65]

Ok, Im not a expert by any means so if I sound dumb, it's only because I am! I have a system that I built to be used along with a sound system in an auditorium. Very basic use. It has a A8 7600 on a Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI (rev. 3.0) Motherboard. Running Win 10 64 bit. For a year and a half we used 2 displays, one had the main desktop on it and the second display was used to play videos on, and the sound is sent to the Auditorium's sound system. Everything worked great!I now need a third display that will show a clock/timer on it. The motherboard has 3 display ports ( 1 x DVi, 2 x HDMI). So I added the third display using the open HDMI port. All the displays work perfectly, however when the third display is connected the sound get's unstable, Cracks and pops very noticeably, and cuts in and out at times. This sound problem only happens when the third display is connected and a video is being played, and it doesn't matter which of the two extra displays is disconnected, as soon as it is the sound then returns to normal. If just audio is played such as MP3 file there is no issue even though all three displays are still connected. It only happens when video is played along with audio. It also happens with many different media players (Movies & TV, Windows Media Player, VLC Media player).Thought it was a RAM problem because it only had 4 GB, So I put in 4 more, without any change in the issue. Updated the sound drivers also with no change. So Questions:Does this sound like a APU issue?Is the A8 7600 APU not meant for 3 displays even though the board has 3 ports?If I install a separate graphics card What do you recommend for 3 displays, and again this is very basic video and audio use? Gaming quality not important for this system.Should I get a Dual Graphics card and run it with the Integrated Graphics of the A8? I don't totally understand the Dual Graphics feature so this is my last resort.I really appreciate any help/advice you can give me.Thanks!

[jmartz65]

Any help is very much appreciated!  Thanks!

[elstaci]

From this website that gives Specs on various CPU from the past to the present: http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Bulldozer/AMD-A10-Series%20A8-7600.html

It shows that it can support up to 4 monitors at the same time:

Also from AMD Eyefinity Wikipedia: AMD Eyefinity - Wikipedia

[jmartz65]

Thank you!   Now the question remains as to why the sound quality is not good when the 3rd monitor is hooked up.  It's using the onboard Realtek Audio with up to date drivers.

[elstaci]

Do you have the latest APU driver installed from AMD Download page from here: A8-7600 with Radeon™ R7 Series Drivers & Support | AMD .

Are you using AMD Eyefinity or Windows 10 for the software for viewing all three monitors?

How do you have all three monitors hooked up? Are you using any adapter (HDMI-VGA or HDMI-DVI-D, etd)? Are all three monitor work normally visually wise except for the third monitor audio? What resolutions do you have all three monitors set?

What does Windows 10 Sound Panel show for all three monitors? Try to configure the third monitor audio settings using Sound Panel "Properties" and/or the software you are using to view all three monitors at the same time - Eyefinity or Windows.

Does the Third Monitor audio sound normal when the other monitors are not hooked up? Reason why I ask it could be a Monitor Menu setting in the third monitor causing your Audio problems.

[jmartz65]

Do you have the latest APU driver installed from AMD Download page from here: A8-7600 with Radeon™ R7 Series Drivers & Support | AMD .    Yes

Are you using AMD Eyefinity or Windows 10 for the software for viewing all three monitors?    Win 10

How do you have all three monitors hooked up? Are you using any adapter (HDMI-VGA or HDMI-DVI-D, etd)?  No adapters used,  1 is DVI, 2 are HDMI.  Are all three monitor work normally visually wise except for the third monitor audio?  Visually all three work just fine.  It's not really the Audio for specifically the third monitor, the audio is what goes along with the videos that are sent to the second Display. Sometimes it's just speech and sometimes there is music. I can play MP3's just fine with all monitors on.  It's just that when all three monitors are on and a video is being played the sound gets bad.  What resolutions do you have all three monitors set?     All three are 1920 x 1080. 

What does Windows 10 Sound Panel show for all three monitors? Try to configure the third monitor audio settings using Sound Panel "Properties" and/or the software you are using to view all three monitors at the same time - Eyefinity or Windows.

Does the Third Monitor audio sound normal when the other monitors are not hooked up?  Yes it sounds fine when only using that monitor.   Reason why I ask it could be a Monitor Menu setting in the third monitor causing your Audio problems.  Actually no audio is sent to any of the monitors, they are display only.  The sound settings are set to default to a USB device ( https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA222-BEHRINGER-U-CONTROL/dp/B0023BYDHK  ) that sends the audio signal to our mixer board for the Auditorium sound system.  However we have also tried using the onboard Realtek Audio to send the sound to the mixer and we get the same results.