Fixed - Laptop Monitor + 2 External Monitors .... HELP ...... HP Envy 17 3277nr

** FIXED / SOLVED / WORKING ** => See Post #8 below


Hi all !

This is driving me mad

In short, my hardware is:-

- HP Envy 17 i7 3277nr 3610QM CPU
- On board Screen is a 17.3" Full HD 1920 x 1080
- It has 1 x HDMI plus 2 x Displayports
- has Intel 4000 Graphics built-in
- has AMD 7850M Graphics built-in
- Windows 8.1 X64 with all updates
- Latest AMD website Catalyst Control 14.9 Drivers
- also tried the HP website AMD drivers
- My 2 External Monitors are 2 x Identical Samsung 24" 2443 1900 x 1200 - each has a DVi-in and a VGA-in
- according to the HP Manual for my Envy 17, AMD Eyefinity is built-in

All I want to do is run the Laptop Screen + the 2 External Monitors and Extend the desktop over all 3.

So far, no matter what I have tried, the best I can get is any combination of only 2 screens.

Here is what I have so far tried:-

a -> 2 x Passive DP<-> DVi cables ... no good = only 2 screens
b -> 1 x HDMI<->DVi cable + 1 x Passive DP->DVi cable .. no good = only 2 screens
c -> 1 x HDMI<->DVi cable + 1 x Active DP->DVi cable .. no good = only 2 screens

For each of a, b or c above, the AMD Control Center does not show the Eyefinity options.

For each of a, b or c above, the Windows Screen Resolution options do "see" the laptop screen and 2 Syncmaster screens but it wont allow me to sset up any combination of more than 2 screens.

For each of a, b or c above, the AMD Control Center does not show the Eyefinity options.

d -> even tried a Sunix DPH2000 1 x DP <-> 2 X HDMI with 2 passive HDMI<->DVi cables

The Sunix *almost* worked. It is *supposed* to bridge/combine the 2 x 1920x1200 monitors to 1 x 3840x1200 and Extend to it - the website and the manual both confirm it goes up to 3840x1200 [ being 1920x1200 + 1920x1200] - however I say *almost* because although it *did* extend to the 2 External Screens along with the HP Screen, it only bridged/combined the 2 screen resolutions for the 2 Samsungs to a maximum of 2560x1024 - no matter what, there was no ability or option to select a resolution above 2560x1024.

Re: Active/Passive ..... from what I can tell, my DP<->DVi adapter is Active because it does drive one of my 1920x1200 screens at its full native 1920x1200 - apparenlty (?) passive DP<->DVi adapters max' out at only 1920 x 1080 .

The only other thing I can think to try is that some people across different forums are saying a DP<->VGA cable will do trick ?

Given the hardware and ports on my HP, surely the running the Laptop Screen + 2 External Screens can be done ....... but how ????

Any help / advice would be HUGELY appreciated.

Ben

 

You need at least two monitors with native Display Port connections to even have a chance at this.

Anything else (dongles/adaptors) is a waste of time as you're finding out.

 

Hi

Thanks for posting.

I *thought* the AMD Eyefinity spec only required a minimum of 1 x Native Display Port Monitor / or / 1 x Active Displayport adapter cable into an exisiting DVi or HDMI monitor (?)

As I have 2 of these Active Displayport <-> DVi adapters what do you think my chances would be if I ran the exsiting laptop screen + 2 x Active Displayport<->DVi cables ?

Thanks again,
Ben

 

All I can suggest is that whatever you try (hardware-wise), you buy with a 100% refund option. When I tried this with many different kinds of hardware combinations, it didn't work. But I don't run AMD platforms, I'm Intel almost exclusively.

Good luck.

 

Unfortunately HP lied when they advertised Eyefinity on this laptop. The video outputs are limited by the capability of the Intel IGP. You can easily do 2 monitors externally, but 3 gets tricky. Some users reported running 2 external monitors PLUS the built in LCD, but under more strict circumstances. I will have to go back and look and see if I can find some old threads about this on some HP forums. I owned the same laptop. The 3D version did not suffer the same problems, but it did not have Enduro therefore battery life suffered.

Edit - forgot to say that I purchased directly from HP and was able to get a $125 certificate to use on the HP website, but only on HP branded products. I should have just demanded a refund as I ended up not liking that laptop.

 

I did a bit of looking:

Envy 17t-3200 (non 3-d) - HP Support Forum - 1750119

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...y-17-32xx-intel-ivy-bridge-amd-7850m-227.html (edit - page 227)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...y-17-32xx-intel-ivy-bridge-amd-7850m-251.html (edit - page 251)


TL;DR -> looks like on page 251 of the now available thread, they did get 3 monitors working, but not "eyefinity". This was a while ago, so I don't know if Bios updates have changed the situation at all. If the laptop had the ability to turn off Enduro and use only the dedicated graphics, it would work. Sadly though I doubt they did this, and/or maybe the Mobo simply is not capable.

If I were you, I would update to the latest bios and give it a try. Otherwise I think you can run 2 external monitors (plus built in LCD) via Display Ports as long as they are "active" cables/adapters.....

 

I always suspected DP isn't that good thing after all... =\

 

*FIXED / SOLVED / WORKING*

See my post here:-

Overclockers Australia Forums - View Single Post - Run 3 x Screens => 1 x Laptop Screen + 2 External Monitors => **SOLVED - WORKING**

Thanks also to everyone here.

Hopefully this will help other HP Envy 3277nr owners wanting to run the built-in LCD + 2 External monitors.

Ben