Patent ID: 7561163

Claim:
A method for detecting connections between a plurality of graphics processors in a graphics subsystem wherein each of the graphics processors has at least one input/output (I/O) port for transferring pixel data, the at least one I/O port being configurable as either an input port or an output port, the method comprising: configuring a first I/O port of a first one of the plurality of graphics processors as an output port; configuring a first I/O port of a second one of the plurality of graphics processors as an input port; operating a display head of the first graphics processor to output a test pattern as pixel data via the first I/O port of the first graphics processor at a time when no other I/O port of any other one of the plurality of graphics processors is outputting the test pattern; concurrently with operating the display head of the first graphics processor, operating a display head of the second graphics processor in a pass-through mode such that the display head of the second graphics processor outputs pixel data received via the first I/O port of the second graphics processor; determining whether the display head of the second graphics processor outputs the test pattern while operating in the pass-through mode; and detecting a connection between the first graphics processor and the second graphics processor in the event that the display head of the second graphics processor outputs the test pattern while operating in the pass-through mode.