Eyefinity/Surround setups

[Deathgazer]

So I was planning on building a new rig here in a few months that I want to run Eyefinity or Surround on. Never had a triple monitor setup so I'm pretty clueless about it.

I usually notice people with AMD cards when it comes to triple monitors, is this because of the VRAM or is Eyefinity just better than NVidia's Surround? Also, would it be worth it to wait on NVidia's new 6xx series gpu's or just get a 7970?

Also looking for a good monitor x3, 22-24" to use. Right now leaning towards this one, assuming it'll work well with surround. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236174 unless someone knew of a better monitor. Don't wanna go balls to the wall on a $250+ one since I'll be buying 3 of them.

[Auspice]

I've got a pair of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236153 which is a very similar model and an old 22" Samsung for my third monitor hooked up with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127575 . Don't forget the ACTIVE display port adapter for the 3rd monitor or you won't be going anywhere. The additional monitors(beyond 2) need to be hooked up via display port.

I fucking love having 3 monitors but I got sick of Eyefinity for gaming; shit makes me dizzy.

[Deathgazer]

Yeah I did a little more reading into it, and about the active/passive display ports. Right now I was looking into the ASUS 7970 with the 4 display ports, as I've read it's better to have the same input across all 3 monitors to reduce chances of screen tearing? ASUS 7970

Anyway, if I do decide to go with this model, best thing to do would be what, hook up all 3 monitors with DP to DVI adapters? Somethin like Accell B087B-005B or XFX Active Dp To Dvi Adapter? A little on the expensive side, especially if I have to buy 3 of them, but I hear it's better than the cheaper or passive adapters which can cause 'flickering'. Not too sure myself, just some stuff I stumbled across the interwebs while reading into it Any input is appreciated. 8-)

[Boyiee]

For the money you would have to spend on the setup, you may be able to purchase a 27inch or if lucky with discounts a 30 inch monitor like a U2711 or U3011. A lot of people will tell you one giant > 3 small in eyefinity for things like gaming due to the finagling you have to do with a lot of games to get them to play properly across multiple monitors. Go play around on Hardforum. It is almost split down the middle on which people prefer, one big or 3 small, but a lot of people with 3 monitors end up selling them and going back to one large after a while. Some will say get one large, because you can always add two more if you can afford it down the line.

Personally the idea of eyefinity seemed awesome to me, and after looking at a ton of pictures I had to have it. I played on it for a while and I got sick of it. A lot of games don't respect it or work with it out of the box, and sometimes it would be a while before I had everything set up perfectly to be able to play comfortably. It was awesome at first, but I slowly got tired of it. I ended up with one U3011 and have a side monitor I recycled for browsing the internet and for non-games. I couldn't be happier, was probably the best decision I've ever made involving my computer. It was expensive, but I got it for a great price due to a discount I had. I'll never go back. If I could afford it, I'd add another. Gaming on one giant 30inch at 2560x1600 is godlike, it is what gaming should be like. I try to get all my friends to experience it because it is just that awesome. I feel more immersed than I did with the three monitors. Sometimes while flying jets in BF3, using my joystick, I start leaning in my chair while turning because I'm just so into it lol.

You won't know which is better for you however until you try it. I would go with the 3 monitor set up first to give it a go, because it isn't hard to resell good monitors. Don't be afraid to spend more on the monitors by the way, and look into ways to make the panels vertical instead of horizontal - I preferred it that way as a lot of people do now. Like mentioned, check out hardforum.

[hey]

Does anyone actually use only a single monitor anymore? Even if you're only using one of them for gaming, it's kind of silly to not have at least 2 monitors.

[Kurokikaze]

The ones you have in your OP are pretty good. I'm currently using the older models (3x ASUS VE247H) and have no issues. The bezel is a tad big but it doesn't bother me. I don't really do the 3x monitor gaming - I mostly use it to separate whatever I'm doing - web browsing on the left, gaming in the center, work on the right.

This is the display port adapter I'm using on the left monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999030 ; Sapphire managed to make it so that it didn't have to be USB powered. Cheap and works with no issues. You only need to buy 1 adapter for one of your monitors to connect using DP, the other monitors can be connected using DVI not HDMI.

Pic from when I initially got the monitors:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3238236_n.jpg

When I move I'll buy a new desk and stand that allows the monitors to rotate. :D

[Ketna]

I have had my eyefinity set up for maybe 2 years. I started on my 5870 because I didn't want to have buy 2 cards from Nvidia. AMD does have its downside but when it comes to a 3+ monitor setup it is stupid simple. I recently picked up a 7970 as an upgrade from my 5870. I love it. Before i would only use my eyefinity set up for a few games because it couldnt handle it. But now I play most games (that take advantage of it) in eyefinity. Some games I will still play with a single monitor, but usually only if I am watching TV on the other.

As to what is better: 1 large monitor or 3 smaller monitors... me and my brother disagree on this a lot, but i do like the multi-monitor, but COST is the main reason. A 30" monitor will normally cost 1100, I have 3x 24" (1920x1200) that I picked up for ~250 each. They are not matching, but I dont notice it. What I plan on doing is selling these 3 and picking up 5 - 1920x1080 monitors that i can rotate, and hopefully remove the bezels!

Anyway either way enjoy your setup! I know I love mine.

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[Kerberoz]

Does anyone actually use only a single monitor anymore? Even if you're only using one of them for gaming, it's kind of silly to not have at least 2 monitors.

Even if you're going to use one big one for gaming, not having at least a second crappy one for multitasking sounds like torture. Single-monitors give me claustrophobia. There's no room for windows and shit.

[bluefan]

For the money you would have to spend on the setup, you may be able to purchase a 27inch or if lucky with discounts a 30 inch monitor like a U2711 or U3011. A lot of people will tell you one giant > 3 small in eyefinity for things like gaming due to the finagling you have to do with a lot of games to get them to play properly across multiple monitors. Go play around on Hardforum. It is almost split down the middle on which people prefer, one big or 3 small, but a lot of people with 3 monitors end up selling them and going back to one large after a while. Some will say get one large, because you can always add two more if you can afford it down the line.

Personally the idea of eyefinity seemed awesome to me, and after looking at a ton of pictures I had to have it. I played on it for a while and I got sick of it. A lot of games don't respect it or work with it out of the box, and sometimes it would be a while before I had everything set up perfectly to be able to play comfortably. It was awesome at first, but I slowly got tired of it. I ended up with one U3011 and have a side monitor I recycled for browsing the internet and for non-games. I couldn't be happier, was probably the best decision I've ever made involving my computer. It was expensive, but I got it for a great price due to a discount I had. I'll never go back. If I could afford it, I'd add another. Gaming on one giant 30inch at 2560x1600 is godlike, it is what gaming should be like. I try to get all my friends to experience it because it is just that awesome. I feel more immersed than I did with the three monitors. Sometimes while flying jets in BF3, using my joystick, I start leaning in my chair while turning because I'm just so into it lol.

You won't know which is better for you however until you try it. I would go with the 3 monitor set up first to give it a go, because it isn't hard to resell good monitors. Don't be afraid to spend more on the monitors by the way, and look into ways to make the panels vertical instead of horizontal - I preferred it that way as a lot of people do now. Like mentioned, check out hardforum.

This is exactly how it went for me. I tried a 3 monitor setup and it just didn't work for me. Then came along one of Dells monitor sales and yoink, grabbed a U3011 to put next to my old MVA 24" panel. It's beautiful.

Both my IPS and MVA panel have multiple inputs (HDMI, Component, Composite, S-video etc...). Much better image quality over shitty TN panels. A monitor should be the single most important investment in a new system IMO. Computer components are literally a dime a dozen, and you don't need to be using the current main stream to be up to date. I've used my MVA monitor for the last 3 builds I've done and it still kicks the crap out of 99% of the monitors you see even in PC stores.

Like Boiyee said, don't be scared to put a hefty amount down on a single monitor, it'll be worth it. If you can find an IPS panel to look at and compare to TN, you'll easily see why when people go IPS, they don't go back

[Boyiee]

Does anyone actually use only a single monitor anymore? Even if you're only using one of them for gaming, it's kind of silly to not have at least 2 monitors.

Even if you're going to use one big one for gaming, not having at least a second crappy one for multitasking sounds like torture. Single-monitors give me claustrophobia. There's no room for windows and shit.

I personally don't know anyone that is on a computer for more than 2 hours a day, plays any games on it whatsoever, and doesn't use at least a side monitor. Even my little sister ran two monitors for years.

As to what is better: 1 large monitor or 3 smaller monitors... me and my brother disagree on this a lot, but i do like the multi-monitor, but COST is the main reason. A 30" monitor will normally cost 1100, I have 3x 24" (1920x1200) that I picked up for ~250 each. They are not matching, but I dont notice it. What I plan on doing is selling these 3 and picking up 5 - 1920x1080 monitors that i can rotate, and hopefully remove the bezels!

You're not doing a fair comparison though cost-wise.

Speaking from a U3011 standpoint, you're comparing a higher end panel thats an IPS panel to shitty asus ones and such that you picked up for 200-250 each. Yes, 3 monitors will be cheaper if you get worse monitors, but if you are comparing good monitors like dells IPS 23 and 24inch series, the 3x 24 will cost more than the single 30 inch. The 3x 23 however WILL be cheaper, but if you get the right discounts you can grab the U3011 for like $800.

I was going to get 3x dells 24inch ips but the cost was much more than the U3011 with the deal I got on it. The 23inch ones just had too close of bezels for me to run vertical eyefinity (which I felt was superior). Plus I don't believe in 16:9 monitors. They don't exist in my eyes.

[Ketna]

I agree I picked up some cheap monitors, but I could never find a 30" on sale when I had money. I also hate 16:9, I think its a dirty standard and wish it would go away. But for I really think it depends on what you are tying to accomplish. If just wanted a 2nd monitor I would get a 30" and a 2nd 23" off to the side (or w/e lines up). But I really enjoy having the 2 extra monitors to show my peripheral vision in games. Of course not all games support this, but for the ones that do, its worth it to me.

[Boyiee]

I run a 30inch dell u3011 and a 26inch 1920x1200 asus side monitor. They don't line up, but it really doesn't matter and it's not a big deal for apps and browsing and such. I am interested in getting two 20inch dell's to run vertical on the sides in eyefinity, but I'm more interested in one day getting a second 30 inch.

[Reality]

used to run an eyefinity setup of 3xU2311H, but at that resolution certain games ran like shit if I maxed them out

eventually went back to one screen and would never go back to Eyefinity, I'd rather just get a nice 30"