2x or 3x Monitor Set-up

[Outlier_81]

I'm in the process of building my first PC.. I bought all the components below and while I wait for it to be sent I'm shopping for monitors!

Intel Core i5 750
OCZ Obsidian 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
Rock Motherboard
WD Caviar Blue 500GB HDD
Samsung DVD Burner
Coolermaster HAF 922 Case
Antec 550W PSU
Radeon 5850

The computer is going to be used for gaming/business.

Currently I use an LG LCD (22.5" viewable) display. It's way to small for what I like to do. For gaming it's perfect but when it comes to business it's just small. I do a lot of writing/web design so having a lot on my screen at once is crucial.

I would really like to go with 3x 30" but the dell and apple displays I was looking at have an extremely high ms (12-16ms), and I was told for a gaming display to have 2-3ms response time.

The only bigger screens I saw that had a 2-3ms was brands like Sceptre and Hanns G, both of which had scary reviews about picture quality and bleeding effects (with doubts of the electronics lasting for long).

So I need some better options..

I was thinking of maybe using 3x of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047

I would use just the center one for gaming. However after looking at reviews here are some things I didn't like:
- The size isn't 30" =(
- Reviews say that viewing angle's aren't great.. so having it in a 3x set up kinda scares me.
- Only tilt adjustment.
- Seems to have a really thick bezel (I dunno if it does or not) so having it in a 3x set up may be annoying.

I was thinking of maybe getting one or two 30" and keeping my current LG for gaming.. but that would have me switching monitor space frequently, or awkwardly tilting my head for either gaming or business.. which isn't ideal. I'm trying to mix the best of both worlds.

Rough Budget for the 2x-3x set up would be 600-1500.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

Which 30" monitors are you looking at. 12-16ms is indeed really high.

I would say anything under 10ms is good for gaming. I have a W3000H at 5ms. It is absolutely fine for gaming. I play bad company 2 and I get an illegal amount of kills ^.^ and in no way is 5ms impacting my game 2.76 kill death ratio BTW.

At 30" with 2560x1600 resolution you get a lot of desktop real estate.
The W3000H uses the exact same panel as the Dell 3008WFP or the 3007WFP as well as the NEC one. These are great monitors.

They are S-IPS panels. They have great viewing angle and amazing color accuracy as well as saturation. You probably want to look into a S-IPS panel if it is for work.

Try this test for viewing angle http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/viewing_angle.php
My desktop which uses that 30" panel only shows very slight color distortion at the corners.
My laptop which I am using right now shows considerable color distortion almost everywhere and this is 17". Can't imagine how bad it would be if I had 3 of these.

Monitors like the Dell 3008WFP or 3007WFP is quite expensive though.

 

[Outlier_81]

Isnt the W3000H and the 3008WFP/3007 fairly similar in price?

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

The W3000H and 3007WFP are similar in price. The 3008WFP cost a bit more because it has more connectors but essentially the same monitor.

 

[Outlier_81]

hmm... this was brought to my attention by friends...

I was thinking of going with just a cheaper 30" and still using a 23-25" specifically for gaming.

Then he brought up the idea of the fact if I was planning on using 2 different monitors why not get a LCD TV around 40" and save money, and get incredibly more screen real estate.

Is this a viable option? Or is there something about an LCD TV that makes it not so great on the computer.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

You won't get more screen real easte with a 40" TV. If you want to see more you need higher resolution.

A 40" TV would be 1080P while a 30" monitor would be double that. So you can see twice more with a 30" monitor. While a 40" TV would only look bigger.