3 Headed setup question (which graphics card to buy?)

[Dimitris Zervas]

Hello

I have a GTX 660Ti DirectCU II by Asus with 2 monitors (1080p both, LG Flatron E2251).
I want to buy a third monitor, or if I don't find the same model buy 3 new (and sell these).
I mostly play bf4 and dayz. I want ultra graphics.
Which graphics card(s) should I buy to be able to have ultra graphics in 3 monitors?
I was thinking about 2x GTX 770 (SLI), or a single GTX 780 Ti. Is that an overkill? Is for example a second 660 Ti enough?
I mean ok, I want bf4 to run stable in ultra in 3 monitors, nothing more.

It also crossed my mind 3D vision. Does it worth the (MUCH more) money?
I'll have to buy 3 (!) 3D monitors.

Finally, do you have a monitor to suggest (not 3D)? Does it worth sparing some more money on a good monitor? I am satisfied from the current ones.
I was thinking about going for the cheapest 1080p monitor, if I change all of them (I live in greece, so prices may vary). What do you think?

Thank you!

 

[unknownofprob]

2 x GTX 770's for three 1080p screens all the way, a much better rig for a setup like that, as a 780Ti will struggle with three 1080p screens surely in 5760 x 1080 ultra gaming, But - If you can afford dual custom cooled R9 290's, that would be the best way to go.

3D Vision, not really worth it, no.

Try and get another monitor that is the same, if you can. If you are forced to get three new ones as you can't find the one you need, seriously get the LG cinema screens with the ultra-thin bezels, I'll link one soon when I find one.

 

[Dimitris Zervas]

So a second 660 Ti won't do it, huh?
Hmm... I must find the 3rd flatron soon...

I am worried about the heat. My CPU is watercooled (so the heat is not in the middle of the case) with a corsair H100i (DO NOT BUY) and my case is a full tower Thermaltake Level 10GT.

What do you mean custom cooling? Will I need custom cooling in the 770 setup too?
Also what about the power? I have a Naxn Enermax 850W PSU, is that enough?

Also, there is a propability of adding a third graphics card (a very weak one, the cheapest that supports 3 monitors) to use the SLI through KVM VGA passthrough, so that I can play all the games and have the linux goodness together.

 

[pdasterly]

why is your h100i a problem, I have h90 on a oc'd i7 950 and my temp never goes beyond 57C on the hottest days(48 hours running), itunes took 3 days to rebuild my library lol

kraken g10 is good solution for your gpu, cost effective. Your psu is good to go. Three way sli sucks, two way is the most cost/performance effective.

G-sync monitor for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place recomendation. I have thee hp z23i monitors with triple monitor stand for sale if interested. Im in bay area

 

[Dimitris Zervas]

I'm not talking abou 3 way SLI
I am talking about 2 770 in SLI and a crappy all alone.
The SLI will be passed to windows and the crappy one to linux.
Second watercooling system does not sound very good to me... :/

 

[unknownofprob]

custom cooled meaning the Asus DCUII, Sapphire Tri-X, MSI Twin/Tri Frozr, those cards and not the stock.

 

[Dimitris Zervas]

ok. thank you!
Also what is the cheapest nvidia and the cheapest amd card that supports 3 monitors?

 

[unknownofprob]

Lots can (almost all), and there are some really cheap ones. ($100 or less), but that is only half of the story, those cards don't have the ability to power the screens well if you want to game ect.

 

[Dimitris Zervas]

I am planning to do something else.
KVM VGA passthrough, so that Linux have the cheap card and Windows VM the SLI cards.

thank you for your answers!

 

[pdasterly]

If not gaming, drop two gtx 750s, that willsupport 4 monitors, or look at amd, up to 6 monitors but you must have display ports on your monitor

 

[unknownofprob]

an R9 270 would be good, a great card for the price and supports three screens.

 

[Dimitris Zervas]

No, I will get the two 770s in SLI.
I need a THIRD card that will be completely alone (will not see the 2 770s)
I want to run linux (which will controll the 3rd card) and windows in a KVM and VGA passthrough the 2x770s. So linux will not see the 770s and windows will not see the 3rd one.

I do this to be able to play windows game on linux without dual-boot (a bit tricky setup, but I'll do it no matter what).

 

[unknownofprob]

oh, An R7 250X is a great choice.

 

[pdasterly]

If you need three cards, get the two gtx 770 and the third can be on-board video?

 

[Dimitris Zervas]

the problem is that the third port in 250 is VGA (that will somewhat drop the "quality")

I have no on-board

 

[unknownofprob]

unfortunately yes, it's also not capable of ultra-high resolutions. like 4k.

 

[Dimitris Zervas]

I want 3x1080p and not VGA.
I'll search for it more...
I am willing to pay 50-70€.

Also, do you happen to know a monitor that looks identical to the LG Flatron E2251? I can't find any of this monitors ANYWHERE.

 

[unknownofprob]

I don't know any monitors identical to that one, no.

wait, the R7 250X, most of them don't have VGA but; DVI, HDMI, Display port, all great ports with no degrading in video.

 

[pdasterly]

I say work with what you got until you find buyer for old gear, search ebay for your monitor, it will pop up eventually. since everything comes down to budget. If you want 3d, just get a 3d hdtv and you wont need some many cards. I regret my purchase of my triple monitor setup, wish i would have waited to get two g-sync monitors or 50" 4k tv. The triple monitor setup takes alot of gpu to run. I had gtx 760 sli and while it was the most powerful system ive ever owned or played It left me wanting more. I now have r9 290x, but still waiting for my new case so I havent tested them both out yet in crossfire. I did run one card and I can say the one 290x is just slightly less powerful then the 760 sli. cant wait to get both 290x running. as far as the high resolution, amd drivers are far better than the nvidia stuff. visually everything is smoother. I only bought the 290x because the new maxwell nvidia chips got delayed til 2015, I was set on buying but the 780ti and titan are out my price range. so far im happy with my purchase.

The gtx 760 will support 3 monitors and give gtx titan like performance in games that are optimized for sli. I would look for the 4gb version but that bumps up price so you might as well start looking for your gtx 770. too bad your across pond, those cards go on sale weekly here and can be had used for a good price if your are patient and look hard enough(ebay)

the gtx 760 sli wont push bf4 past 60 fps, I think i was getting from 30-55 fps