Eyefinity / Surround - Do 120hz Monitors Require More Power?

[Whatever Will]

I'm trying to pick the right monitors here for my new Eyefinity / Surround rig. I just had two questions:

1. Do 120hz monitors require more power from your GPU to run? Would you achieve better FPS running 60hz?

2. 3x 2560 by 1440 monitors vs. 3x 1920 by 1080 monitors. Of course the first is ideal, but how much more juice will be required to power that extra resolution? Would you need a significantly more powerful GPU for a 1440p vs. a 1080p setup?


Thanks for your help!

 

[bystander]

1) 120hz does not require more power to run at the same FPS as 60hz, but you need more power if you want to see the extra hz be taken advantage of.

2) 3x 2560x1440 monitors is going to require an insane system to keep up. Think 6990 or 590's in quad SLI/Crossfire and you will still not be able to play at the highest settings. Even 3x 1080p requires a ton of power.

Another note. 2560x1440 monitors do not support 3D and would not come in 120hz versions anyways.

 

[Whatever Will]

1) 120hz does not require more power to run at the same FPS as 60hz, but you need more power if you want to see the extra hz be taken advantage of.

2) 3x 2560x1440 monitors is going to require an insane system to keep up. Think 6990 or 590's in quad SLI/Crossfire and you will still not be able to play at the highest settings. Even 3x 1080p requires a ton of power.

Another note. 2560x1440 monitors do not support 3D and would not come in 120hz versions anyways.

Thanks for the reply!

Yes I understand 2560 isn't available with 120hz. I was deciding on two things here here. Either 120hz or IPS monitors, and, if IPS, 1080p vs 1440p. A quality 120hz monitor is around the same price as an IPS display. I understand IPS is superior in picture/color, but with 120hz you have the smooth graphics and the monitors are 3D-capable.

Another question: I'm still deciding on the GPU's, but it's going to be a very capable setup. Since it's hard to even achieve anywhere close to 60fps with 3 monitors, would 120hz even be worth it? I read somewhere that 120hz only really benefits if you're achieving around or over 60fps. Is that the case?

 

[bystander]

Thanks for the reply!

Yes I understand 2560 isn't available in 120hz varieties. I'm was deciding on two things here here. Either 120hz or IPS monitors, and, if IPS, 1080p vs 1440p. A nice 120hz monitor is around the same price as an IPS counterpart. I understand IPS is superior in picture/color, but with 120hz you have the smooth graphics and the monitors are 3D-capable.

Another question: I'm still deciding on the GPU setup, but it's going to be very capable. Since it's hard to even achieve anywhere close to 60fps with 3 monitors, would 120hz even be worth it? I read somewhere that 120hz only really benefits if you're achieving around or over 60fps. Is that the case?

Even at 1080p x 3, you will want a minimum of 6950 2Gb/560ti 2Gb in SLI/Crossfire, and you might go ahead and look higher for better results.

With that high of a resolution, you won't see a lot benefits for 120hz unless you want to play in 3D vision. This is something I've more recently started, and I really enjoy it. I play games that have so so graphics, but in 3D vision, it looks amazing. However, 3D surround, as Nvidia calls it, requires a lot more power than 2D surround from a graphics card perspective.

 

[U6b36ef]

EDIT I worked out my answer. Silly question.

Do 120Hz monitors require more graphics power to run at 60Hz, than 60Hz monitors require to run at 60Hz. I think they must do which is bad because I want to buy a 120Hz monitor. However I fear it will halve my frame rates in games.