Help with multi display set-up and monitor choice

[rich_1989]

Hi guys

I am going to be doing my new build over the next couple of months, running the following:
i7-4790K - watercooled
Asus Hero VII ATX
4 x 4GB 2400MHz ram
ichill GTX 980 air boss
superflower 750W leadex gold plus

I currently have two samsung 22" LED monitors -
Samsung SyncMaster S22C300HS

I am looking to get a third monitor and use the Nvidia multi display technology.

As the current monitors i have are discontinued and only available at a silly price i am having to get a different monitor all together to sit in-between the two samsungs.

My budget is up to £150 and would possibly be looking for a 23"-24" so my main central monitor is a little bigger, I will be mainly using it for gaming as well as general PC use.

My questions are as follows:

1.) will i need to match the screen size of the other monitors for a good experience?
2.) i know running a 2k or 4k monitor with two 1080p monitors is asking for trouble, but do i need the same refresh rate etc?
3.) based on the monitors i currently have and the budget i have, could you recommend a 3rd monitor?


Thanks in advance guys - Below is the Q&A requested for this thread:

1. What Is Your Country Of Origin?

The UK

2. What do you plan to do with this monitor? (ex. Games, Movie Watching, Photo Editing, etc.)

all of the above, espec gaming

3. What resolution and screen size do you want?

23"-24" but im flexible, current screen res is 1080p

4. What refresh rate do you want? (ex. 60 hz , 70 hz.)

open to recommendations

5. How much are you looking to spend?

£100 - £150

6. Brands Preferred (ex. Samsung, Acer, Asus, AOC, HP, Viewsonic, etc. )

No pref

7. Brands Not Preferred (state reason why)

no pref

8. Are You Buying More Than One Monitor?

already have two, this will join them

9. How Many Displays Can Your GPU Support Maximum? And what GPU and driver version are you using if applicable?

dont have the gcard yet but is a iChill 980 so im guessing lots of displays

10. What Port Do You Want To Connect To (ex. DVI-D, HDMI, etc).

current monitors are setup using mini DP to HDMi adapters

11. Is This Monitor A Primary Display Or A Secondary Display?

I wish this to be my primary making my current two monitors secondary

12. Is This A Secondary Display For A Laptop?

nope



Sorry for wall of text and thanks in advance!

Rich

 

[wondra2]

1.) For best experience yes. For great experience only PPI have to match.
2.) As far as I know you dont have much choice about refresh rate unless you have a LOT of money to spend anyway. Pretty much everything above 1080p is at 60Hz, except ROG swift.
3.) You can consider using PLP setup with 1600p middle monitor or get new 22" fullHD and calibrate all together.

 

[ronintexas]

My suggestion (based on my preferences for viewing) is to get a 1080p monitor in a 23" - 24" size range to sit in the middle of the three monitors. The 23" would probably work best for you since you are running 22" now, and unless you want to scrap the other 2 monitors for 3 new ones I suggest keeping them close in size (the reason for this - the size of the Windows display (icons, programs, etc) will be more exaggerated with larger displays).

I have "mixed" monitors on my desktop (my wife does also), and the biggest annoyance for me is the bottom of the screens not lining up (i.e. the task bar being even - when you move the mouse, it would jump up and down between monitors). It is almost impossible to find a true match on monitors - but I have found that a cheap book (title doesn't matter) placed under the base of the monitor gets them really close.

 

[rich_1989]

2.) As far as I know you dont have much choice about refresh rate unless you have a LOT of money to spend anyway. Pretty much everything above 1080p is at 60Hz, except ROG swift.

Sorry i meant the response time, think currently i have 5ms

As for the PLP setup you linked,it looks very good however my monitors do not rotate 90 degrees, and are not wall mountable either.

My suggestion (based on my preferences for viewing) is to get a 1080p monitor in a 23" - 24" size range to sit in the middle of the three monitors. The 23" would probably work best for you since you are running 22" now, and unless you want to scrap the other 2 monitors for 3 new ones I suggest keeping them close in size (the reason for this - the size of the Windows display (icons, programs, etc) will be more exaggerated with larger displays).

I have "mixed" monitors on my desktop (my wife does also), and the biggest annoyance for me is the bottom of the screens not lining up (i.e. the task bar being even - when you move the mouse, it would jump up and down between monitors). It is almost impossible to find a true match on monitors - but I have found that a cheap book (title doesn't matter) placed under the base of the monitor gets them really close.

I have different size twin monitors at work, 23" to a 19.5" and its pretty annoying when the mouse falls off one screen onto the other.

 

[ronintexas]

If the bottom part of the screens line up, it isn't too bad (the top may be a little "shorter"). I had two 24", one 23" and one 22", and it worked out fairly good. On my current setup, I have three 24" (the 22" is now on the laptop), but one is slightly shorter due to the base of the monitor. The book props it up fine - without the book, it was driving me crazy....

 

[rich_1989]

If the bottom part of the screens line up, it isn't too bad (the top may be a little "shorter"). I had two 24", one 23" and one 22", and it worked out fairly good. On my current setup, I have three 24" (the 22" is now on the laptop), but one is slightly shorter due to the base of the monitor. The book props it up fine - without the book, it was driving me crazy....

Agreed, the bottom lining up is the most important factor.

Shame its so hard to get measurements from the base to the bottom of the screen when shopping online.

I am now looking at possibly splashing out a little more and getting a G-sync 144Hz AOC monitor, will i run into issues running this along side my 60hz current monitors?

Thanks