New graphics card advice.

[TheSniperBase]

Hello! So soon i will be upgrading my computer to fix some problems that i made with it, messed up some components as it was my first build.

So, i am unsure what graphics card to buy. I am wanting to have a triple monitor eyefinity setup for playing some of the newer games such as BF3 and EVE Online.

My current setup is as follows:

- Gigabyte GTX560 1GB
- Intel Sandybridge i5-2500K
- ASROCK H61ICAFE S1155 H61
- 4GB Corsair Ram
- 2 320GB HDD's
- 2 160GB HDD's
- 550W PSU

If i've missed anything out in this section - let me know.

So, the plan is to replace some of these parts with better things what i have decided is:

- Replace the 4GB ram with 2 4GB Sticks (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-1600MHz-Vengeance-Memory/dp/B004CRSM4I/)
- Replace the 4HDD's with a single 3TB drive(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-7200RPM-Cache-SATA3-Drive/dp/B006KCX0UE/)

Now, this is the part where i need help.

With eyefinity i would like to be able to play games over 3 monitors, i have done some research and liked the look of this monitor (http://www.amazon.co.uk/HANNSG-HL198DPB-Hanns-inch-Monitor/dp/B006E1KI2O/). Good idea?

The second problem is choosing a new GFX card, i like Nvdia but as my current card only supports 2 GFX cards i don't really have the money to go out and upgrade the psu to support another. I have heard from people about AMD cards allowing 3 monitors and only having to use one card. Inside the games, i'm not fussed about the graphics, i just want to be able to play on 3 monitors in the native resolution with a stable fps, even if it means having to run it on low. What card to choose from, i am not sure, i was thinking something similar to my current card. I have done some research into similar cards at a reasonable price:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-11200-07-20G-Graphics-HD7850-GDDR5/dp/B008HV63NM/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/XFX-Radeon-HD-6870-HD-687A-ZDFC/dp/B005QB65NE/

Again, is this going to be okay? My maximum on a card is about £150.

Thanks, hopefully someone can help, if any information is needed feel free to ask.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Two sticks of RAM is definitely a good idea. The monitor isn't one of the best, but if your funds are limited then it's fine. Main problem is I think you're maybe asking too much of these cards... triple monitor gaming is REALLY demanding. It definitely helps that you're happy to use minimum settings and a low resolution, but I think they may still struggle. This is worth a look:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,review-32563-7.html

Not the settings or res you're looking at, but just to illustrate how moving from a single display to three displays hurts framerates. GTX690's performance (£750 card) is getting cut in half with three monitors. Like I say though, minimum settings and low resolutions will help... if anyone finds benchmarks for triple screen gaming on low settings, it would certainly be an interesting read.

 

[sam_p_lay]

For comparison by the way, 3x 1440x900 is a similar number of pixels to render as a single 2560x1600 display. But it probably won't be easy finding benchmarking with 2560x1600 combined with low settings. For retailers, these generally offer better prices than Amazon:

scan.co.uk
aria.co.uk
dabs.com
ebuyer.com
novatech.co.uk

 

[TheSniperBase]

For the graphics card, from what i can find, the internet says ( http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-hd-6870-double-d-cooling-4200mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-1120-stream-processors-2x-dvi-hdmi-2x-mini ) might be the way forward. I've had a look at some gameplay footage of it with three monitors, looks pretty good. Ultimately, i'm not sure what to do.

 

[sam_p_lay]

Well a 6870 definitely isn't the caliber of card typically used for triple screen gaming, though it may do the job at low settings... I'd personally take a single screen and use the money saved to buy a quality monitor and mid-high end GPU. You also wouldn't then have two big vertical black bars right down your picture If you're really determined to get a triple screen setup though, maybe it would be best to save a bit more and buy something more powerful (and with 2GB).

 

[TheSniperBase]

Hmm, looks like this would be the way to go. Well, thanks anyway,

 

[sam_p_lay]

No worries, let us know how it performs if you go for the triple screen/low settings 6870 solution.