Tri 23" monitors or single 30" display? $1100 budget

[LOBOBAST]

Hello everyone. I will be building my new gaming rig as soon as I get my cpu from tigerdirect.

- i5 3570k, will be OC.
- gigabyte windforce gtx 670, hopefully OC too.
- 16gb G. Skill series X ram
- Corsair tx750w


I'm thinking of investing about $1100 on a display setup and would like your opinions. I'm currently on a Dell SP2309W 23" 2048x1152.

Anybody here have experience with tri monitors or 30" display? How is it and what would you guys recommend. It will be primarily used for gaming. Tribes Ascend and BF3. Plus for movies on occasion.

Should I go ahead and get 2 more Dell SP2309W's for around $250 each or a nice 30" monitor. I can't find a new one for less than $1k.

Also, will a single gtx 670 be enough to handle BF3 in ultra settings on a tri-monitor or 30" display setup? Or will I have to get another card for an SLI setup.

Your thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[becomecooler]

This is something you would need to decide, I don't think you'll hit 60fps on a 30" monitor wit AA on.

check this bench.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-review,3200-5.html

Little own 3x 23" monitors which will have 6.9 million pixels to process vs the 30" which has 4.01 million pixels

The result for ultra BF2:

A. Buy the 30" and don't run it with AA on to get <60 fps
+ Better option for movies

B. Buy 2x 23" and don't run it with AA on to get 30+ fps
+ better option for gaming

C. SLI will be required to achieve <60 FPS on ultra for ether of these setups although 30" comes close...

Really it's your call. I personally would go 30" but I would be happy with both ^_^

Hope that helps

 

[bryonhowley]

I have 3x Asus 27" led/lcd monitors and I love it. I do not play all my games in Eyefinity but the setup is great anyway. With the budget you have given yourself you could go with 3x 27" with no problems. I could not go back to less than 3 after using this setup. For instance I am posting in Toms Hardware on one Overclock.net and Neowin on the third and playing a movie on my Panasonic 50" plasma. I would add a second 670 to your setup if you could manage it. Of course you need a lot of desk space for a 3x 27" setup .

 

[tomate2]

I don't think the gtx 670 can run tri monitors.

 

[Agges]

Currently I am running 3x NEC ea232 WMI (3550x1920) on a HD5870. No AA but it works really well! One things I do not like is my desk which only allows monitors to be pivoted.

Considering buying a 30" for my next computer (within next three months) due to the pivot issue and to try without the bezel again.

 

[bystander]

I don't think the gtx 670 can run tri monitors.

It can. The new Nvidia cards (the 680 and 670 at least) can now run 3 monitors.

 

[jaguarskx]

A single GTX 670 / 680 is a bit too weak to provide acceptable performance for most gamers who are looking for at least high quality graphics on 3 1920x1080 resolution monitors.

 

[alexander0884]

This is something you would need to decide, I don't think you'll hit 60fps on a 30" monitor wit AA on.

check this bench.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-review,3200-5.html

Little own 3x 23" monitors which will have 6.9 million pixels to process vs the 30" which has 4.01 million pixels

The result for ultra BF2:

A. Buy the 30" and don't run it with AA on to get <60 fps
+ Better option for movies

B. Buy 2x 23" and don't run it with AA on to get 30+ fps
+ better option for gaming

C. SLI will be required to achieve <60 FPS on ultra for ether of these setups although 30" comes close...

Really it's your call. I personally would go 30" but I would be happy with both ^_^

Hope that helps

Incorrect

None of your calculations are based on any real numbers.

You can not tell how many million pixels either set up will have untill you start looking at the resolutions involved.

A gtx670 will run 30inch with 60fps an AA no problem, the question is at what resolution? 1080HP should be fine.


I recommend a single 1080HP - WHY?

BECAUSE MANY GAMES DO NOT SUPPORT tri monitor set ups and you will get crappy results, it is better to invest into a single good monitor atm and you can have your original monitor as a dual screen to run background apps on.

Also, if you want 3 way, your better off running sli/heftier equipment. The 670 can handle 3 monitors but not with maxed eye candy if you want fps to remain in the high numbers.

PS: I would not count on higher than 1080HP HD resolutions, and a good 1080HP HD 30inch Monitor should cost around 600$.

 

[geofelt]

If you will regularly be playing games that can display on three monitors, then I suspect that is a more immersive way to go.

If you will primarily be playing games on just one monitor, then a 30" monitor is very nice.

A GTX670 should have no problems gaming on a single 2560 x 1600 monitor. I have two samsung 305T monitors. I am using a GTX680 to drive both, while gaming on one.
I get 60fps relatively steady most of the time on highest eye candy.

One difference is that 30" monitors will have better displays with wider viewing angles(178/178 vs. 170/160)

I happen to like the more rectangular format of 2560 x 1600.
But, if you prefer, you can buy a 27" 2560 x 1440 format monitor priced in the $700 range.

 

[bucknutty]

I currently run 2 gtx470s with 3 24inch lcds. I run at 5760x1080. It works fine and my old q9650 has no trouble in every game I have. The 2 470s struggle a bit but i can play high-ish settings with aa and af at 2 or 4 and still maintain 60-90 fps.

I have been using 2 screens for about 5 years now. I used SoftTH for years before nvidia or AMD had surround or eyefinity. Its hard for me to recomend 3 monitors to any one who wants to play games in surround. Honestly it sucks... to be fair the surround tech does not suck its the game support that sucks. Most developers do not include ultra high resolutions, or proper aspect ratios. So most games are all distorted. Or if the game works the menus are broken. Nvidia recomends you turn to hacks and fixes made by the community at widescreengamingforum.

I recomend doing alot of reading before you buy 3 screens. You might be a little "sad".

check this out... I summed up surround.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=33&post=360982&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

 

[LOBOBAST]

Best answer selected by LOBOBAST.

 

[LOBOBAST]

Well after thinking about it the past few days and catching up on some more reading about Nvidia Surround. I have decided to go ahead and buy another gtx 670 and a 30" monitor.

Hopefully all have both in about 1 month.