1x30" Monitor Versus 3x24" Eyefinity

[nanobreath]

I am currently running a single 24" 1920x1200 monitor and am looking to upgrade to higher resolution, primarily for gaming. I see two options to look at here in order to achieve this:

A.) Get a new 30" monitor with 2560x1600 resolution or similar

B.) Get two new 24" 1920x1200 monitors for a triple eyefinity setup.

I am looking for some help with the pros/cons of the different options to help me choose what to go with. What I've come up with so far:

A.) +No bezel. Full resolution is used for game play. Takes up less desk space.
-Higher input lag and response times.

B.) +Cheaper. Scalability to 1 monitor for more demanding games.
-Not all games support eyefinity. Two side screens are used more for immersion/surround than actual gameplay.

Let me know what I'm missing and any thoughts/ideas you have.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

You answered all of your own questions. I cant do multiple monitors, the bezels would just drive me nuts.

 

[LucJoe]

How about a 3rd option. Turn the 3 24" vertical for a final resolution of 3600x1920!

 

[extra]

bezels aren't really a problem imho. The issue is that the 30" monitors will likely be a super nice IPS unit, while the 24" one will be a TN panel. But for gaming, that shouldn't really matter. What about 3x24" 120hz displays for surround + 3d?

 

[dorion]

For the three 24" monitors option, do one of your monitors support Displayport?

Atleast MY card can't drive three monitors unless one is on Displayport. I can't do eyefinity unless a certain Dell 19" with Displayport becomes available without going to a crossfire setup.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Or, you could go for the middle ground. Get three cheaper e-IPS monitors and get better-than-TN quality without breaking the bank. the NEC EA231WMi is a solid choice, and can be found under $300 if you shop around. All three should still be cheaper than a 30" IPS.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

For the three 24" monitors option, do one of your monitors support Displayport?

Atleast MY card can't drive three monitors unless one is on Displayport. I can't do eyefinity unless a certain Dell 19" with Displayport becomes available without going to a crossfire setup.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814999032

That will work fine for any 1920x1200 or lower resolution monitor.

 

[manimal]

I have both an eyefinity setup in my office for productivty and have a 30 inch dell 3007 and I use the 30 80 percent of the time for gaming. The eyefinity setup I use more for productivity and for racing and flying games or for BC2.. The dell for Civ 5 and rts's and the games that do not support eyefinity.

Either choice is cool. The 30 incher will have less headaches to make it work...

 

[Triggaaar]

I have both an eyefinity setup in my office for productivty and have a 30 inch dell 3007 and I use the 30 80 percent of the time for gaming. The eyefinity setup I use more for productivity and for racing and flying games or for BC2.. The dell for Civ 5 and rts's and the games that do not support eyefinity.

Please excuse me bumping this thread, you seem better placed than anyone to compare Eyefinity vs a single large screen. What size monitors do you have in your Eyefinity set-up, and do you prefer that for flying games than the 30" (it looks like you do from your post, but there could be other factors, such as your sound system etc)?

Thanks

 

[tynopik]

3 new 30" monitors

 

[manimal]

Please excuse me bumping this thread, you seem better placed than anyone to compare Eyefinity vs a single large screen. What size monitors do you have in your Eyefinity set-up, and do you prefer that for flying games than the 30" (it looks like you do from your post, but there could be other factors, such as your sound system etc)?

Thanks

Between the two for flying games I do prefer eyefinity. The game of course has to support or at least allow a simple mod to do so. I use 3 24 inch 1920x1200 monitors. They are all different brands so bezel compensation does not work for me but it doesnt really bother me. Sound wise since I have three kids under the age of 1-triplets-I wear headsets exclusively though I do have a klipsh promedia 2.1s...


Prepare for lots of fiddling with eyefinity on older games. Big new titles-outside of starcraft 2-usually work.

Check out widescreengaming forum for specific information and even fixes on what titles work etc.

I have to say bc2 and driving games specifically really lend themselves to the immersion factor with eyefinity. Bezels dont really bother me because in real life things get in the way as well, like the frame around your car windows etc....

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Bezels dont really bother me because in real life things get in the way as well, like the frame around your car windows etc....

Now imagine that car without the front frames... whoa.

 

[jackstar7]

I use 3 24 inch 1920x1200 monitors. They are all different brands so bezel compensation does not work for me

You should poke around the web a little. If the newest drivers don't support bezel for your mixed monitors, I believe there is a simple reg-hack that will enable it.

I had bezel compensation functioning on my friend's mixed group of 24" monitors, I just can't remember how I did it!

 

[manimal]

You should poke around the web a little. If the newest drivers don't support bezel for your mixed monitors, I believe there is a simple reg-hack that will enable it.

I had bezel compensation functioning on my friend's mixed group of 24" monitors, I just can't remember how I did it!

cool will do man thx, hopefully when my kids are a little older I will actually get some time to play with MY toys lol..

 

[manimal]

Now imagine that car without the front frames... whoa.

http://a-m-p.gr/media/image/large/EGConsidermymindblown.jpg


http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2010/10/1/6b542323-63ea-43a2-a86f-a951e3da26e2_thumb.jpeg

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2010/10/1/6bce0918-2592-4d00-8e77-e8da60a06d5e_thumb.jpeg

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2010/10/1/541ab9a8-e7d7-45ce-a07d-0349b23f348d_thumb.jpeg

http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2010/10/1/67fe4eda-5686-41c4-9253-0b41062a351e_thumb.jpeg

 

[Baasha]

A great question asked by the OP.

I was struggling with the same issue until about 5 days ago.

I have a Dell 2405FPW and a Samsung T260 and wanted to get another 24" monitor at 1920x1200 for Surroung Gaming.

After doing some research, as you've already mentioned, not all games can do "Eyefinity" or Surround Gaming. And, having those two extra monitors on the side is a real waste unless you game a lot. I don't game enough to warrant wasting so much desk space.

Hence, I got a 30" IPS panel monitor.

 

[blastingcap]

A great question asked by the OP.

I was struggling with the same issue until about 5 days ago.

I have a Dell 2405FPW and a Samsung T260 and wanted to get another 24" monitor at 1920x1200 for Surroung Gaming.

After doing some research, as you've already mentioned, not all games can do "Eyefinity" or Surround Gaming. And, having those two extra monitors on the side is a real waste unless you game a lot. I don't game enough to warrant wasting so much desk space.

Hence, I got a 30" IPS panel monitor.

You do realize you can use the monitors outside of games, right?

In any case, I'm glad you enjoy your monitor, there are pros and cons to both.

 

[Triggaaar]

Between the two for flying games I do prefer eyefinity. The game of course has to support or at least allow a simple mod to do so. I use 3 24 inch 1920x1200 monitors.

Thanks, very useful. It looks like I'm comparing a 27" against 3 22"s, so a similar comparison.

I have three kids under the age of 1-triplets

Wow, congratulations, you're very lucky. On a side note, you won't have any time for gaming, I might as well buy your kit.

there are pros and cons to both.

No kidding

 

[Jhatfie]

I was wavering back and forth between a 30" and 3x24's since the cost was similar. I decided to go the eyefinity route and generally love it. Racing games are amazing in eyefinity, just no comparison with a single screen. Games like Battlefield BC2 look amazing as well. The bezels really are not a problem and I never notice them when playing at all. My only real complaint is that I like to run my games with high details and at such a high resolution, even crossfired 5850's can struggle with some games if you want the details close to maxed. Luckily the latest drivers and crossfire profiles really seemed to have improved performance so I am pretty satisfied at the moment. There are also a couple games that do not work well or at all with eyefinity, but luckily I do not play these games so it has yet to impact me. Triple screens really are great for productivity as well, only time I'd think that a 30" would be better there was if you were heavily into graphic design/photoshop/3D animation.

 

[Arkadrel]

I am currently running a single 24" 1920x1200 monitor and am looking to upgrade to higher resolution, primarily for gaming. I see two options to look at here in order to achieve this:

A.) Get a new 30" monitor with 2560x1600 resolution or similar

B.) Get two new 24" 1920x1200 monitors for a triple eyefinity setup.

I am looking for some help with the pros/cons of the different options to help me choose what to go with. What I've come up with so far:

A.) +No bezel. Full resolution is used for game play. Takes up less desk space.
-Higher input lag and response times.

B.) +Cheaper. Scalability to 1 monitor for more demanding games.
-Not all games support eyefinity. Two side screens are used more for immersion/surround than actual gameplay.

Let me know what I'm missing and any thoughts/ideas you have.

you forgot:

B)
+peripheral vision for Immersion with games.
+1920x1200 x3 = 5760x1200 vs 2560x1600
- much more demanding to game like this on the grafics card.


The "bezel"thingy is what gets most to consider the single solution, Im telling you if companys that made LCD realised this and everyone focused makeing the bezel between 2-3 screens smaller than currently (to the point where its not really visible noticeable) they would make a fortune selling LCD in tri-setups.

 

[Lonyo]

For racing games (and probably flight sims), triple is far above a single monitor, even if it's smaller.
For most other games, a single (especially a large single) will mostly be better.
If you're a hardcore racing/flight sim person, then triples is the only way to go, if not, then a single larger screen is probably better (although 2 monitors is always better than 1, even if it's a large 1)

 

[blastingcap]

http://support.amd.com/us/eyefinity/Pages/eyefinity-software.aspx

If it helps people make a decision, this link is to a list of games that support Eyefinity easily ("Validated") or with some substantial tweaking ("Ready"). Widescreengaming Forum is DEFINITELY the place to go find tweaks, like centering the HUD or whatever.

Note that AMD's list is obviously not up to date, as the list doesn't yet include Eyefinity-compatible games like Civilization V or Fallout New Vegas.

I have personally played in Eyefinity the following games; my comments are in parens:

Crysis (supports Eyefinity out of the box)
BF: Bad Company 2 (ditto, supports Eyefinity out of the box)
Team Fortress 2 (WSGF's HUD centering tweak is practically a necessity)
Half-Life 2 (HUD centering tweak nice but not necessary for single-player)
Left 4 Dead (HUD centering broken, but it doesn't matter much for this kind of game, given the high hit points of survivors and the non-HUD cues like the music changing and different colors appearing; the huge FOV advantage of Surround offsets the HUD getting messed up)
Left 4 Dead 2 (ditto)
Fallout 3 (looks good but some minor tweaking needed, see WSGF)
Fallout New Vegas (just pick an aspect ratio and not a resolution, the game will automatically adjust for Eyefinity; that said, you can pretty up the HUD by using similar edits as in Fallout 3)
Bioshock (requires significant tweaking since the Bioshock coders were drunk and programmed this in vert+ apparently)

I also suspect that racing/flight sim games have supported Eyefinity-like stuff (via Matrox Triplehead) for a lot longer than mainstream FPS games, even if those racing/flight sim games don't all appear on the official AMD list.

Note also that you can easily switch among various Eyefinity configurations via global hotkeys. E.g., from center single monitor only (my default, to save electricity) to extended desktop (centered) to Eyefinity to Eyefinity with bezel correction. NV Surround doesn't have hotkeys, last I heard, so it's cumbersome to switch to different resolutions. If I go NV next year or later, I hope they will have instituted hotkeys like AMD did for Eyefinity.