3 monitor Eyefinity or single 30" monitor?

[aceshigh23]

I'm looking to finally upgrade my 6 year old Dell monitor and I'm trying to decide between a 30" Dell Ultrasharp 2560x1600 ($1,300) or 3 24" monitors via Eyefinity. For the 3 monitors, I'd go with an HP IPS for the center monitor, and 2 less expensive 24" for the side monitors. This would be around $1100 total. I assume I'd also need a new video card, as I'm running with a an XFX 5850.

Questions for the gallery then:
What video card(s) would I need to drive either a single 2560x1600 or the 3 monitor setup? Can this be done without the video card(s) sounding like airplane engines? My computer is absolutely silent now, and I don't want to make it significantly louder.

What would you choose, the single higher quality monitor, or the 3 monitor setup?

The games I play are Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Dragon Age, and the upcoming Skyrim.

Thanks!

 

[nitromullet]

I personally prefer one large screen. I had about the same budget and decision a few months ago, and I opted go with a single high quality 2560x1440 27" IPS instead of three lesser screens. I haven't had any regrets.

 

[Harrod]

If you have the desk space go with eyefinity, it's almost like an arcade like experience.

 

[apoppin]

I'm looking to finally upgrade my 6 year old Dell monitor and I'm trying to decide between a 30" Dell Ultrasharp 2560x1600 ($1,300) or 3 24" monitors via Eyefinity. For the 3 monitors, I'd go with an HP IPS for the center monitor, and 2 less expensive 24" for the side monitors. This would be around $1100 total. I assume I'd also need a new video card, as I'm running with a an XFX 5850.

Questions for the gallery then:
What video card(s) would I need to drive either a single 2560x1600 or the 3 monitor setup? Can this be done without the video card(s) sounding like airplane engines? My computer is absolutely silent now, and I don't want to make it significantly louder.

What would you choose, the single higher quality monitor, or the 3 monitor setup?

The games I play are Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Dragon Age, and the upcoming Skyrim.

Thanks!

i have both and each setup has its advantages.

However, if you are going 3-panel eyefinity or Surround, get 3 identical monitors or you may have mismatching color issues across the displays.

If you are worried about noise, watercooling your video is an option. If you are worried about noise, then HD 6990 or even reference HD 6970 CrossFire may be loud. In this area, Nvidia with their GTX 590 and even GTX 580 SLI excel. The above cards are the serious choices for 5760x1080 or 2560x1600 gaming.

i am looking forward to Skyrim in 5x1 (9600x1080) Eyefinity
:thumbsup:

 

[SickBeast]

Personally, I would go with the single 30" display. I tried eyefinity and I liked it, however I'm not a fan of the image being broken by the bezels of the displays.

As apoppin pointed out, make sure your monitors are identical. I was expecting to be able to run nVidia surround with my SLI setup, but my secondary display is not of the same resolution so it doesn't work. AMD may not have this limitation, but you might as well do what you can in case you go with nVidia in the future.

 

[Mistwalker]

I was in the same situation as the OP, and went with three HP 24 inch displays largely because I couldn't find suitable side panels for the Dell 30 inch.

Definitely agree you want three identical monitors, or at least by the same maker with similar color gamuts.

The bezels may bother some, but--as many have mentioned--you get used to them very quickly.

AMD has lots of support for various monitor setups and can do surround off one card, but Nvidia cards tend to be quieter. Tough call there.

 

[aceshigh23]

I'm completely clueless about liquid cooling. Is a liquid cooling solution in the video card alone, or does the computer have to have a liquid cooling system? For example, I read that Powercooler is going to release a liquid cooled 6990, I just wasn't sure if I could just plug that right into my system.

 

[SickBeast]

Air cooling has caught up with water cooling in terms of the CPU for the most part. Water cooling is particularly useful on the multi-GPU cards, but not so much on regular cards.

You do need an entire setup for it, which includes a radiator, a fan, a pump, and all the lines. I'm pretty sure you just hook up the GPU water block to the setup.

You need a big case for it all to work, and it's not as silent as you would think.

Putting all that water inside my PC would make me extremely nervous. It's not worth it IMO for a number of reasons.

 

[smackababy]

Air cooling has caught up with water cooling in terms of the CPU for the most part.

Wah? I think you are extremely misinformed. Air cooling can't match water cooling, but it does cost significantly less.


As far as OP goes, I'd go with the multi monitor set up. I am debating that one myself and leaning towards Eyefinity because I don't do any professional photo work, so TN suits my needs.

 

[dakU7]

I asked the same question a few weeks ago, and decided to take three monitors from my trading computer and try it out.
It's a cool experience for gaming no doubt, if all you want to do is game, then go for it, and don't worry about the bezels.
However, I find eyefinity pretty useless and annoying outside of gaming. It just doesn't work quite well when browsing, office etc, so I decided to go for the 30''.

 

[SickBeast]

Wah? I think you are extremely misinformed. Air cooling can't match water cooling, but it does cost significantly less.


As far as OP goes, I'd go with the multi monitor set up. I am debating that one myself and leaning towards Eyefinity because I don't do any professional photo work, so TN suits my needs.

Actually, my Cooler Master Hyper 212+ is better than a Corsair H50 water cooling setup, both in terms of efficiency and noise. It takes a high end water cooling configuration to beat out my $20 heatsink, and it doesn't beat it out by much, especially when you consider the price and other factors.

These newer massive heatsinks can actually compete with water cooling, which was not true a few years back when all we had were 92mm fans on the things (newer heatsinks are coming with 140mm fans).

 

[betasub]

However, I find eyefinity pretty useless and annoying outside of gaming. It just doesn't work quite well when browsing, office etc, so I decided to go for the 30''.

I agree if you are displaying from a single rig - the 30" is the way to go (with the option to add more later ). However in my personal situation, having been KVM-ing multiple rigs, the Samsung MD230x3 has been a god-send for improving productivity across several machines.

 

[justin_43]

I would personally go with the single 30" monitor. 2560x1600 is amazing. When running in eyefinity or nvidia surround, the side monitors are more for your peripheral vision. They are both sweet setups, but I love 2560x1600

 

[aceshigh23]

Alright, what sort've video card should I get than can drive 2560x1600, with the caveat that the video card needs to be pretty silent and I can't do liquid cooling?

 

[betasub]

^ The main requirement is a dual-link DVI output - which most modern cards should have (at least one).

As for the games in your OP, the currently available ones are not graphics card killers, but at 2560x1600 you should be looking at a move to a high-end card with plenty of onboard RAM (GTX580/69x0). As for noise - that's hard to deal with unless you go for after-market cooling - but at least driving a single monitor should allow the card to idle cooler/quieter than multi-monitor.

 

[bryanW1995]

Alright, what sort've video card should I get than can drive 2560x1600, with the caveat that the video card needs to be pretty silent and I can't do liquid cooling?

If you want "not loud" and "2560x1600", your choice is between a gtx 580 and a 6970. gtx 580 is faster by ~ 5-10%, but is typically around $150 more expensive. If you think that you might end up going to 3 monitors then 6970 is your only option. Well, as mentioned you could deal with the hassle of moving your entire setup over to water, but if you're sticking with air then 6970 is your only option at least.

edit: btw, I haven't looked at prices recently, I recommend that you check around for the best deal on each card before making a decision.

 

[snuuggles]

i have both and each setup has its advantages.

Hey apoppin, I'm curious if you see an obvious ghosting difference between the 30" 60hz vs those 120hz panels you are running. I've been leaning towards picking up the hn274h, but I just know I want something 30"+. I don't really care about the resolution or viewing angles (in fact, I'll likely end up using 1280x800 for most gaming if I get a 30" to get better frame-rates), but I really really care about ghosting and good motion resolution.

I really wish they would just make a 30-32" 120hz panel, but since that isn't available, can you give your thoughts on ghosting between the two existing technologies? I guess for me it's coming down the the zr30w and the hn274h, considering I don't care about 3d I'm leaning towards the higher-quality display, but not if it's going to have bad ghosting in stuff like stalker or other (non-competitive) fps games.

 

[apoppin]

Hey apoppin, I'm curious if you see an obvious ghosting difference between the 30" 60hz vs those 120hz panels you are running. I've been leaning towards picking up the hn274h, but I just know I want something 30"+. I don't really care about the resolution or viewing angles (in fact, I'll likely end up using 1280x800 for most gaming if I get a 30" to get better frame-rates), but I really really care about ghosting and good motion resolution.

I really wish they would just make a 30-32" 120hz panel, but since that isn't available, can you give your thoughts on ghosting between the two existing technologies? I guess for me it's coming down the the zr30w and the hn274h, considering I don't care about 3d I'm leaning towards the higher-quality display, but not if it's going to have bad ghosting in stuff like stalker or other (non-competitive) fps games.

Believe it or not, i haven't done any formal comparison between my HP and the ASUS display. i am so far behind in my reviews . . .
:'(

However, my HP LP 3065 display is one of the best as regards a fast response and there is no ghosting in gaming. Of course, as a down-side there is no image scaler built-in (if you get a display with one, you may have ghosting).

i do plan to do a formal review of my ASUS displays just before i publish my 3D Vision/ 3D Vision Surround evaluation at the end of this month. At that point, i will do the actual IQ and response time tests on both LCDs and compare them to each other.

The only really *obvious* difference besides the size is the extreme brightness of the ASUS display; it is great for 3D Vision which tends to be dark anyway. And of course, there is no ghosting on the ASUS displays that i can see.

My recommendation is to buy a display from a etailer with a good return policy. And maybe buy two displays and return one if you can't audition them side-by-side in a B&M retail outlet.

If you want "not loud" and "2560x1600", your choice is between a gtx 580 and a 6970.

For double the choices, add the GTX 590 as a quiet card (for $700 ) - or keep the HD 6990 in the 'factory supported' switch position - either would be great for Eyefinity or Surround.

 

[aceshigh23]

Now I just need to find a good coupon or sale to pull the trigger on the Dell 30".

 

[LucJoe]

Now I just need to find a good coupon or sale to pull the trigger on the Dell 30".

Check the refurb deals. Occasionally they pop up for $899.. I was lucky enough to grab one with a 10% coupons for $809 last week. Coupon is dead for now but should be back soon.

 

[gramboh]

Dell puts their LCDs on sale around once a quarter it seems, keep an eye for the "Days of Dell" as well, I saved a couple hundred on my 24" a few years ago, love it to this day and would go 30" if I was in your shoes.