Hi Folks...
Sorry if it's been addressed, as I haven't seen it in the reviews/posts that I've read, but can three monitors be hooked up to a single 580 (like eyefinity), or would I have to get a second card to do so?
thanks...
Dave
Quick answer is no.
Longer answer:
Immersion ftw. I mostly played TF2 back when I got Eyefinity. I realized that playing TF2 at 120fps is a waste, given that my monitor can only refresh at 60Hz anyway, so why not put those "extra" fps to use and gain FOV? 3 screens was a big step up in immersion and, coupled with Surround heaphones, also made it significantly harder for spies to backstab me.
If it's application-specific, this is what I would do:
1. Find out what the frames per second (fps) would be with one monitor at the settings you play at with the card you expect to get.
2. Multiply by 0.45.
This gives you the approximate fps you'd get with three monitors of the same resolution, though some games will be higher or lower. For instance, if you'd get 100fps using your favorite settings and card, you can expect about 45fps if you triple the resolution. It's not a linear decline so that's why you don't need to multiply by 0.33.
I hate multi-GPU for various reasons (having to deal with driver updates and profiles, extra power/heat/noise, and I'd have to upgrade my motherboard and power supply unit, plus multi-GPU seems to have more problems with micro-stutter). But some people like multi-GPU so to each his/her own. If you go with NV Surround a nice perk is that you can use DVI only--no need to buy monitors with Displayport, or to buy a $25 Active DP -> DVI single-link adapter (or $100 if the monitors are each over 1920x1200 resolution). You need that for AMD Eyefinity.
HD6970 is supposed to be in the same ballpark as GTX580 and have 2GB of VRAM (better for extremely large resolutions like 5760x1200), so you may want to see how it performs when it comes out later this month, before deciding.
I'm slow to buy new games and care more about gameplay than graphics, so I tend to play older games with good gameplay. Nevertheless, I have been happy with a HD6850 at 5140x1050 (bezel-corrected) in L4D2 and TF2 at max detail settings + 4x MSAA at ~60-70fps (more like ~70-80fps if I overclock). I've seen the 5040x1050 framerates for things like Dirt 2, Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc. and can tell you that an overclocked 6850 can power them fine at that res.
For games that are too heavy to play on three screens, you can either a) lower the settings until you can play on 3 screens at an acceptable framerate, or b) play on the center screen only.
And Eyefinity/Surround is useful outside of games, too, especially for multitasking or watching a movie on one screen while websurfing on two others, etc.
Good luck!
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