I am expecting a big paycheck and thought I'd upgrade my rig at least a little. Specifically, I want to get myself a bigger user space.
To specify even more, I'm on the fence between:
three 1080p monitors (24" each) positioned on a 3-arm VESA mount OR a single 4K monitor (40")
To specify what I use my PC for at work and for fun: WORK: 2 windows split 50:50: Word and a PDF reader. FUN: 1080p gaming
My question: Which setup would fare better with a GTX950? I suspect the three 1080p monitors will be better because I can game on one display only, turning it around and then having the two 1080p spaces for my work. However, the question is whether my gtx 950 will hold up to 3 monitors. The holes are there, but will it be able to deal with 3 separate displays?
Help, I have never ever done anything multi-monitor. Thank you for your help!
Doesn't matter. ATi back in the day supported up to 6 displays in eyefinity mode with 256MB Vram... I would recommend triple 1080p for price and purely my taste, but convenience...
Well the convenience may be with 3 monitors as well, since I can turn one monitor to face the bed to... play games in bed Thanks for clearing up the support issue!
Well, that's it, isn't it? The convenience of relocatimg every screen and showing different picture on each one... Play some casual game on one while doing something on the others... Yes, it takes more space, but what the hell...
I would suggest you consider 3x 1200p. Like the Dell U2415h because the bezels are so thin that they'll slot together nicely, and I love the additional height of 1200p over 1080p. I believe Wendell agrees as well, 16:10 is an ideal aspect ratio compared with 16:9. Plus the Dell Ultrasharp monitors are usually great.
+1 if you are going for 3 monitors, 16:10 is the best aspect ratio. Sure you'll get small borders watching non-16:9 content but games and programs will fill it up and it may not sound much but the additional height is great for productivity. Dell Ultrasharps are really good displays too, never had an issue with them.
However, I've personally never like multi-montior setups so I'd go for the big 4k screen (and suck up the 16:9 ratio for all those extra pixels you gain anyway). I have a 32" 4k so require scaling but even coming from a 30" 2560x1600 monitor the difference is huge! 1080p content still looks decent too.
If doing work, higher resolutions can be nice, but 4K 40" could be a bit overwhelming when trying to work right in front of it.
Gaming is a different story, a 4k monitor will be too much to run natively with your 950, but 4k scales 1080p content on it well, unlike some others like 1440p.
Having 3 1080p monitors can be very nice for productivity work and the 950 will be better able to run one of them for gaming at native resolution.
Really, if I were in your situation, I'd probably put my money into a GPU upgrade first (assuming your current 1080p monitor works).
I know from experience that it sucks getting a really nice monitor that is more than your GPU can handle and not being able to experience the full gaming glory on it with your old GPU.
i have 3 1080 monitors and a 43in 4k. if i were you i would go 4k as it has roughly 25% more screen real estate. their will be few games you can play naively at 4k but scaling to 1080p works well. the extra room is really nice for terminals, large pdfs, roll20, and such, and in say 5 years the 4k monitor will be worth more then 3x1080p monitors in case you ever want to sell and upgrade to 4k at 120/144hz or 8k or what have you.
I don't know how to multi-quote, sorry about that.
To all of you suggesting I go for 3x16:10, it's a very good idea, BUT! I feel that if I got 3 monitors on arms, I would likely find a way to pivot them around so that I have them (in as clear as I can say it) 9:16 or 10:16 side by side, doing a big 18:16 rectangle while I work. This would work great, as each individual page would fit whole on the monitor.
But the 16:10 thing definitely seems like a good idea, I'll look into that.
Thanks for clearing up the support issue!
Really, if I were in your situation, I'd probably put my money into a GPU upgrade first (assuming your current 1080p monitor works).