So I've been thinking about getting new monitors for my PC since I have two 3GB MSI GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme Editions in SLI. I currently just have a single 1920x1200 monitor, but I've been wanting to get three monitors for nvidia surround. I've been looking at an HP model for a while now that is 1920x1080, so if I got three of them I would be able to run 5760x1080.
Then I remembered the review that Logan did on the Achieva Shimian, and I started thinking maybe I should just get three of those since they're so cheap for being 27-inch IPS panels with a resolution of 2560x1440.
My question is, would my video cards be able to hand a resolution of 7680x1440 while playing games like Battlefield 3?
They are powerful cards, but that resolution is pretty damn huge. I just want to make sure that I wouldn't lose too much performance if I went with a 7680x1440 setup. What do you guys think?
Also, it looks like they have a response time of 6ms. That wouldn't make my games feel laggy would it?
I think multiple monitors would help a lot in FPS games actually.
But anyway, how much VRAM does your GTX 580 have? Because that could definitely be a factor. With my two 3GB GTX 580s, I usually get between 80 and 120 FPS in BF3 on ultra settings at 1920x1200.
Both DVI outputs on the card have to be dual link though. If you have 3 shimians then you will need 3 dual link dvi outputs on your video cards.
You can only push beyond 1080p (ie. 2560x1440 via dual link dvi or display port). The shimian only has one dvi input and nothing else. If you gpu is like a 6970 then only one of those two dvi outputs is dual link. Thus you wouldn't be able to do nvidia surround with just two of those cards because you would only have 2 out of 3 dual link dvi outputs required.
Two 580's powering 3 2560x1440 monitors would be a waste of money IMO with the performance you would get at half decent graphics settings.
580's will power 5760x1080 ok, not the highest graphics settings if you want nice framerates, specially in the future with newer games.
Trust me.... surround/Eyeinfinity gaming is great to try and I know what its like wanting to try it. But its very expensive and for most people, after a month the wow factor just dissapears and the 2 side monitors feel like a waste of money.
I know many people who have gone from a 3 monitor set up, to a single 1600p/1440p or 120HZ monitor and have been over the moon and wished they just got them in the first place instead of wasting loads of money. Like I said after while the 2 side monitors feel like a waste.... the effect wears off and you'll find the 2 outside monitors un needed.
Ofcourse there are a few that swear by 3 monitor gaming set ups, but they are in the minority over people who prefer a very high quality single screen that you can have higher grahpics settings/fps on and allot less driver problems with.
Yeah, I can understand where people might be coming from. I've always wanted at least two monitors anyway just to make things a little more convenient though, and I know my cards will definitely be able to do 5760x1080 without a problem, so I'll probably just end up doing that once I get the money together. I just wanted to know if an even higher resolution would be feasible with my cards, but it's looking like I'd probably have to have a third or even a fourth card.
Having a single high resolution monitor is also appealing to me too, but I think I'd rather try out Nvidia surround and see how that goes first, especially because the monitors will be nice for multi-tasking when I'm not necessarily gaming. I wish more tech stores had demos of all this stuff, so I could make a more informed decision though.
Although....maybe I could just get a Dell UltraSharp U3011 and keep the monitor I have for a second monitor...
The thing that put the nail in the coffin for me with eyefinity was .ini files. Half the games I play worked horribly with surround screen gaming. You would have to take 30-45 minutes tweaking the games .ini files to get the HUDs to line up correctly. Even then you get the fishbowl effect.