• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Triple monitor/decent GPU vs Single monitor/great GPU

Triple monitor/decent GPU vs Single monitor/great GPU


  • Total voters
    22
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
2,417 (0.42/day)
Location
Whitby, Ontario
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard MSI B450 Gaming Plus
Memory GSkill 8GB Dual Channel DDR4-2800
Video Card(s) MSI GamingX RX580 4GB
Storage Kingston V300 240GB SSD + WD Green 2TB
Display(s) ACER K212HL 27" + Haier 55" + Lenovo Explorer Mixed Reality Headset
Case Enermax Ostrog (Red)
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA B2 750W
Software Win10 64bit
You have say $800 dollars to spend.

Example:

3 x $150 monitors + $350 GPU

1 x $350 monitor + $450 GPU


Which one do you choose?
How do you spend it?
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.77/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
You have say $800 dollars to spend.

Example:

3 x $150 monitors + $350 GPU

1 x $350 monitor + $450 GPU


Which one do you choose?
How do you spend it?

1 Monitor, 1 GPU.
Played BF3 in Eyefinity and crossfire, the three screens did nothing but distract me.
Though I use 1 120Hz screen and a second standard screen
 
Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Messages
130 (0.03/day)
System Name Main Rig
Processor Intel i5-4670K
Motherboard ASRock Z87E-ITX
Cooling Cooler Master Seidon 120M (Push+Pull)
Memory 8GB (2x4GB) G.Skill Sniper 1866 1.5V
Video Card(s) HD 6870 (Waiting on AIB partner R9 290 Release)
Storage WD 600GB VelociRaptor (w/ 60GB SSD Cache) / 2x 64GB SanDisk SSD RAID0
Display(s) 3x Acer 20" @ 1600x900
Case Cooler Master Elite130
Power Supply Seasonic 450W G-Series (80+ Gold)
Software Win7 Pro 64-bit
A single monitor and a beefy GPU, if not simply for support's sake.

I've got 3 20" 1600x900 monitors I picked up for $80 a piece. 3 1080p monitors would've run me out of 1.5GB VRAM real quick. As far as the experience goes, they definitely add to the immersion, but they're not actually that 'helpful' per say. In BF3, they don't really help me all that much. I usually only spot people in my main monitor. Maybe someone with better eyes, developed peripheral vision, and "movement detection" might find them more of an advantage. I gain a lot more from surround sound than I do Nvidia Surround. I'll never forget running in BF3 and hearing one of the incredibly stupid, overused exclamations behind me to my left. Let's just say that after I climbed up the scout tower, his character didn't make any more noises.
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
1,445 (0.34/day)
Location
Israel
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard B550 Aorus PRO V2
Cooling Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
Memory Gskill Trident Z Neo 3600 2x16GB
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 3070 Trio X
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME/Supertalent Teranova 2x1TB
Display(s) Acer XV340CK
Case Corsair 4000D Airflow
Power Supply Corsair HX850i
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Logitech G513 Tactile
Software Windows 10 Pro
Get a 1440/1600 monitor + a 7970/680.

Edit:since you already have a single 660 you can a second one and SLI them and it will be faster than any 680.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
5,147 (0.78/day)
Location
AZ
System Name Thought I'd be done with this by now
Processor i7 11700k 8/16
Motherboard MSI Z590 Pro Wifi
Cooling Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4, 9x aigo AR12
Memory 32GB GSkill TridentZ Neo DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42
Video Card(s) MSI Ventus 2x Geforce RTX 3070
Storage 1TB MX300 M.2 OS + Games, + cloud mostly
Display(s) Samsung 40" 4k (TV)
Case Lian Li PC-011 Dynamic EVO Black
Audio Device(s) onboard HD -> Yamaha 5.1
Power Supply EVGA 850 GQ
Mouse Logitech wireless
Keyboard same
VR HMD nah
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores no one cares anymore lols
While it's not being covered as much as the multi-gpu problem, microstuttering is also aggravated by multi-screen. Perhaps it's not discussed simply because the problem is still with the gpu and not the screens. But even on a single gpu, multiscreen can have more dropped and runt frames than the same gpu has on a single screen. At the same time, 2-3 budget screens aren't going to look as nice as a single nice screen.
 

Mindweaver

Moderato®™
Staff member
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
8,193 (1.50/day)
Location
Charleston, SC
System Name Tower of Power / Sechs
Processor i7 14700K / i7 5820k @ 4.5ghz
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 / X99S GAMING 7
Cooling CM MasterLiquid ML360 Mirror ARGB Close-Loop AIO / CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i Extreme
Memory CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600 / G.Skill DDR4 2800 16GB 4x4GB
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti / ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3070 V2 OC Edition
Storage 4x Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2, 2x Crucial 1TB SSD / Samsung 870 PRO 500GB M.2
Display(s) Samsung 32" Odyssy G5 Gaming 144hz 1440p, ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p / 2x ViewSonic 32" 72hz 1440p
Case Phantek "400A" / Phanteks “Enthoo Pro series”
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC4080 / Azalia Realtek ALC1150
Power Supply Corsair RM Series RM750 / Corsair CXM CX600M
Mouse Glorious Gaming Model D Wireless / Razer DeathAdder Chroma
Keyboard Glorious GMMK with box-white switches / Keychron K6 pro with blue swithes
VR HMD Quest 3 (128gb) + Rift S + HTC Vive + DK1
Software Windows 11 Pro x64 / Windows 10 Pro x64
Benchmark Scores Yes
Since I've been playing in Nvidia surround I think it's amazing. I'm using a MSI GTX 680 PE/lighting overclocked to 1241mhz and I want to pick up another one soon. So, with that being said... Unless you plan to pick up another card soon then get a really good card with a single monitor. My GTX 680 does great with Tomb Raider 35-45 fps. Most would say it's not playable, but I think it's very playable, but when I drop all the eye candy and run on low settings it's amazing so another card would make it that much better. :toast:
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
2,417 (0.42/day)
Location
Whitby, Ontario
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard MSI B450 Gaming Plus
Memory GSkill 8GB Dual Channel DDR4-2800
Video Card(s) MSI GamingX RX580 4GB
Storage Kingston V300 240GB SSD + WD Green 2TB
Display(s) ACER K212HL 27" + Haier 55" + Lenovo Explorer Mixed Reality Headset
Case Enermax Ostrog (Red)
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA B2 750W
Software Win10 64bit
This pole has nothing to do with my set-up. I meant if you were to set up a system right now.

Maybe I should have made this more clear....:ohwell:
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
1,445 (0.34/day)
Location
Israel
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard B550 Aorus PRO V2
Cooling Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
Memory Gskill Trident Z Neo 3600 2x16GB
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 3070 Trio X
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME/Supertalent Teranova 2x1TB
Display(s) Acer XV340CK
Case Corsair 4000D Airflow
Power Supply Corsair HX850i
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Logitech G513 Tactile
Software Windows 10 Pro
This pole has nothing to do with my set-up. I meant if you were to set up a system right now.

Maybe I should have made this more clear....:ohwell:

Either way,your system or not,a single bigger,better quality screen is always better imo.
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
2,417 (0.42/day)
Location
Whitby, Ontario
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard MSI B450 Gaming Plus
Memory GSkill 8GB Dual Channel DDR4-2800
Video Card(s) MSI GamingX RX580 4GB
Storage Kingston V300 240GB SSD + WD Green 2TB
Display(s) ACER K212HL 27" + Haier 55" + Lenovo Explorer Mixed Reality Headset
Case Enermax Ostrog (Red)
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA B2 750W
Software Win10 64bit
So nobody multitasks? For games it's sweet but it can be used for more than that.

I've never had a problem with microstuttering.
 

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,259 (4.65/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
I would do: 1 x $300 monitor + 1x $100 monitor + $300-400 GPU

Expensive monitor as primary, cheap monitor as secondary for multitasking.
 
Joined
Jul 19, 2006
Messages
43,585 (6.74/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF x670e
Cooling EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory 32GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 4090
Storage WD m.2
Display(s) LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case Lian Li PC 011 Dynamic Evo
Audio Device(s) Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Headphone Amp.
Power Supply FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard Tester84
Software Windows 11
So nobody multitasks?

I do on my single 27" 2560x1440. Essentially two screens 720p across on one monitor. :)

I've used two monitors but I guess I prefer to have everything on one screen.

I've tried eyefinity and it's nice, but I'd only really use it on racing games. With FPS games, my brain has enough to deal with on one screen.
 
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
2,516 (0.50/day)
Location
Canada
System Name m1dg3t | DeathBox | HairPi 3
Processor 3570k @ 4.0 1.15v BIOS | q9550 @ 3.77 1.325v BIOS
Motherboard Asrock z77e iTX | p5q Dlx 2301 BIOS
Cooling Custom Water | D-14 & HR-03gt | Passive HSF
Memory Samsung MV-3V4G3D 4g x 2 @ 1866 1.35v | OcZ RpR 2g x 4 @ 1067 2.2v
Video Card(s) MSi 7950 tf3 @1000 / 1350 | Asus 5870 V2 @ 900 / 1275
Storage Adata sx900 256Gb / WD 2500 HHTZ | WD 1001 FALS x 2
Display(s) BenQ gw2750hm | 46" Sharp Quatron
Case BitFenix Prodigy - m0dd3d | Antec Fusion Remote MAX
Audio Device(s) Onboard Toslink > Yamaha HTR 6290 | Xonar HDAV1.3 > Yamaha DSP z7
Power Supply Ocz mXp700w | Ocz zx850w | Cannakit 5v 2.5a
Mouse Logitech G700s | Logitech G9x - Cable Repaired
Keyboard TT Meka G1 - Black w Cherry Blacks| Logitech G11
Software Win7 Home | Xp sp3 & Vista ultimate | Raspbian
Benchmark Scores Epeen!! Who needs epeen??
1 Good screen and a good GFX card, maybe add a 2nd smaller/cheaper screen for extra workspace as suggested...

I personally never understood the allure of multi monitor gaming, not with current display tech anyways. Hello bezels! LoL
 

MxPhenom 216

ASIC Engineer
Joined
Aug 31, 2010
Messages
12,944 (2.61/day)
Location
Loveland, CO
System Name Ryzen Reflection
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900x
Motherboard Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master
Cooling 2x EK PE360 | TechN AM4 AMD Block Black | EK Quantum Vector Trinity GPU Nickel + Plexi
Memory Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem 2x16GB B-Die 3600 @ 14-14-14-28-42-288-2T 1.45v
Video Card(s) Zotac AMP HoloBlack RTX 3080Ti 12G | 950mV 1950Mhz
Storage WD SN850 500GB (OS) | Samsung 980 Pro 1TB (Games_1) | Samsung 970 Evo 1TB (Games_2)
Display(s) Asus XG27AQM 240Hz G-Sync Fast-IPS | Gigabyte M27Q-P 165Hz 1440P IPS | Asus 24" IPS (portrait mode)
Case Lian Li PC-011D XL | Custom cables by Cablemodz
Audio Device(s) FiiO K7 | Sennheiser HD650 + Beyerdynamic FOX Mic
Power Supply Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 850
Mouse Razer Viper v2 Pro
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition
Software Windows 11 Pro 64-Bit
I do on my single 27" 2560x1440. Essentially two screens 720p across on one monitor. :)

I've used two monitors but I guess I prefer to have everything on one screen.

I've tried eyefinity and it's nice, but I'd only really use it on racing games. With FPS games, my brain has enough to deal with on one screen.

Yep, I used to run dual monitors too, till my Samsung died, and now I don't want to go back to dual, because now when I run games, windows doesn't do the whole would you like to go to basic mode, you do not have enough resources bull shit anymore like it did with dual monitors.
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
2,417 (0.42/day)
Location
Whitby, Ontario
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard MSI B450 Gaming Plus
Memory GSkill 8GB Dual Channel DDR4-2800
Video Card(s) MSI GamingX RX580 4GB
Storage Kingston V300 240GB SSD + WD Green 2TB
Display(s) ACER K212HL 27" + Haier 55" + Lenovo Explorer Mixed Reality Headset
Case Enermax Ostrog (Red)
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA B2 750W
Software Win10 64bit
1 Good screen and a good GFX card, maybe add a 2nd smaller/cheaper screen for extra workspace as suggested...

I personally never understood the allure of multi monitor gaming, not with current display tech anyways. Hello bezels! LoL

multi monitor gaming is the shit mofo!!
 
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
2,417 (0.42/day)
Location
Whitby, Ontario
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 2600
Motherboard MSI B450 Gaming Plus
Memory GSkill 8GB Dual Channel DDR4-2800
Video Card(s) MSI GamingX RX580 4GB
Storage Kingston V300 240GB SSD + WD Green 2TB
Display(s) ACER K212HL 27" + Haier 55" + Lenovo Explorer Mixed Reality Headset
Case Enermax Ostrog (Red)
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA B2 750W
Software Win10 64bit
Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Messages
6,770 (0.98/day)
Location
Republic of Asia (a.k.a Irvine), CA
System Name ---
Processor FX 8350 @ 4.00 Ghz with 1.28v
Motherboard Gigabyte 990FX-UD3 v4.0, Hacked Bios F4.x
Cooling Silenx 4 pipe Tower cooler + 2 x Cougar 120mm fan, 3 x 120mm, 1 x 200 mm Red LED fan
Memory Kingston HyperX DDR3 1866 16GB + Patriot Memory DDR3 1866 16GB
Video Card(s) Asus R9 290 OC @ GPU - 1050, MEM - 1300
Storage Inland 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD for OS, WDC Black - 2TB + 1TB Storage, Inland 480GB SSD - Games
Display(s) 3 x 1080P LCDs - Acer 25" + Acer 23" + HP 23"
Case AeroCool XPredator X3
Audio Device(s) Built-in Realtek
Power Supply Corsair HX1000 Modular
Software Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
I voted 3 monitor + decent GPU. I will still game on main monitor and use 3 when I am working.
 
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
2,516 (0.50/day)
Location
Canada
System Name m1dg3t | DeathBox | HairPi 3
Processor 3570k @ 4.0 1.15v BIOS | q9550 @ 3.77 1.325v BIOS
Motherboard Asrock z77e iTX | p5q Dlx 2301 BIOS
Cooling Custom Water | D-14 & HR-03gt | Passive HSF
Memory Samsung MV-3V4G3D 4g x 2 @ 1866 1.35v | OcZ RpR 2g x 4 @ 1067 2.2v
Video Card(s) MSi 7950 tf3 @1000 / 1350 | Asus 5870 V2 @ 900 / 1275
Storage Adata sx900 256Gb / WD 2500 HHTZ | WD 1001 FALS x 2
Display(s) BenQ gw2750hm | 46" Sharp Quatron
Case BitFenix Prodigy - m0dd3d | Antec Fusion Remote MAX
Audio Device(s) Onboard Toslink > Yamaha HTR 6290 | Xonar HDAV1.3 > Yamaha DSP z7
Power Supply Ocz mXp700w | Ocz zx850w | Cannakit 5v 2.5a
Mouse Logitech G700s | Logitech G9x - Cable Repaired
Keyboard TT Meka G1 - Black w Cherry Blacks| Logitech G11
Software Win7 Home | Xp sp3 & Vista ultimate | Raspbian
Benchmark Scores Epeen!! Who needs epeen??
multi monitor gaming is the shit mofo!!

I so broke i can't pay attention! :p

:roll:

LG IPS234V-PN Black 23" 14ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen...

+ $20 off w/ promo code
IPS
23" monitor

X3

Galaxy 66NNH7DV6WXZ GeForce GTX 660 Ti GC 3GB 192-...

+ Free Metro: Last Light
GeForce GTX 660 Ti GC 3GB


For around $800?

sweet deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not a fan of IPS screens, not for gaming anyways. Unless you dish out for a higher spec or try your luck on those OCable Asian special jobbies. Still though, multi monitor = The damn BEZELS! :banghead: GTX 660Ti is a decent card and prolly better suited to multi monitor useage than an AMD/ATi equivalent. Admittedly i am a single sceen, single card kind of user so take that with a grain a salt :eek:

Regardless, that would be a pretty nice setup for $800 though i would think! I could just be hatin' on you :pimp: :pimp:

If you haven't already, check this out http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/ It may help you out :toast:
 
Top