Single large Monitor, Or eyefinity?

[bbmarley]

so im planning to upgrade my monitor situation,i dont know what to get either 1 27" 1920x1200 or add another couple of 24" 1920x1080 for eyefinity.
the use will be mainly for gaming both options seem very good to me, any words or advice to help me make decision?

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

Nice title. Please see: 1920 X1200 vs 1920 X 1080

 

[bbmarley]

my thoughts was not really about the res but 1 bigger moniter vs 3 smaller in eyefinity

 

[jellyrole]

What are your system specs?

 

[keakar]

well IMO one big screen is just that, one big screen and you dont get the same 3D suround effect you get from having the 3 screens making you feel like your there

as to the rest of what goes into powering it all i dont know about all that, i just have 1 small monitor

 

[Mussels]

new thread title.

 

[ShiBDiB]

1 big one

 

[Jstn7477]

Instead of getting 3 crappy TN monitors, why not get a nice 2560*1600 or 2560*1440 IPS (or other superior panel technology) monitor that: 1) Has better color reproduction, 2) Has no borders, 3) Runs better because you aren't trying to drive 5760*1080, 4)Is not subject to game compatibility or driver issues that may arise, and 5)Is not subject to color or mechanical variations, even between 3 identical monitors. A few of these may seem extraordinary, but it's just my 2 cents and I felt all of those things should be considered in a decision like this.

 

[cadaveca]

Eyefinity does give you some veiw-space that you do not get with a single large monitor. I do not think there is a decent hardware solution as yet, though, capable of pushing three monitors without issue.

 

[n-ster]

As suggested by Jstn, I would get a 27" 2560x1440 IPS display

 

[cadaveca]

As suggested by Jstn, I would get a 27" 2560x1440 IPS display

I wouldn't. I'd recommend nothing over 1920x1080. Extra vga power can be used for AA and AF. 2560x1xxx still has fairly hefty vram requirements.

 

[yogurt_21]

I wouldn't. I'd recommend nothing over 1920x1080. Extra vga power can be used for AA and AF. 2560x1xxx still has fairly hefty vram requirements.

not as ghefty as eyefinity and most modern gpu's have plenty fo vram for that resolution I mean shoot the 6970 at 2gb is more than enough. and in crossfire it'd be plenty enough power for that resolution.

 

[cadaveca]

not as ghefty as eyefinity and most modern gpu's have plenty fo vram for that resolution I mean shoot the 6970 at 2gb is more than enough. and in crossfire it'd be plenty enough power for that resolution.

I do not agree that 6970 is enough. Yes, eyefinity has much higher hardware requirements, but that does not mean that 2560x1440 is easy either...

2GB cards are REQUIRED for eyefinity, IMHO. 2560x1440 with no AA, 1GB is OK, but many apps will struggle to reach 60FPS in DX10 and DX11.

Meanwhile 1920x1200/1080...the same 6970 will do very well at, even with 4x-8xAA.

So, to me, you give up image quality to get good performance on large panels. That is an unacceptable compromise in my books.

I also do not feel running multiple gpus is for everyone, either. Multiple gpus, and multiple panels = cursor corruption and desktop flicker.

 

[n-ster]

A 6970 2GB has penty of VRAM for 2560x1440.

Apart from Metro 2033, most games are playable at 2560x1440. If it isn't satisfactory, then the 6990 or 697-0 Crossfire will do very nicely. While Crossfire isn't for everyone, it is good for most

 

[twilyth]

The area of a 24" is 246 sq. inches. So 2 monitors would give you 492 sq inches of screen real estate.

The area of a 27" is only 311 sq. inches.

In other words, with 2 24" monitors you will have nearly 60% more screen space as compared to a single 27" monitor.

Seems like a pretty clear choice to me.

edit: in order to do better than 2 24" monitors you would need between a 32 and 36" monitor. 32" gives you 438 sq. inches. 36" gives you 554 sq. in. But good luck finding a 36" monitor that will do better than 1920 x 1080. You might be able to get 32 inchers that have higher resolutions but you will pay out the wazoo.

 

[n-ster]

Eyeinfinity is really hard to drive IMO. You'll need the best of the best GPU setup + be content with playable but not always smooth fps.

 

[DaveK]

Never underestimate the usefulness of two screens. Even if that second screen is just for simple tasks like music or the browser.

 

[cadaveca]

Never underestimate the usefulness of two screens. Even if that second screen is just for simple tasks like music or the browser.

Never underestimate the usefulness of FOUR screens. 3x 1920x1080 for Eyefinity, and one 30-inch for regular usage, suits me just fine.

 

[Delta6326]

eyefinity! it looks fantastic! you will love it!

 

[Mussels]

OP shoulda made a poll

 

[1Kurgan1]

The area of a 24" is 246 sq. inches. So 2 monitors would give you 492 sq inches of screen real estate.

The area of a 27" is only 311 sq. inches.

In other words, with 2 24" monitors you will have nearly 60% more screen space as compared to a single 27" monitor.

Seems like a pretty clear choice to me.

edit: in order to do better than 2 24" monitors you would need between a 32 and 36" monitor. 32" gives you 438 sq. inches. 36" gives you 554 sq. in. But good luck finding a 36" monitor that will do better than 1920 x 1080. You might be able to get 32 inchers that have higher resolutions but you will pay out the wazoo.

2 monitors total isn't eyefinity, and is nice, but not for gaming as you will have a bezel right in the middle of the screen.

This thread doesn't seem to be just about what gives more screen space, that seems obvious what would. But what would run better, rather.

 

[n-ster]

2 monitors total isn't eyefinity, and is nice, but not for gaming as you will have a bezel right in the middle of the screen.

This thread doesn't seem to be just about what gives more screen space, that seems obvious what would. But what would run better, rather.

or what would give the better experience and at what cost (ie: will eyeinfinity demand the highest GPUs and will I have to not only abandon AA but sometimes even lower the settings to have a smoother framerate in a few games, answer to all of this is yes IMO)

 

[arroyo]

Buy 40 inches or bigger LCD TV with full led backlight and low input lag (Philips 40PFL5605 for example). It will eat every PC monitor in many aspects (screen size, panel quality, view angle).

 

[yogurt_21]

A 6970 2GB has penty of VRAM for 2560x1440.

Apart from Metro 2033, most games are playable at 2560x1440. If it isn't satisfactory, then the 6990 or 697-0 Crossfire will do very nicely. While Crossfire isn't for everyone, it is good for most

nster wins the reading and replying test. cada you fail which is epecially bad considering it was your own post that contained the info you ignored. :shadedshu

anywho that's why I said crossfire would give you the gpu power you need but 2gb of vram is plenty for 2560x1600. While it might be nice to get a surround effect with the display I still can never get over the huge break in screens. I mean at work I run dual dell 21" 1080p monitors and side by side it's easily an inch and a half of black bezel between displays add a third and it gets worse. Then add on the fact that while there is penty of horizontal, you have a vertical issue kinda like driving one of those 50's hot rods with a stupidly small windshield.

I will say cost wise 3 1080p panels are cheaper than a single 30" 2560x1600 but as others have said the contrast ratio, number of colors, and overall look of those 30" screens is far superior.

 

[Mussels]

dont forget that with eyefinity you can rotate the monitors, so intead of 3x wide, you can have 3x vertical screens giving you more vert + horizontal image.


it all boils down to wanting one large flat screen, or having three screens with gaps - but angled in for better peripheral vision.

personally, one big flat one has better quality to me, and no need for crossfire to drive it.