Triple-screen gamer? Look here!

[Whitestar]

I mostly do sim-racing on my PC, using all 3 monitors. So when I wanted to play a different type of game (on only the middle monitor) I had to switch between surround mode and desktop mode (3 separate screens. Also called "extended desktop") and then set the desired refresh rate manually. Over the years I tried several display management programs but never found one that really solved this issue properly. An Autohotkey script made the process less of a chore, but it sometimes failed and wasn't really a permanent solution.

Then I found DisplayMagician v2.1.1 (to downolad scroll down a bit and click on the .msi file under "Assets".)
This program is what Nvidia and AMD should have provided us with from the beginning. It lets you set your desired display settings and then saves everything, including bezel settings and refresh rate!
It's a breeze to use. Just set your screens the way you like – including bezel and refresh rate – then go into Display Profiles, name the profile and click Save As. Do that for all profiles you need. When you're done you can select your profile(s) by right clicking the icon in the notification area of the Windows taskbar, or you can just create desktop shortcuts to them. It switches effortlessly and fast between the different profiles regardless of whether you jump in or out of surround mode.

The program is actually a fork of the Helios Display Management, with expanded functionality that makes it perfect for triple-screen users.
Go ahead and give it a try. It's absolutely a must-have (for me at least).

 

[qubit]

I also have an app that does something similar that's available on Steam, but doesn't require Steam to run it once installed. It's very good too, really convenient and sets everything just right. When I can get to my PC, I'll post the name of it here. Note that I've only used it with two monitors though.

 

[elghinnarisa]

That was one of the things I missed with my old AMD card back when I still had that. Because Catalyst Control Center (now that was a while ago) had monitor profiles you could setup and bind to hotkeys, which made it easy to swap between eyefinity and extended. Which of course Nvidia did not have as I noticed when I switched to an Nvidia card back in the day. And annoying it was, so annoying I stopped bothering with triple monitor gaming and these days I just use my VR headset for most racing games.

 

[Whitestar]

I also have an app that does something similar that's available on Steam, but doesn't require Steam to run it once installed. It's very good too, really convenient and sets everything just right. When I can get to my PC, I'll post the name of it here. Note that I've only used it with two monitors though.

I think I tested that, provided we are talking about the same app. Can't quite recall the name and why I didn't continue to use it, but I think there was some sort of issue or lack of functionality.
Anyhow, DisplayMagician works flawlessly so I'll carry on using that.

 

[neatfeatguy]

I never had issues playing games on the center monitor when I used 3 monitors. I used 2D Surround from Nvidia. I played across three monitors using 2 GTX 570s in SLI and then moved to a single 980Ti. I ran 3 monitors for a good 6 years or so.

Setting up 2D Surround the monitors were numbered as such:
Monitor on the left was #2
Middle monitor was #1
Monitor on the right was #3

Then I'd set the bezel correction and then be on my way. The only times I had to redo this process was when I upgraded my video driver and I only did that a few different times.

Any game that I didn't want to run at 5760x1080 and only at 1920x1080 would automatically default to run on the center monitor....except for two games I played, they actually had an option to switch the game to another monitor if you didn't want to use the center monitor.
If I wanted the side monitors to be black while I gamed on the center monitor, I would run the game in full screen mode.
If I wanted the side monitors to be used while gaming on the center monitor I would run the game in full windowed mode - this way I could have something goin on the other monitors if needed.

 

[neopolaris]

I think I tested that, provided we are talking about the same app. Can't quite recall the name and why I didn't continue to use it, but I think there was some sort of issue or lack of functionality.
Anyhow, DisplayMagician works flawlessly so I'll carry on using that.

DisplayFusion?

 

[Whitestar]

I never had issues playing games on the center monitor when I used 3 monitors. I used 2D Surround from Nvidia. I played across three monitors using 2 GTX 570s in SLI and then moved to a single 980Ti. I ran 3 monitors for a good 6 years or so.

Setting up 2D Surround the monitors were numbered as such:
Monitor on the left was #2
Middle monitor was #1
Monitor on the right was #3

Then I'd set the bezel correction and then be on my way. The only times I had to redo this process was when I upgraded my video driver and I only did that a few different times.

Any game that I didn't want to run at 5760x1080 and only at 1920x1080 would automatically default to run on the center monitor....except for two games I played, they actually had an option to switch the game to another monitor if you didn't want to use the center monitor.
If I wanted the side monitors to be black while I gamed on the center monitor, I would run the game in full screen mode.
If I wanted the side monitors to be used while gaming on the center monitor I would run the game in full windowed mode - this way I could have something goin on the other monitors if needed.

I used to do something similar. Then I started to use Autohotkey scripts which semi-automated the process. And now I use DisplayMagician which lets me do all those things with one click.

DisplayFusion?

One-word replies are hard to interpret.
Did you mean DisplayFusion as in "is that the name I can't recall"?
Or did you mean DisplayFusion as in have I tried to use that? I believe I have. I think I have tried most such programs which is why I am glad I found the one that has it all. DisplayFusion is paid. The free version seems to lack some important functionality. Meanwhile DisplayMagician is free and was developed by a sim-racer/gamer with the same needs as myself.

 

[qubit]

@Whitestar Right, back at the PC now, the app I've got is called DisplayFusion and it's available on Steam if you want to try it, but it costs £27.79.

I'll try out DisplayFusion as it's free.

 

[Whitestar]

I'll try out DisplayFusionMagician as it's free.

I assume you mean ^that. Easy mixup with these names

Yeah give it a whirl. It has some really nifty features. For example, you can create a game shortcut where you decide what happens before the game starts (use a saved display profile, start one or more programs, and/or choose which audio device to use) and what happens after the game ends (rollback any display changes that were made while starting the game).
That way you can just set and forget, so to speak. You never even have to click on a profile to change display mode before starting a game. Just put everything into the game shortcut and away you go.

Note: Remember to set the desired refresh rate before saving a display profile.

 

[qubit]

@Whitestar lol yeah I did. I kept looking over my post and could tell something wasn't right, but not what it was.

I switch between single screen and dual screens quite a lot, so I'll give this a try, especially as I've not used DisplayFusion for ages, since I reformatted my PC some time ago when Windows developed an intractable problem so I installed Windows fresh.