3 monitor set up, need a card.

[shawsy109]

So i have finally got the 3rd screen cheap from a famous auction website, 3 identical screens,1920x1080 24". Now time to pick up that xfx stand ive been dreading spending £300 on lol.

I've currently got a HIS HD6950 X plus 2gb and i know this isnt exactly going to be brilliant for 5760x1080 gaming, especially Bf3. Im not a fan boy of team green or red. Although until about 2 weeks ago i never realized nvidia had the surround vision thing as I have never owned one. Im thinking 7970, but all this talk of ATI's new offering in a few months, also Nvidia's new offerings later in the year have me thinking i should just game at lower settings with the 6950 and wait to see what comes.

what do you guys think?

 

[Rusty0611]

A 7970 would be a good buy. Especially with the incoming price drops on them. You should be able to pick one up relatively inexpensively. Especially if you sell your old card.

With regards to waiting, as you already have the monitor you can try it and just see what it's like. I don't think it'll be that great with that card but you might be able to find a good balance between performance and image quality. If not then I think your decision is easy.

Just because a new card is coming at some point in the future (bear in mind there's nothing even like solid rumours yet) doesn't make the 7970 redundant - it's still going to perform well. Same with the 680. If they were priced identically still, then the 680 would be your best shot IMO although VRAM is always going to be a concern with 3 screens. Personally, I think it's fine for now but there will be a niggling doubt about the future.

Hope that helps

 

[Rusty0611]

Alternatively, you could look at 7950 crossfire as well. Would cost more than a single 7970 but to be fair I think a single card is always pushing it to the very limits with Eyefinity/Surround.

 

[shawsy109]

A 7970 would be a good buy. Especially with the incoming price drops on them. You should be able to pick one up relatively inexpensively. Especially if you sell your old card.

With regards to waiting, as you already have the monitor you can try it and just see what it's like. I don't think it'll be that great with that card but you might be able to find a good balance between performance and image quality. If not then I think your decision is easy.

Just because a new card is coming at some point in the future (bear in mind there's nothing even like solid rumours yet) doesn't make the 7970 redundant - it's still going to perform well. Same with the 680. If they were priced identically still, then the 680 would be your best shot IMO although VRAM is always going to be a concern with 3 screens. Personally, I think it's fine for now but there will be a niggling doubt about the future.

Hope that helps

Yeah I have the same feeling, the prices of the sapphire 7970 oc version is a very very tempting offer. need the stand first though, then to save again for the card. Thats about 3 weeks away id say, so hopefully some nice price drops should be around plus the 10% discount i hope.

 

[shawsy109]

Alternatively, you could look at 7950 crossfire as well. Would cost more than a single 7970 but to be fair I think a single card is always pushing it to the very limits with Eyefinity/Surround.

Only got a OCZ zs 650 psu, wont be up to xfire or sli. Thought about a 2nd 6950, but still to close to call on power consumption. Il just stick with a single card solution.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Wow, that XFX stand is a pretty crazy price. If you have a hunt around you can find monitor stands that support three 24in monitors which cost a half to a third as much.

Also, bear in mind that if none of your monitors has a displayport input then you will need one active mini-DP to DVI/HDMI adapter like this one to use with your 6950 or any other AMD card (like the HD 7970).

The most cost effective upgrade to increase your performance for eyefinity is probably to add in a second HD 6950 2GB and run it in crossfire (even if that means upgrading your PSU and selling the old one). Though if you want a new single card then I would personally go with a single GTX 680, which (unlike most earlier nvidia cards) does support three monitor gaming.

 

[Rusty0611]

Yeah I have the same feeling, the prices of the sapphire 7970 oc version is a very very tempting offer. need the stand first though, then to save again for the card. Thats about 3 weeks away id say, so hopefully some nice price drops should be around plus the 10% discount i hope.

Have a look using your favourite search engine for how a 7970 will perform in Eyefinity though just to keep your expectations in check. In some games (namely BF3) I think you'll need to reduce some settings to get playable FPS hence my suggestion of 7950 crossfire.

Though if you want a new single card then I would personally go with a single GTX 680, which (unlike most earlier nvidia cards) does support three monitor gaming.

I would say the same but the 7970 is hard to recommend against if it drops to £330 ish (looking around)

Only got a OCZ zs 650 psu, wont be up to xfire or sli. Thought about a 2nd 6950, but still to close to call on power consumption. Il just stick with a single card solution.

Well compared to what you're going to spend on monitors/graphics card, I'd say a PSU upgrade to say 750W would be fairly inexpensive and then you have the option in a year or so to pick up a second card on the cheap.

 

[shawsy109]

Wow, that XFX stand is a pretty crazy price. If you have a hunt around you can find monitor stands that support three 24in monitors which cost a half to a third as much.

Also, bear in mind that if none of your monitors has a displayport input then you will need one active mini-DP to DVI/HDMI adapter like this one to use with your 6950 or any other AMD card (like the HD 7970).

The most cost effective upgrade to increase your performance for eyefinity is probably to add in a second HD 6950 2GB and run it in crossfire. Though if you want a new single card then I would personally go with a single GTX 680, which (unlike most earlier nvidia cards) does support three monitor gaming.

Ive not actually looked around for prices on the xfx stand or alternatives, might have a gander today. With regards to connectors and active mini dp adapters i know what i need so that isnt a worry.

 

[shawsy109]

Well compared to what you're going to spend on monitors/graphics card, I'd say a PSU upgrade to say 750W would be fairly inexpensive and then you have the option in a year or so to pick up a second card on the cheap.

So you think upgrade to a 750w psu and get a 2nd 6950 is better than splashing cash on a new high end card?

 

[oweneades]

Alternatively, you could look at 7950 crossfire as well. Would cost more than a single 7970 but to be fair I think a single card is always pushing it to the very limits with Eyefinity/Surround.

Not really.

I haven't finished testing yet but a single HD7970 @ 1125/6600 can pull nearly 50fps in BF3 at 3560x1920, Ultra settings with no deferred AA or motion blur. A GTX680 with +100/+400 (1185/6800 stable) can pull just shy of 49fps at the same settings but with a slightly higher minimum.

The 680 seems to gain most from clocking the memory at this resolution rather than the core but as I say I haven't finished testing yet.

AA absolutely cripples the frame rate at this resolution but 2x is possible on both cards as long as you don't mind ~ 35-40fps averages.

TBH though at this resolution post AA or FXAA is enough when actually gaming.

 

[Rusty0611]

So you think upgrade to a 750w psu and get a 2nd 6950 is better than splashing cash on a new high end card?

Depends on your budget. 6950 crossfire is still really going to struggle. It'd be a decent upgrade but I personally feel you'd be better off selling the 6950 and buying a 79** series card(s).

 

[Rusty0611]

Not really.

I haven't finished testing yet but a single HD7970 @ 1125/6600 can pull nearly 50fps in BF3 at 3560x1920, Ultra settings with no deferred AA or motion blur. A GTX680 with +100/+400 (1185/6800 stable) can pull just shy of 49fps at the same settings but with a slightly higher minimum.

The 680 seems to gain most from clocking the memory at this resolution rather than the core but as I say I haven't finished testing yet.

AA absolutely cripples the frame rate at this resolution but 2x is possible on both cards as long as you don't mind ~ 35-40fps averages.

TBH though at this resolution post AA or FXAA is enough when actually gaming.

Yes really.

I'm not being argumentative or anything but the point still stands. It's at its limit as you're having to turn settings down. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing or anything and I know you can still get decent image quality but that was more my point - settings have to be sacrificed if you're using one card.

 

[shawsy109]

Depends on your budget. 6950 crossfire is still really going to struggle. It'd be a decent upgrade but I personally feel you'd be better off selling the 6950 and buying a 79** series card(s).

I think your right.

I think if Im honest, id prefer to get a 7970 from ocuk with my 10% discount when it arrives and just lower settings like oweneades said in his above post.

Budget wise, It will take a few weeks to save for the stand, and card. In the meantime im just using 1 screen, then once i have the stand and new card il get it all togther and get some screenies up.

 

[Rusty0611]

I think your right.

I think if Im honest, id prefer to get a 7970 from ocuk with my 10% discount when it arrives and just lower settings like oweneades said in his above post.

Probably the best idea as 7950 crossfire is going to set you back a fair whack.

If you turn MSAA off and just use FXAA (post processing) I think you'll get a really nice overall experience.

 

[oweneades]

Yes really.

I'm not being argumentative or anything but the point still stands. It's at its limit as you're having to turn settings down. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing or anything and I know you can still get decent image quality but that was more my point - settings have to be sacrificed if you're using one card.

The only setting that has to be sacrificed is AA which is relatively pointless at this resolution anyway (especially when post AA can be used to give nearly the same effect).

Everything else is set to the highest setting possible in game.

 

[Rusty0611]

The only setting that has to be sacrificed is AA which is relatively pointless at this resolution anyway (especially when post AA can be used to give nearly the same effect).

Everything else is set to the highest setting possible in game.

Which is exactly what my point was - the card is at its limit as it can't handle MSAA. I definitely notice the difference between MSAA off and maxed. I agree the difference in image quality isn't as big as say High -> Ultra (a smallish jump in itself) but it's still better to have it on.

 

[Rusty0611]

Make sure you overclock the hind parts off it Shawsy

 

[shawsy109]

Make sure you overclock the hind parts off it Shawsy

Lol im not really clued up when it comes to overclocking, i just use overdrive in CCC or trixx/afterburner. I dont mess with voltages or bios stuff, to scared id brick it and lose that money.

 

[Surveyor]

Yeah I have the same feeling, the prices of the sapphire 7970 oc version is a very very tempting offer. need the stand first though, then to save again for the card. Thats about 3 weeks away id say, so hopefully some nice price drops should be around plus the 10% discount i hope.

Assuming you're talking about the Facebook 10% discount then it's only valid for 10 days and you can only use it once.

 

[shawsy109]

Assuming you're talking about the Facebook 10% discount then it's only valid for 10 days and you can only use it once.

10 days :O

now im sad. Oh well, full price it is. Just to throw a spanner in the works though guys. Ive been looking at benches of 5760x1080 gaming. with 7970 v gtx590 v 6990. From those benches i looked at (just a quick search) the 590 and 6990 beat the 7970 quite easily with settings very high. Would a 590 or 6990 be worth looking at?