3 monitor or 30" 1600p ?

andybird123 · 3 May 2012 at 11:16

so I'm looking at improving the state of my monitor setup and I can't decide whether to go for 3 x 27" 1080p monitors or a single 2560x1600 30"

I won't be sitting right close to them if I get 3 x 27" so pixel pitch isn't so much of an issue but obviously I would need to run AA, where as I would probably sit closer to the 30" to take advantage of the higher pixel density

has anyone seen both a high res single screen and a surround setup and which would you prefer

I would prefer to hear from people that have actually tried both.

I guess my only other option would be to buy the 3 monitors and try it and if I don't like it then send them back and get the single 1600p...

FrankJH · 3 May 2012 at 13:33

I have a 30" Dell, and its probably the best single monitor I have ever used (and believe me Ive used a few since my first pc in '94

)

Mainly using it for my ps3 at the moment, but I know it can look a lot better

However my ideal choice would be 3*27" Dell's in portrait mode (but it would need a huge pc upgrade to have the horsepower to do this lol)

As your choice is 1080p monitors it makes it more difficult to decide - but the main thing you have to consider with a triple setup is whether the bezel's of each monitor will bother you

cmndr_andi · 3 May 2012 at 13:40

I haven't had experience with a 27in eyefinity setup - however I have used a 30in 2560x1600 before and I would personally go for one of those. It is just so big and the image is such high quality (both due to the high pixel density and IPS panel) it is simply a pleasure to use.

In comparison a 27in TN panel 1080p eyefinity setup has more pixels in total and more area to look at - however each of the individual panels is lower quality than the IPS 30in due to the differences in pixel density and panel type, also you have the issue with the bezels and images stretching on the side screens in some games.

For this reason I would recommend going for a nice quality 30in with a good warranty. If you change your mind - it is a lot easier to DSR a single 30in than it is three 27in.

Mr. May · 3 May 2012 at 17:10

I went from 3x 1080 landscape to 1x 2560x1440 monitor best move i have ever made.

Its all about the pixels per inch gives you such clarity and isp monitors are second to None 100% worth the premium.

Also you need less gpu power for the single screen set up so allows you to play more games at higher settings as 3x1080 with no AA looks very poor in my eyes no matter how far away you are, as the side monitors arnt really designed to be looked at just extra vision.

andybird123 · 6 May 2012 at 10:31

obviously I would upgrade to whatever graphics card setup I needed, I would be tempted to try 680-SLI as I have one already but 4GB cards would also be an option at a later date (e.g. around christmas time) depending on what is available by then

Mr. May - did you find the peripheral vision type effect useful with 3 monitors at all in FPS' or was it simply not worth it compared with the higher pixel density of the 1440?
are you saying that you didn't like the 3 monitors because it led to you needing to turn down AA?

old gamer · 6 May 2012 at 12:18

Ive just ditched eyefinity,after the novelty wears off you relise when gaming your mostly only looking at the center screen and it starts to feel a bit of a waste of time and effert