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3 monitors, which GC?

pitchie

pitchie

pitchie

Associate
Joined
19 May 2008
Posts
8
Morning all.

I'm looking to upgrade my current setup:

2 x 19" Widescreen V7 Monitors
1 x 19" 4:3 Monitor
1 x GeForce 9400GT 1GB
1 x GeForce 8500GS 512MB

(It's sort of been pieced together over time.)

I want to run 3 x 22" monitors at 1080. I'm in the process on picking the monitors but really have no idea which graphics card to go for. Can anyone recommend something that'll do the job?

They're mainly for software development work but I like to have a bash on the new Need for Speed every now and again! :) Can you just use the once card nowadays or will 2 still be required? Graphics cards are a real minefield to me and I really don't know what I'm looking at.

Thanks in advance,
Paul.
 
Only ATI cards can do 3 monitors from 1 graphics card. NVidia you need 2.

Something like this :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-149-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1515

will give you greatly increased gaming performance over what you have now.

But if that's a bit expensive you could go further down the range and still have 3 monitors.
Obviously, you have to check the connectors and use converters if your mointors are on different connection types.
 
pitchie said:
Morning all.

I'm looking to upgrade my current setup:

2 x 19" Widescreen V7 Monitors
1 x 19" 4:3 Monitor
1 x GeForce 9400GT 1GB
1 x GeForce 8500GS 512MB

(It's sort of been pieced together over time.)

I want to run 3 x 22" monitors at 1080. I'm in the process on picking the monitors but really have no idea which graphics card to go for. Can anyone recommend something that'll do the job?

They're mainly for software development work but I like to have a bash on the new Need for Speed every now and again! :) Can you just use the once card nowadays or will 2 still be required? Graphics cards are a real minefield to me and I really don't know what I'm looking at.

Thanks in advance,
Paul.
Click to expand...

I would recommend a 6970 for running 3 monitors for gaming. 2gb of memory will make a difference. With Nvidia you still need sli for 3 screens. Ive went for this.....

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-033-BQ


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-026-HS


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-150-OK


This is what im gonna be using when my graphics card finally arrives, been waiting since release day for it! go away snow!


6950 would probably be best for yourself, £215 is a bargain for it
 
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As only £30 more but a lot more powerful than the 5770 the Msi 5850 currently @ a tad under £130 looks a really excellent deal.

Am not experienced in Eyefinity so cannot say if the card would be powerful enough to run 3 monitors although hopefully it would
 
AgedIdiot said:
As only £30 more but a lot more powerful than the 5770 the Msi 5850 currently @ a tad under £130 looks a really excellent deal.

Am not experienced in Eyefinity so cannot say if the card would be powerful enough to run 3 monitors although hopefully it would
Click to expand...

Hmmm it wouldnt be able to run the latest need for speed at very good settings but as he said its mainly for software develpment so it really depends how good you want your games to look and play. I got rid of my 5870 as I went eyefinity and wasnt convinced it would handle games at a high level on 3 screens due to the memory. Taken a lot of advice from people on here for eyefinity
 
Would I be correct in my understanding that the main problem with the 5850 ( as it was with your 5870) is not that it is not powerful enough it's just the fact that it needs more memory?
 
I don't think he intends to game across all 3 monitors with eyefinity - just to use 3 monitors for application use and game on 1 screen as normal. He said those new screens are 1080p, so I assumed 1920*1080 is the resolution we're speccing for.
Came across as a fairly casual gamer, which is why I recommended a relatively cheap 5770. Can probably make the game look very nice at that res with a few settings tweaks.
If he wants to spend more, I agree, the £125 5850 is a great bargain - In fact, mine was delivered today, though I won't be back to try it until after christmas.
Anyway, the OP has the info he needs to make a decision.
 
Thanks guys. I like the sounds of the Eyefinity. You are right Quixote in quoting that I am more of a casual gamer but for the little extra money, I like the sounds of a card that can handle the 3 monitors for dev but could also run games across 3 monitors too. That would be smart.

Can I surmise in saying that the 5850 will do the job but the 6970 would be the weapon of choice??

I better start reading those Eyefinity posts! :)

Thanks everyone.
 
If you don't mind turning down AA and other demanding settings in the most modern games, the 5850 will be fine for eyefinity gaming. If you need all the eye candy, a 6950 or 6970 would be a better bet.
 
pitchie said:
Thanks guys. I like the sounds of the Eyefinity. You are right Quixote in quoting that I am more of a casual gamer but for the little extra money, I like the sounds of a card that can handle the 3 monitors for dev but could also run games across 3 monitors too. That would be smart.

Can I surmise in saying that the 5850 will do the job but the 6970 would be the weapon of choice??

I better start reading those Eyefinity posts! :)

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

The 5850 is supprisingly capable in eyefinity, I am currently running eyefinity 1080 (5760x1080) (6000 odd x 1080 with bezel correction) on a 5850 and the racing games i play, well it handles them well enough :)
 
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