Discussion On The ATI Radeon 5*** Series Before They Have Been Released Thread

[AWBbox]

Am I the only one who actually likes the look of the heatsink on the cards? It looks somewhere between the batmobile some sort of lazer pistol! So awesome! I hope they can fit all the x2's bits in the same space. Any longer than a foot and that GPU wouldn't fit in my case

 

[=VTA=MANFACE]

Well, I have two 24" monitors. Just bought the HP, got a dell, think I'll get another dell to make the trio. Nice one ATI.

 

[hudson86]

Multi Monitors are nothing new, but actually in a properly usable format like that they are currently exceedingly limited, you basically have the option of Matrox TripleHead2Go (which is ~£150, and only supports 3x 1680x1050) or SoftTH which is software that requires tweaking and also has a substantial performance hit over the hardware version.

Eyefinity gives the flexibility of SoftTH but with no performance drop, and that is a big chunk better than anything else available.

I think you'll also find that the majority of sim gamers (Racing and Flight especially) either would love to have multi-monitor, and in the case of quite a few already run it with either of the two options above, and are looking forward to doing it all within the graphics card.

It'll also benefit quite a few other games as well, although some (like FPS, and Racing sims for that matter) wouldn't really suit a 3x2 setup like they show, but 3x1 or even 5x1 would be awesome...

Of course 3x3 would be best for an FPS

I'm with you there, i've just moved to multi monitors for Iracing via Softth on 3 x 22 inch and the fps / resolution drop is a pain, but the overall effect is very effective, bezels or not. Just from forum posts i believe many people in Iracing run triple monitors via softth or triplehead2go ( bye bye matrox by the way ) and am sure many more would if the technology was less finicky and available on their graphics card.

I'm almost desperate to get hold of one of these cards and for the 1st time happy to pay silly release prices.

 

[skippy2421]

I too think multi monitor gaming will take off. Although it is very much restricted to driving/flight sims at the moment i feel there could be lots of avenues into other areas of the market. If implemented properly i think these new cards could also raise the adoption rate of multiple monitor setups. It'd also be nice if you had the option of running it not as one big screen but as various windows within the game. For example in RTS games have a different view on each screen so you don't have to flick around the map. You can then watch multiple battles and see your base at the same time. I believe supreme commander already has a very basic implementation of this with it's dual screen option. I'm sure uses for this could be found across all games providing this new tech is flexible enough. I'd love to see what they end up doing with this.

 

[Ease]

Ditto! I've had dual-screen for a while now, and have been waiting for a viable way of using more. I think 5x1 or even just 3x1 would be great, and a lot more immersive. In fact, there's a number of games where the lack of peripheral vision really bugged me.

 

[md99]

Jesus wept. I went to bed last night hoping we'd have some news this morning and all we've still got is this multi screen rubbish

Not a happy camper.

 

[Andrew_McP]

I'm almost desperate to get hold of one of these cards and for the 1st time happy to pay silly release prices.

I confess to sharing this excitement. Until about half an hour ago I was looking at a GTX295 to push my Triplehead framerates higher. After half an hour in this thread and associated links I am *very* excited by the prospect of a more powerful, and flexible solution via a vid card with very impressively low power (and therefore heat) requirements.

I dip in an out of iRacing (one day I love it, the next I hate it!), but for this and other sims the new generation of ATI cards look surprisingly attractive. Perhaps this will be the new '9700Pro' in that it becomes the only card on any serious gamer's shopping list for a while.

Interesting stuff. Can't wait for release and some proper reviews. It's all too easy to get carried away by previews, only to be disappointed.

Andrew McP

 

[Andrew_McP]

all we've still got is this multi screen rubbish

The multi-screen 'rubbish' is exciting whether you want it or not. It displays the massive power these cards have. So no need to be grumpy!

Andrew McP

 

[Andrew_McP]

I too think multi monitor gaming will take off.

I didn't take it seriously until earlier this year when I experimented with two monitors on my Nvidia vid card (it's very easy to set up, anyone can try it). That immediately showed me the amazing potential, and I simmed/gamed for a while with the bezel down the middle. You can learn to ignore it if you want to.

However I soon spent money (£220!) on a Triplehead box and then three cheap monitors (3 x £117, which is only about half the money I spent on my first 17" CRT 14 years ago!)

It looks like the cheaper AMD card may be powerful enough to satisfactorily drive a three monitor setup at decent settings, and that -- if priced attractively -- could really open the doors for many people to get into multi-screen gaming.

And you really cannot underestimate the amazing effect that true widescreen gaming offers. A single big screen cannot match it in any way, because all it does is blow up the normal image to a larger size. With two+ screens you're in a totally different visual world.

I try to keep my spending on tight reins, as it's far too easy to waste money with this hobby. But I haven't regretted any of the money I've spent on my three screen setup, and would recommend it to anyone... especially those into flight or driving sims. It's the best money I've ever spent on my PC, and this generation of AMD cards *might* be about to offer that at a much more attractive price.

Fingers crossed!

Andrew McP

 

[londonbairn]

It does look like a cool feature, if the performance is truly what the rumours say then wow...definately buying one or two!

 

[Dazboots]

I too think multi monitor gaming will take off. Although it is very much restricted to driving/flight sims at the moment i feel there could be lots of avenues into other areas of the market. If implemented properly i think these new cards could also raise the adoption rate of multiple monitor setups. It'd also be nice if you had the option of running it not as one big screen but as various windows within the game. For example in RTS games have a different view on each screen so you don't have to flick around the map. You can then watch multiple battles and see your base at the same time. I believe supreme commander already has a very basic implementation of this with it's dual screen option. I'm sure uses for this could be found across all games providing this new tech is flexible enough. I'd love to see what they end up doing with this.

multi screen gaming is cool for mmo world of warcraft is much better on 3 screens.

 

[SfnX]

the only drawback i have about multimonitor will be the price, if u want this 6 screen eyefinity to its full potential then about £200ish x6 = over £1200, yowch thats a bit too much for me, il stick to buying a 28inch thanks
But im still very interested and would love to give it a try, tf2 style!

 

[ray liotta]

Eh do some people actually read what is posted

I put up a article yesterday around 6pm, say the launch was tomorrow(today now), it clearly stated that several times, it also said bits & bobs had been leaked on the net(I.E what you are all banging on about) but the launch is tomorrow and will know more by tomorrow.

So.....

1) Why are people moaning?
2) Why are people sitting up all night waiting for news
3) the time differences mean any info from the launch tonight will not hit us till im guessing around 3am, which will be Saturday by then for us.

No event will be held at 10am, or even in day time, it will be a evening event, which time wise means around 3am for us.

So check back later tonight/tomorrow morning after this event, and im sure we wil know more. Or you could just carry on moaning

At least we know the date of the launch, which for one im glad about, and it aint 2 months off. Just over 2 weeks is nothing. So be happy

 

[Biffa]

I think we also know that in order to play these games at these resolutions with good fps means that the card is a monster.

 

[SfnX]

imagine the 295gtx with 6 monitors, rofl itd be unplayable

 

[skippy2421]

I think we also know that in order to play these games at these resolutions with good fps means that the card is a monster.

Do we know which card/cards they were using for these displays?

 

[glowball]

Multi monitors etc...

Personally I would be more than happy with a pair of wrap around OLED glasses that track your heads movement... (all the better if they were 3D) compared to these huge displays costing so much and taking up so much space.
Different if you want to impress all your mates together though or you have a small manhood.

 

[Winnter]

so i take it that my PSU (HX520) will not be enough to run it lol

 

[Fenris]

Do we know which card/cards they were using for these displays?

5870's, I think X-fire for 6 and quadfire for the 18.

I think.

so i take it that my PSU (HX520) will not be enough to run it lol

Should be, as far as we have seen from the requirements (assuming they are true) it's hardly power hungry.

 

[magnuswinwick]

Do we know which card/cards they were using for these displays?

I believe it's a 5870 2GB running the six monitor setups, as they say that feature won't be available for a few weeks.