Help choose me 3 x 23"/24" TFTs for Eyefinity

glenimp617 · 30 Apr 2012 at 09:43

Hi all,

usually I'm really good at giving people advice, but when it comes to spending my own money I'm stuck

Had no end of monitors over the past six months, but want to try with an eyefinity setup. Ideally needs to have the vesa mounts at the back so I can buy a triple stand (rather than buy a wider desk).

Looked at the Benq 24" on this week only, but although a great monitor for the money I think the weird bottom lip would annoy me when I have three side by side.

Budget is around the £150 mark for each one unless someone can convince me there's a bargin to be had by spending a little extra.

To be honest the dell 16:10 panel looks good but it's £230 each so a little too expensive I think.

The big question, is do I need an expensive £75 active DP adapter for eyefinity or would a cheap DP > DVI cable work? If I need the £75 adapter that needs taking into account (especially when the dell has a DP port on the adapter).

Running a 7850 @ 1150 (and intend to buy another for crossfire)

Thanks!!

cmndr_andi · 30 Apr 2012 at 09:55

Hi there,

If you go with 1920x1200 or less resolution monitors then you can happily use the cheaper active mini-DP to DVI (single link) adapers like this one.

As for which monitors to go for- depending on what kind of games you like then I would either go with a nice 24in TN panel monitor or a 23in E-IPS panel monitor.

The 24in TN I would go for is this one. It is a highly regarded gaming monitor and has VESA holes on the back.

The 23in IPS I would go for is this one. While not as responsive as the TN panel above, this Dell is know to have a well controlled overdrive impulse meaning decent response times (for an IPS), VESA holes (under the removable stand connection), rather good performance in games and excellent viewing angles/colour accuracy. This monitor also has a native displayport input - so means you just need a passive mini-DP to DP cable/adapter instead of an active mini-DP to DVI adapter.

glenimp617 · 30 Apr 2012 at 10:02

Thanks very much

Just thinking

3 x Benq 24" = £360 + £50 adapters = £410

3 x Ilyama 24" = £450 + £50 adapters = £500

3 x Dell 23" = £570 + £20 cables = £590

3 x Dell 24" 16:10 = £690 + £20 cables = £710

Money talks at the end of the day

cmndr_andi · 30 Apr 2012 at 10:12

To be clear - for the non-displayport monitors you can plug one into the native DVI port and one into the HDMI port (using a passive cable like this or a cheap adapter like this plus a HDMI cable). For the iiyama (which has a native HDMI port) then you will just need a standard HDMI cable with this second connection.

This means for the non-DP monitors you will only need one active mini-DP to DVI adapter for the eyefinity setup.

As for the mini-DP to DP cables, you should find some for ~£6 each if you look for "StarTech.com Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort Adapter Cable - Video/Audio Cable - Mini-DisplayPort (M) - 20 pin DisplayPort (M) - 1.8 m - Latched".

glenimp617 · 30 Apr 2012 at 11:29

Thanks very much, I appreciate it

Just seen the 23" LG IPS Panel. £119.50 each, nice metal casing and bezel looks quite thin.

Would 3 x 23" IPS be better than 3 x 24" TN?

£119.50 would be a bargin to be honest

cmndr_andi · 30 Apr 2012 at 11:34

The issue with the cheaper 23in IPS monitors is that they don't handle motion as well as the Dells (since they either don't implement RTC/overdrive very well or at all -so you see more ghosting during motion). Therefore, if you are going to spend this amount of money on monitors and plan to play games on them then I wouldn't go for this cheap IPS option.

Yes, I would personally say that 23in IPS is better than a 24in TN, mainly due to the better image quality of the IPS. Also, if you go with the Dell then you can even rotate the monitors to portrait mode - for a pretty epic eyefinity arrangement.