Struggling w/ Eyefinity decision: get 3 new monitors or 1 more unmatched?

KatanaDV20

KatanaDV20

KatanaDV20

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I wonder if any of you lot on here faced a similar decision...I could do with some advice on how to proceed as this is *eating my brain* and I just want to get it sorted in the next week :eek:

I want a 3-display Eyefinity setup. I already have 2 excellent 20" Philips monitors (1050 X 1680). These monitors are now out of production and finding that rez in a new monitors in that size (20") is really hard.

But at last I found one - its a Dell 20" @ 1050 X 1680

So I can order that and it will sit between the Philips and its happy days. But heres where it gets hard.

I *CAN* afford 3 new monitors in the 23" size and Ive spotted some great prices on nice LG and Samsung ones out there. However they are all at HD rez.

1. Shall I bite the bullet and sell of my *supremely reliable and flawless* Philips displays and get 3 new matched displays?
2. Or should I keep em and just add the new Dell?
3. If I do go for 3 new 23" HD displays - is it asking too much of a HD5850 to push 6,220,800 pixels? (total pixel count with three 1920 X 1080 monitors)

:rolleyes:

Total pixels by adding the Dell would come to 5,292,000. So going HD would hand the graphics card 928,800 extra pixels to push and while its a decently powerful card it is not a stonking monster machine like the higher spec 5000 series and I worry about gaming performance.

Would totally like to see what you all have to suggest...and if youre running a 5850 on 3 HD displays on Eyefinity do share what your performance has been like gaming and such.

Thanx guys...
 
if u just add another mon then yes the 5850 is fine but if your going for 3 1080p mons then i suggest you upgrade your gfx card too and erm u need the new mon to have a display port btw :)
 
Thanks for the reply!....good reminder about D'Port...

erm u need the new mon to have a display port btw
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Other Eyefinity users on these forums mentioned that getting a cheap DisplayPort--->VGA adapter works as well?

This would have course mean 2 displays being fed thru DVI and the 3rd giving VGA but from what I hear its near impossible to tell by looking at the displays.
 
Yup, that is correct, DP -> VGA works just fine. You mean 1680 x 1050 and not the other way round right?
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Thanks for verifying that mate :) And yea 1680 X 1050! Need to follow convention i keep forgetting!
 
seems a shame to lose the option to have 1920 resolution and if u buy that Dell you will lose the chance. You could buy 3 new and if the 5850 struggles could you turn the resolution down until you can replace it ?
My active display port cost £ 30 and works well, but I have similiar resolution problems trying to match a couple of older monitors.
 
seems a shame to lose the option to have 1920 resolution and if u buy that Dell you will lose the chance. You could buy 3 new and if the 5850 struggles could you turn the resolution down until you can replace it ?
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Yea those are the thoughts runnin thru my head but admittedly Im not THAT fussed about a HD rez....and besides in Eyefinity mode i essentially have one big screen...flight sim already looks wicked on just two screens....a third will transform it. Also wouldnt games look blurry if not at the screens native rez?

Now having said that is hard to ignore that yes...would be REALLY nice to have a higher rez but ive found out to my shock I just wont be able to upgrade this card (i only just got it) because my case physically cannot accomodate a larger one. Even this one was a tight squeeze!!! And graphics cards seem to get longer with each year. This HD5850 I have is 305mm long and it *barely* made it into the slots. Future cards will surely be longer. An option of course is to go X-Fire but that idea has never appealed to me. Might not have a choice unless I get a new machine.

I suppose I could get 3 news ones and if the 5850 struggles I kill Eyefinity and game on one monitor for that particular game....but that would be silly.....I got a feeling i wouldnt have to do that on a l 1680 X 1050 rez.

Thanks for your input...I have to admit new monitors are very tempting :) The bonus if I decide not to get them now is that the next gen of displays will be slimmer, have thinner bezels as Eyefinity use grows etc. So maybe THATS the time to go higher rez.
 
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KatanaDV20 said:
Yea those are the thoughts runnin thru my head but admittedly Im not THAT fussed about a HD rez....and besides in Eyefinity mode i essentially have one big screen...flight sim already looks wicked on just two screens....a third will transform it. Also wouldnt games look blurry if not at the screens native rez?

Now having said that is hard to ignore that yes...would be REALLY nice to have a higher rez but ive found out to my shock I just wont be able to upgrade this card (i only just got it) because my case physically cannot accomodate a larger one. Even this one was a tight squeeze!!! And graphics cards seem to get longer with each year. This HD5850 I have is 305mm long and it *barely* made it into the slots. Future cards will surely be longer. An option of course is to go X-Fire but that idea has never appealed to me. Might not have a choice unless I get a new machine.

I suppose I could get 3 news ones and if the 5850 struggles I kill Eyefinity and game on one monitor for that particular game....but that would be silly.....I got a feeling i wouldnt have to do that on a l 1680 X 1050 rez.

Thanks for your input...I have to admit new monitors are very tempting :) The bonus if I decide not to get them now is that the next gen of displays will be slimmer, have thinner bezels as Eyefinity use grows etc. So maybe THATS the time to go higher rez.
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good point iam just about to make the splash on 3 24 benq leds but with them being led i should not lose they value quickly
 
good point iam just about to make the splash on 3 24 benq leds but with them being led i should not lose they value quickly
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That is gonna look spectacular....post an informal review if you can when you've used em for a bit :)
 
timciren said:
Katana,
could you crossfire another 5850 sometime?
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Interesting question :cool: but get this: when I got this 5850 I opened up my case and prepared to fit the card. After removing the old card I decided the new one could move down to the next PCI-E slot...but...suprisingly....if fitted into that slot it will not align with the back of the case....the metal backplate of the card will not align! Its at an angle! So I had to put it into the other slot.

What this means is that even though I have another slot available for another card - it just wont work - i wont be able to fit it :confused:

Assuming I could...would my PSU be up to the job of powering two 5850s?
 
3 identical is more aesthetically pleasing to look at but to play with i doubt u'd notice a difference. Ur 5850 will be OK at 5040 but would struggle at 5760 tbh. It is tough choice tho as i think i would want the identical monitors but then u will also need to buy a second 5850 (and "adjust" the back of ur case) 750W will be fine.

Choice comes down to money - (1) 1 new monitor no gfx upgrade is obviously cheaper than (2) selling ur current monitors and getting 3 more and then finding u need another 5850 to fully enjoy Eyefinity at 5760.

Also to fully appreciate Eyefinity get ur CPU overclocked and add another 3GB of RAM.
 
3 identical is more aesthetically pleasing to look at but to play with i doubt u'd notice a difference. Ur 5850 will be OK at 5040 but would struggle at 5760 tbh.
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Yes after agonizing over this for literally weeks and weeks Ive decided that 3 new HD screens will be too much for this 5850 to handle and you make a good point - once you start playing the similarity of the physical structure of the screens aint that important.

Although I have to say I got lucky - the Dell I found has 99.9% of the physical dimensions of the 2 Philips screens. Even the pixel pitch is identical. The frame is just a little higher than the Philips...Im talking like 2.5mm or something! Well...it gets ordered this week along with a DisplayPort-->VGA adapter!

I hear ya on the upgrade...another year to go on this computers warranty...after that I will look at overclocking and such. Although I guess I can fit 6GB RAM before that! Finding it hard to find an exact match for my G.Skill chips though :(
 
no harm in overclocking it if u follow the guides on these forums. if u had to send something back I dont think it's possible to tell if the chip was overclocked. Not heard of anyone RMAing a CPU actually.
 
once its set up, I am sure it will keep u happy for a couple of years !

I have a 28" 1920*1200 centre monitor, but all the new cheapish ones are 1980* 1080
and I already have 2 1280* 1024 monitors in my loft...
 
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