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Tri monitor for gaming help

CraigT76

CraigT76

CraigT76

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Joined
10 Jan 2010
Posts
94
Location
Wolverhampton
Hi ,

I am trying to setup 3 monitors for gaming

My current setup is as follows:

I7 930 CPU
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5
1 X BFG OC2 GTX 285

1 X DELL MONITOR 1680 X 1050 RES AS MAIN CENTRE MONITOR
2 X HP MONITORS EITHER SIDE MAX RES 1280X1024

Can someone tell me how i setup for 3 monitor gaming is it just a case of I buy another nvidia card of lower spec than the one I have or do I have to buy another card of the same spec and run them in SLI?

And if I wanted to SLI would i need to buy a GTX 285 of the same speed as I cant seem to see any OC2 cards on OC anymore or could I just SLI any other GTX 285?

Also because the 2 side monitors have a lower res to my main monitor does this mean my main monitor would be restricted to the lower res as well?

Any help/input on this would be very much appreaciated.

Thanks ;)
 
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You can't do tri monitor gaming (game displayed on all 3 screens) on Nvidia cards, you need an ATI Eyfinity car for that, or a Matrox triple head card.
 
^^ What he said Fermi brought Nvidia 3d Surround with it and the driver supports the 2 series too now.

But with Nvidia you will need 2 identical cards i believe, however if you was to get an ATI you could run 3 screens via one card.

However with your monitor setup it would reduce your dells resolution to that of HP monitors.

Hope this helps you make your decision also beware if you go down the ATI route you will also need an active display port to DVI adapter unless of course at least one of your monitors has native Display port.
 
Thanks for the replies ;)

I have been looking at this card:
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 5870 PCS+ "CODMW2 Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [AX5870 1GBD5-PPDHG]

And getting two of these to go with my dell monitor:
Acer P235HBbd 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor [ET.VP5HE.B02]

with this:
Sapphire Active DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter [44000-00-40R]

Is this all I need? Also how would the 5870 compare to my GTX285 OC2?

Thanks again for the input ;)
 
You need the new 256+ drivers from nVidia for multi monitor 3D on 200 series cards... which are supposed to be out this week but when they actually get released is another matter.
 
CraigT76 said:
Thanks for the replies ;)

I have been looking at this card:
Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 5870 PCS+ "CODMW2 Edition" 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [AX5870 1GBD5-PPDHG]

And getting two of these to go with my dell monitor:
Acer P235HBbd 23" Widescreen LCD Monitor [ET.VP5HE.B02]

with this:
Sapphire Active DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter [44000-00-40R]

Is this all I need? Also how would the 5870 compare to my GTX285 OC2?

Thanks again for the input ;)
Click to expand...

The 5870 should be a fair amount faster than a 285, however I would suggest you get a 5850 and clock it to 5870 speeds (which all 5850s can do) and you'll get identical performance.

Two additional monitors and a DP adapter is all you'd need after that.
 
Also consider Triple Head 2 Go which has been around far longer than the ATI option and could use some or all of your current hardware.

The nice shiney ATI option is all well and good.... and I put my hand up now.... that's the option that I have gone for ...

ONE problem..... I've got a huge nice 5970 and 3 x 24" screens........ NO Sapphire Adaptor!!!!! I've been on the waiting list for almost 2 months now!!!! the adaptors are like hens teeth at the mo :(
 
Essexraptor said:
Also consider Triple Head 2 Go which has been around far longer than the ATI option and could use some or all of your current hardware.

The nice shiney ATI option is all well and good.... and I put my hand up now.... that's the option that I have gone for ...

ONE problem..... I've got a huge nice 5970 and 3 x 24" screens........ NO Sapphire Adaptor!!!!! I've been on the waiting list for almost 2 months now!!!! the adaptors are like hens teeth at the mo :(
Click to expand...

I know :( I went to OC today to buy 2x new monitors, 2 x 5850 cards and a active displayport adaptor but I walked away with nothing as they had no adaptors in stock :(

I have seacrhed the net high & low and I cant find any instock anywhere so I guess I will just have to wait to buy my hardware until I can get my hands on an adaptor

As for triple head I think it only works on certain games like ARMA2 ect but I want it to work on BFBC2, COD MW2, L4D2 so I guess I am limited to the active adaptor way and ATI
 
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The TH2GO was just a alternative suggestion. I'm tied into the waiting list now but a search I did an hour ago did throw up 1 supplier that had stock in 2 - 3 days???? so perhaps deliveries are due in Europe shortly. It may be worth keeping an eye on the OCuK site this coming week to see if they come in! OH please !!!!! lol :)
 
Essexraptor said:
The TH2GO was just a alternative suggestion. I'm tied into the waiting list now but a search I did an hour ago did throw up 1 supplier that had stock in 2 - 3 days???? so perhaps deliveries are due in Europe shortly. It may be worth keeping an eye on the OCuK site this coming week to see if they come in! OH please !!!!! lol :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up ;) fingers crossed eh :D
 
TripleHead2Go will work with all the games that Eyefinity does and more (as TH2Go comes with a patcher for some older games). Still if your going to be buy new card and monitors, I would suggest sticking with Eyefinity and a display port monitor for the addition resolution support. If you aleady have gear and want minimal outlay then TH2Go is fine.
 
I have managed to find a couple of places that have stock of the StarTech DisplayPort to DVI Dual Link Active Converter USB Powered

Are these as good as the saphire? and will they do the job?
 
CraigT76 said:
I have managed to find a couple of places that have stock of the StarTech DisplayPort to DVI Dual Link Active Converter USB Powered

Are these as good as the saphire? and will they do the job?
Click to expand...

yeah it turns out all the active adaptors are actually made by the same company and then rebranded lol

so yeah go for it
 
Essexraptor said:
ONE problem..... I've got a huge nice 5970 and 3 x 24" screens........ NO Sapphire Adaptor!!!!! I've been on the waiting list for almost 2 months now!!!! the adaptors are like hens teeth at the mo :(
Click to expand...

You could have got one of those ages ago. There is another reputable seller that rhymes with bell.
They sell the same adapter as the sapphire one but with a different sticker on it.
I've been using it happily for ages now, the adapter that is.
 
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Spazzfish said:
You could have got one of those ages ago. There is another reputable seller that rhymes with bell.
They sell the same adapter as the sapphire one but with a different sticker on it.
I've been using it happily for ages now, the adapter that is.
Click to expand...


doh!...... now I'm depressed
 
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