So, earlier last year, I realized you could build a triple-screen gaming/graphics PC for $983 (after tax). On it, I can run all at the same time: Unreal Tournament 3 (60-90fps at max settings, measured on one screen only), 3d Studio Max, Photoshop, and Firefox with 4 windows and 30 tabs open, without any slowdown. (most other games run at an average of 60-90fps at max settings/resolution (one screen tested only, no AA), with Crysis a little slower, around 30fps at medium settings. The triple-screen gaming mode, Eyefinity, reduces performance by a random range between 10-50%, depending entirely on which game it is)
I featured the comp in a video that I made for my article on Macs, (which got featured on ZDNet, if anyone noticed).
The video isn't about how to build the PC or anything... Since it's for the article, the point is just to show what, exactly, you can build nowadays, for less than the price of the cheapest iMac. (excluding the Mac Mini)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUOMk9CBtvM
Note: Keyboard/mouse normally go in front of the middle screen. This setup was for photography studio work and just seeing if I could build this (ie, only occasional use), hence my not caring much about layout. (I recommend a layout more like this or this)
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How the computer was built (in early 2010):
(update: there's also a proper page for this now, with a hypothetical 2011 build drawn out)
Compaq CQ5320F tower: $300 (was on sale from $400)
(Athlon II X2 240 (equivalent of 6400+ dual-core, less power-consumption) 3gb RAM, 500gb Hard Drive)
3x HP 2009m 20” (or HP 2010i): $360 ($120 each, after rebates)
ATI Radeon HD 5670, 1GB: $135 (is now $80)
Altec Lansing Speakers: $30
HDMI to DVI Adapter: $10
Total: $983
(after tax, and shipping for adapter)
To do this without using ATI's Eyefinity mode (for triple-screen gaming), you actually mix nVidia and ATI video (!)... nothing fancy involved; you just plug 2 screens into the ATI video card, and the third into the onboard nVidia. Works without a hitch. (to have games use the correct GPU, you just make sure the BIOS has the right video card set to primary, which, if you know what you're looking for, is easy as cheese)
If you want to use ATI's Eyefinity mode (which I don't use), you just add a $25 adapter, so that you can plug the third screen into the ATI card... however, doing this removes the ability to maximize windows on any given screen (because all 3 of them are literally considered one), and I use that 10x more than I would triple-screen gaming. (also, both ATI's/nVidia's triple-screen gaming modes give you stretched images on the side screens, unless you position the monitors in a perfectly straight line... which, most of the time, I think nobody is actually willing to do)
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UPDATE:There have been a few pages of debate over what kind of computer qualifies as being called a gaming beast. Some people believe that a gaming beast can ONLY be a computer of top, top of the line specs... whereas, from my angle, a beast is any computer that can take the latest games with ease, at max settings/res, with really-good-to-excellent framerate. (in other words, a system you could hand to your average serious gamer, and he'd just be good to go)
I featured the comp in a video that I made for my article on Macs, (which got featured on ZDNet, if anyone noticed).
The video isn't about how to build the PC or anything... Since it's for the article, the point is just to show what, exactly, you can build nowadays, for less than the price of the cheapest iMac. (excluding the Mac Mini)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUOMk9CBtvM
Note: Keyboard/mouse normally go in front of the middle screen. This setup was for photography studio work and just seeing if I could build this (ie, only occasional use), hence my not caring much about layout. (I recommend a layout more like this or this)
------------
How the computer was built (in early 2010):
(update: there's also a proper page for this now, with a hypothetical 2011 build drawn out)
Compaq CQ5320F tower: $300 (was on sale from $400)
(Athlon II X2 240 (equivalent of 6400+ dual-core, less power-consumption) 3gb RAM, 500gb Hard Drive)
3x HP 2009m 20” (or HP 2010i): $360 ($120 each, after rebates)
ATI Radeon HD 5670, 1GB: $135 (is now $80)
Altec Lansing Speakers: $30
HDMI to DVI Adapter: $10
Total: $983
(after tax, and shipping for adapter)
To do this without using ATI's Eyefinity mode (for triple-screen gaming), you actually mix nVidia and ATI video (!)... nothing fancy involved; you just plug 2 screens into the ATI video card, and the third into the onboard nVidia. Works without a hitch. (to have games use the correct GPU, you just make sure the BIOS has the right video card set to primary, which, if you know what you're looking for, is easy as cheese)
If you want to use ATI's Eyefinity mode (which I don't use), you just add a $25 adapter, so that you can plug the third screen into the ATI card... however, doing this removes the ability to maximize windows on any given screen (because all 3 of them are literally considered one), and I use that 10x more than I would triple-screen gaming. (also, both ATI's/nVidia's triple-screen gaming modes give you stretched images on the side screens, unless you position the monitors in a perfectly straight line... which, most of the time, I think nobody is actually willing to do)
------
UPDATE:There have been a few pages of debate over what kind of computer qualifies as being called a gaming beast. Some people believe that a gaming beast can ONLY be a computer of top, top of the line specs... whereas, from my angle, a beast is any computer that can take the latest games with ease, at max settings/res, with really-good-to-excellent framerate. (in other words, a system you could hand to your average serious gamer, and he'd just be good to go)
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