20/30/30 Setup. Have GTX 285, advice?

D

DATAstrm

n00b
Joined
Oct 31, 2006
Messages
25
Hi Guys,

Just ordered 2x 2007fps to flank my 3007wfp.

I'm currently using a gtx285 to drive the 30", which is fine for my needs. I'm not looking to play games on all 3 screens (using the side screens for non game stuff while in-game). If i were to try it, i know xfinity won't work with the 20's in portrait.

My question is:, what's the best way to get the third monitor up and running? I don't have any spare slots other than regular pci.

Hows the 8400gs for the third monitor? The gtx285 I have can only drive 2 monitors correct?

If anyone has experience with a similar setup please let me know. I'm worried about lag when moving stuff between screens--specifically lag on the third screen (that's connected to the new video card)

Any advice appreciated! (will post setup in that 5 year old thread when i'm done =D)
 
the 285 can only do 2 monitors....a PCI video card would probably work fine w/o lag, but drivers may be an issue
 
lol, yeah... good luck not frying the board with that
 
The average non-computer savvy person would screw themselves in an atempt at this and you know it.
 
Actually that was what I was suggesting, after reading some descriptions of ppl doing it.

Anyone have experience with this?

With all the crazy setups here, i'm sure someone has some more experience with getting their third monitor going (without multiple pciex16 slots)
 
jimbean21 said:
The average non-computer savvy person would screw themselves in an atempt at this and you know it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, sorry, I just assumed that someone with a high end gaming computer with a triple monitor setup, who also seemed to have a pretty good amount of knowledge about computer....would be "non-computer savvy"

This isn't yahoo answers. I'm saving the man some money, for a pretty simple task, i'm not sure what you're so worked up about.


Also, if you are worried about killing the motherboard, you can also cut the video card, since it seems like an unused card.
 
Why don't you just buy a cheap 9600 gt.

If I was you, I would buy a used GTX 285 and use SLI when I needed to, and turn it off when not needed.

Personally, I have the same 20-30-20 setup; I use two gtx 480s and turn SLI on when I need to, and the rest of the time I have all 3 monitors on. Works fantastic and its the best of both worlds.
 
Why not try one of those usb display adapters?
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Eyefinity doesn't work with this setup, the resolution has to be the same for all the monitors. Also, he would need to pick up a displayport adapter to get the AMD card to work with his three monitors.
 
Well if you are stuck to a regular PCI then This or This

If you have a PCI 1x to spare then This should do, or if you have the cash to spare This.

I only offered NV solutions here because I dont like mixing video drivers, always seems to have something screw up. Also though to be honest since you have that 7k series sitting around modding the slot is easy.. Your literally cutting away the material at the back of the slot.. Just dont do it with anything on. I have actually seen some pcie 1x & 4x slots come with nothing at the back so you could use higher cards.
Modding the slot is what I would do since it should be free & if not & you do by chance fuck something up you can spend the money on a motherboard with 2x PCIe slots instead.
 
kuyaglen said:
Why not try one of those usb display adapters?
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
Click to expand...
USB2 adapters have 1/3rd the bandwidth of a classic PCI slot, they lag noticably even for general desktop application use, while a standard PCI slot has enough BW for just about anything short of full screen video. A 1x PCIe1.0 slot isn't much better than a PCI slot. The 1.0 spec has 125MB/sec in each direction per lane, while PCI shares 133MB/sec (combined up/down) between all devices; however newer mobos don't attach much to the PCI bus any more. Your PATA and Firewire controllers will be on it, and maybe your audio if your board isn't using the controller in the southbridge (just a guessing, I'm not sure where its attached) but that's about it. Gigabit ethernet normally is on PCIe because it would kill the PCIbus for anything else.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

I ended up getting a pci card (35 bucks) since the pciex1 cards all seem to be double or more.

I thought about modding the 7 series card but being in an apt, I don't have the tools that can cut PCB.

Hope it doesn't lag! Will post some pics of my setup in the monitor thread when I'm through =D
 
I hope it all works out for u. It may be a good point in time to sell the 285 at a good price to move on to next gen that can support 3 monitors at once. It's what I plan on doing in the very near future.
 
Just to be clear, the AMD cards WILL support 20 30 20. It just will not support Eyefinity.

Specifically, you cannot game across 3 screens, but you can game on the centre screens and keep the side panels on for other stuff.

I know for a fact that this works on a 5870.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top