20x30x20 setup questions

A

Andyk5

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jul 27, 2011
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When people talk about the U3011 and two 2007fps's in PLP they really mean the 2007wfp right? I am assuming that you would need the wide screen one to make it work.
Also would this setup also be workable with HP 2710m 27inch 1080p as the center? Downsides are that the resolution of the monitor is much less, it is TN, its 27inch so the 2007wfp's will probably hang from the top and bottom and the bezels of the 2710m are huge, but.... I own the damn thing and U3011 is like an additional $900 expense at the moment :D
I did not purchase the 2007wfps yet and will run all of them thru a 6950. Workspace, browsing, reading pdf's while working on school papers and watching something online, or being able to do all of this at the same time is more important to me than Eyefinity gaming.
 
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People like the 20" 1600x1200 monitors beside the 30" because, when in portrait, the 1600 vertical pixels match the the 30". They also have roughly the same pixel size, so they are very close to the same height in that orientation.

So no, people are talking about the fp, not the wfp.

If you don't have a 30", you can run a very nice configuration with two side monitors in portrait and a center in landscape. it's generally referred to as a PLP setup.

A couple quick observations:

1. With portrait monitors, viewing angles matter. You can get away with a TN in landscape, but I know very few people who enjoy TN portrait.

2. 1050-1080 horizontal pixels is the functional minimum for a portrait monitor. You really want to avoid side scrolling. The standard width for most modern web sites is 960-980 pixels. With a scrollbar, you are just over a thousand pixels. You really don't want to cut it too close; if you can find a reasonably priced 1200 monitor, it's going to be better for web browsing.

3. For your use scenario, you should keep an eye out for VA monitors and cheap IPS. The new 23" NEC VA monitor has been discounted a couple places for ~240, and it would probably work well.

4. Make sure one of your monitors has displayport. Your HP may already have it, but you need at least one DP monitor if you want to run all three off one AMD card.

5. It's not [H], but you would suffer no permance drop, in your described uses, with a much weaker card than a 6950. A 5770/6770, 6850, or 6870 would have no problem pushing that many pixels, while using less power and generating less heat. I use a 5770 for 2 1080 monitors and a 2560x1440.
 
When people refer to 20-30-20 with Dell monitors they're referring to the 2007fp, not the 2007wfp. You can also use a slew of older 16:10 20" LCDs. Just look around - you can probably grab some on craigslist/ebay on the cheap.

As cvgd pointed out - the reason is to match the vertical resolution of the 30" monitor, which is 1600 pixels. If you used the 2007wfp (@ 1680x1050)- it would be longer vertically than the 30" - and would have slimmer working space horizontally - which already feels cramped to begin with at 1200 pixels wide.

Sure you can put the 27" 1080p screen in the middle - but pixel wise - it would be off - as your side monitors would have greater pixel density than the center screen. But that's just a matter of opinion - some people don't notice the difference.

I'd say you don't have to worry about your monitors having DP connections. Mini-DP to DVI (single link) adapters are very cheap.
 
Just wanted to add - PLP gaming still isn't fully supported afaik - so you might have to game in windowed mode if you wanted to span across the 3 screens. Eyefinity, again afaik, only supports matching resolution screens.
 
three4seven said:
I'd say you don't have to worry about your monitors having DP connections. Mini-DP to DVI (single link) adapters are very cheap.
Click to expand...

If you want to run three monitors off an AMD card, you still need an active adapter, still fairly expensive. The Sapphire Flex cards can run three off DVI though.
 
Wow thanks guys for the slew of information, It looks like I am going to go with the 2007fp's. Unfortunately my Hp2710m does not have a display port so I need to figure out a solution for that, but I really like the idea of the resolution matching and avoiding horizontal scrolling since it would be a pain in the ass for the amount of pages I go through each day. I wanted to go with the 6950 since I do occasional gaming I would want something decent in there for the performance. So either I am going to try to run 20x27x20 until I get the U3011, or go with two of the recommended 22 inch wide screens for a more pronounced PLP setup.
 
cvgd said:
If you want to run three monitors off an AMD card, you still need an active adapter, still fairly expensive. The Sapphire Flex cards can run three off DVI though.
Click to expand...

Yeah - but you'll need only one - and it's only ~$25 for one.

Also try finding a 1600x1200 IPS/PVA 20" LCD with a displayport - you'll find the selection to be very, very limited (I can't think of one off the top of my head that has a displayport input).
 
Andyk5 said:
Wow thanks guys for the slew of information, It looks like I am going to go with the 2007fp's. Unfortunately my Hp2710m does not have a display port so I need to figure out a solution for that, but I really like the idea of the resolution matching and avoiding horizontal scrolling since it would be a pain in the ass for the amount of pages I go through each day. I wanted to go with the 6950 since I do occasional gaming I would want something decent in there for the performance. So either I am going to try to run 20x27x20 until I get the U3011, or go with two of the recommended 22 inch wide screens for a more pronounced PLP setup.
Click to expand...

You just need to buy one active miniDP to DVI adapter.
 
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