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Eyefinity 3x24" vs. 1x30"

F

footballcoach

n00b
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Oct 30, 2009
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So could use some advice here. I currently have one U2412M. I have two more of them unopened upstairs for an Eyefinity setup I was putting together. However, am starting to have second thoughts now after reading posts in various threads about single 30" displays being preferred for gaming and work and other various headaches with Eyefinity and driver/screen tearing, etc. Anyway, I started looking at the U3011.

Having 3 monitors is a plus for me with the type of work I do. However, it sounds like a lot of early Eyefinity adopters are getting out of it now and instead going for a 27" or 30" main monitor for gaming and work.

Interested in any experiences from those who have compared the two or who just feel strongly either way. Would you rather have Eyefinity with a 3x24" setup for gaming along with using all 3 displays for work? Or would you prefer a single 1x30" as your main monitor and then attaching a spare display for extending your work desktop?

Thanks for reading...
 
This is a size comparison.



What would help is if we knew what resolution you're going to be running on the respective monitors. Then we can talk numbers.

I would assume 1080p on the 24" and 2560x1600 on the 30?
 
6220800 pixels at 3x24" at 1080p, and 4096000 with one 30" at 2560x1600 You are getting %51.875 more pixels in your screen space for productivity.
 
Actually using this setup right now, at one time I had 3x dell 30" running at 7680x1600. Now I'm using 3x 24" Samsung 2343BWX and they run at 6144x1158. I'm liking the samsungs more, easier for sitting close and its much better one the neck. If its 3x24's vs 1x30 I would prob stay with the 3x24's. I can post some pics if you want. :)
 
5760x1200 for the 3x24" (Dell u2412m).

2560x1600 on the 30" (however I would also use my current u2412m as a secondary monitor with the 30" and maybe a third monitor as well. Thus, I am not sure I have to be that concerned over lost pixel space as it will be minimal once I hook up a couple spare monitors for the extended desktop displays.

The main thing I am stuck on is Eyefinity vs. larger 30" main monitor. I can return two of the u2412's I just bought and get one 30" instead. That would then give me the U3011, a U2412, and an older 2007fp.

Alternatively, I have considered buying a four monitor VESA stand from WSGF and keeping the 3x24".
 
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KeggeR said:
Actually using this setup right now, at one time I had 3x dell 30" running at 7680x1600. Now I'm using 3x 24" Samsung 2343BWX and they run at 6144x1158. I'm liking the samsungs more, easier for sitting close and its much better one the neck. If its 3x24's vs 1x30 I would prob stay with the 3x24's. I can post some pics if you want. :)
Click to expand...

Yes, please do. I would like to see how you have it setup. I think one of these would be pretty sweet with 3x24". For now, I could even put a spare 21" Dell on top.
 
20" + 30" + 20" in PLP is King.
The only drawback (except maybe cost) is that PLP is not supported by Eyefinity/nVision.
 
I have three Dell U2410 in EF. I also have an nvidia Surround as well. I wouldn't do anythink else, especially now that most games support it or you can at least find an easy work-around.

for gaming I don't think you can go wrong with 5670 x 1200. I have used it since EF was released in the 5800 series.

Yes PLP with a 30 in the middle would be cool, but it isnt workable.

Let me know if you dump the two other 24" monitors, I'm seriously thinking about going 5 in portrait.
 
First hand experience. I owned the Apple 30" Cinema Display like 6 years ago, LOVED that beast...then switched out when Eyefinity arrived, and got 3 - Dell 24" monitors...Well look at my system in Sig = Dell 30". I just like the single large display much better. The triple wide was way too skinny or narrow looking, not enough height.

I am going for the PLP next, now that I have the single 30", will soon add 2 - 20" in Portrait. PLP = FTW

To me, the 3 - 24" were too narrow, always having to move head left and right to see the other screens.
 
think the discontent is overstated.

A lot of us are still loving our eyefinity
 
Was forced to go back to single 30" for a while from 3x24 when one of my displays went out. Hated it both on the gaming front and on the work front. If AMD and NVIDIA would have put as much money into multi-display marketing as both did on 3D, the landscape in multiple-display setups would be totally different.
 
Love eyefinity, there are certain kinds of games I just could not see playing again without it. Most any racing game or flight game is considerably better with it. RTS games that take advantage of the real estate also benefit tremendously. FPS games that support the proper fov and hud placement are better, but not so much that I would really consider it a loss to go to a single larger screen.

The beauty of your situation is that you already have the three monitors. Try it out for a while then decide for yourself. I was an early adopter and still use it on my primary PC.
 
Thanks, you guys confirmed what I was thinking when I woke up this morning. For work purposes 3x24 is better for my needs. I think I may order one of those stands.
 
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I've got 3 eyefinity setups in the house right now, 3 U2410's, 3 Asus PA246Q's, and 3 U2412's. Having multiple screens is something I never want to get away from. The multi-tasking enhancement alone is well worth the expense and the gaming experience is hard to beat. Instead of monkeying around re-sizing windows on a large single display, I've got 3 independently operating displays that with the flick of a button behave exactly like one large display as needed. Plus, if one of your displays happens to develop problems, you still have two to fall back on while it's being replaced.

I couldn't recommend it more highly.
 
I went from a cheap Eyefinity setup to one 27" monitor. It seemed like a lot of games needed workarounds to get them going with Eyefinity, and sometimes you would have to wait for a new driver release or fix to play something. The last straw for me was Skyrim- I bought it the day it came out and it wouldn't work at all with my three monitors. IIRC, it took a few weeks for a fix to come out.

Some things to think about:
While playing, I hated trying to read any text or click on something that stretched across bezels. If you like maxing your games, you need a hell of a setup to do so. You have less desk space with three monitors. You might want to get a calibrator so things look the same across all three screens (color/brightness).

For productivity, it was awesome. One 27" isn't the same, but adequate. Since you have the monitors, try it out. You should bookmark WSGF.
 
Oldie, thanks for the info. That's a lot of screens. :) With your setups, I am curious if you have had any issues with graphics tearing with the 3rd monitor and EF? A few people were telling me that when you have 2 screens connected via miniDP to DVI and the other on DVI-to-DVI the latter experiences screen tearing?
 
footballcoach said:
Oldie, thanks for the info. That's a lot of screens. :) With your setups, I am curious if you have had any issues with graphics tearing with the 3rd monitor and EF? A few people were telling me that when you have 2 screens connected via miniDP to DVI and the other on DVI-to-DVI the latter experiences screen tearing?
Click to expand...

I've never seen any tearing. One setup is Nvidia based and the other two are on 7970's.
 
The tearing issue is real. It is far more pronounced in portrait mode. With the torn screen on the side and running landscape I rarely notice it.
 
I've seen Surround and worked more with Eyefinity, neither has impressed me more than a single 30" unless it's 3x30". My advice is to always get a 30" 1600p display and add more monitors for productivity or multi-display if desired. If I ever get more into gaming (as opposed to my current trend of getting away from it), I might get 3x30". However, one 30" offers more productivity than most multi-display setups, unless you need the physical borders of screens because you can't separate your work mentally.
 
I went from a single 30" (in the middle of a LLL/PLP) to 5x24" (portrait) 1920x1200 to 3x30" Eyefinity. I prefer the 3x30" - while not as tall, it was more useful from a productivity point of view. The 5x24" ended up being a separate setup for me, so I would literally move my keyboard and mouse in front of it to play games and move them back to my LLL/PLP when I need to do work. 3x30" is better, especially with 4 monitors above it as it is useful for just about anything. If I was to choose I'd go 3x24" LLL over a single 30" - the immersiveness of Eyefinity/nVSurround beats a single monitor (even a 30") hands-down.
 
jojo69 said:
The tearing issue is real. It is far more pronounced in portrait mode. With the torn screen on the side and running landscape I rarely notice it.
Click to expand...

Adaptive VSync makes this a non-issue for the most part. But yes, when you have tearing on a portrait setup, it is more of a negative than when using landscape and seeing tearing.
 
I have both a 3X 30'' and a 3X 24'' Eyefinity set-ups at home on 2 different computers.

The best (by far!) is the 3X 30'' 7680X1600 set-up. Incredible for working, multi-tasking, and gaming... and for those stupid games not supporting Eyefinity (or when waiting for drivers update), then I can use a single 30''. :)

But for gaming, between a single 30'' and 3X 24'', I prefer the 30''. :)
 
My .02. Note: I do not have a 30 inch, and have not lived with a 3 monitor setup. However, I have a 27 inch monitor, and have about 4-5 hours on 3 panels.

For me, I personally prefer single monitor gaming. In gaming I prefer portrait orientation, and would take that over a single large monitor 9 times out of 10. But with 1080 monitors, they often aren't wide enough to display a window without scroll bars.

I do not like gaming in 3 wide landscape because it is just so much wasted space horizontally, and no added vertical space.

Having a single screen (with my old 1080 monitor on the side) is a nice compromise. It isn't too small so I'm rid of the scroll bars, and it has added vertical space so I don't feel quite so much like I'm playing a game. A single screen is more involving in my experience/opinion.
 
RadXge said:
20" + 30" + 20" in PLP is King.
The only drawback (except maybe cost) is that PLP is not supported by Eyefinity/nVision.
Click to expand...

I think the only real drawback is nobody makes 4:3 IPS 20" monitors anymore. What is the preferred 20" for PLP, or are used 2007FP still the best option?

@OP: I have 3x24" currently and really like it, but I use a 30" at work and am tempted to get one to game on at home. I think both setups are pretty awesome - 30" obviously wins for games that don't work great in surround, but when surround works well in a game it is truly incredible
 
RadXge said:
Incorrect.
The 2007FP is alive and well as it can still be ordered from Dell's website (although at a hefty price).
Click to expand...

How about nobody makes a modern 4:3 monitor? The 2007FP is nice, but it's missing things like HDCP not to mention DisplayPort. I so wish Dell would take that panel and just upgrade the control board to bring HDCP and DisplayPort, but I suspect the market just isn't there.
 
Liked Eyefinity with 3x 1920x1200 monitors but didn't care for the bezels. So I switched to projectors. Pretty sweet but the tearing with AMD in Windows bugged me. Now that I'm running an nVidia Surround configuration it's awesome. No tearing and 120fps in games.

I don't think I could use a 30" panel for games. The 60Hz refresh rate and reduced fov would suck compared to what I'm used to now.
 
Well I have had many setups.
19" 3x1 Landscape [4320x900x900]
19" 3x1 Landscape + 19" on top [4320x900 + 1440x900]
22" 5x1 Portrait [5250x1680] (Current)
23" 3x1 Landscape [5760x1080]
23" 3x1 Landscape + 23" 2x1 Landscape [1920x1080+5760x1080+1920x1080]
23" 5x1 Landscape [9600x1080] - Few games support this in DX9 mode.
23" 5x1 Portrait [5400x1920] - A Personal Favorite
30" 3x1 Landscape [7680x1600] (Current)
30" 5x1 Landscape [8000x2560] - Too big and impossible to game on. DX9 titles do not like the res.

I feel that a single 30" sucks for multi-tasking. I like 3x1 30" because of the support it has in eyefinity titles and is very good for multi-tasking. Though 5x1P 1080p was also good for multi-tasking. Though if I had to choose between eyefinity and a single 30", i'd go with eyefinity. even if it was my old small set of 19"rs... It would be better than a 30 to me. I like to use multiple full size windows when muti-tasking. And when I game on a single display, it feels like I'm cheating myself.

Do your 3x1 5760x1200 setup. Enjoy it. It's more useful for most things than a 30".
 
The other thing to keep in mind when using landscape eyefinity isnt just the extra screen space but the extra FOV, i.e. you can see further around you than what your opponents can see. I think the only reason to go to one 30inch monitor is if you can't afford a graphics card powerful enough to drive the eyefinity. If you're using your setup at all for work though, than the 3 screens is a must!
 
I was one of the "early adopters" running a single 5870 (same monitors as now - 3x Dell P2310H) almost 3 years ago now. I will never go back to a single display. Games are getting better at supporting Hor+ resolutions and community support has grown tremendously with various fixes and utilities. There are of course still many nuances with using a triple display setup and certain games you will just have to run on a single monitor at the end of the day either due to compatibility or other reasons.
 
get the 30"

or if you really want, get the 30" and ill send you my 3 24"
 
Like I said, I have had both setups, a single 30" twice, and two setups of Eyefinity.

I originally had the Apple 30" Cinema Display years ago, loved it, then I got the Eyefinity bug when the 5870 arrived, and sold the Apple Display for 3 Dell 2407, and thought it was cool, but too narrow looking, so I upgraded to 3 Dell 2709's, looked much nicer, not as narrow. But I still missed the high resolution of a 30".

Last month I sold my 3 Dell 2709's and picked up 1 Dell U3011, and LOVE it. Something about 2560 x 1600 is just so awesome. No head turning left and right to see the side screens, and one things I disliked about Eyefinity was the extreme stretched out image of the side displays. Thats ok for racing games I guess, but I never play those, mainly play RPG's, and in games like WoW, that stretched out image on the side displays was annoying and looked weird, always bothered me.

I might go PLP route soon, pick up two 20" Dell's for Portrait mode next to my 30" Landscape. But unfortunately drivers and games don't really support PLP. But I think games like WoW and Torchlight 2, do allow PLP to work ok ? Need to look into that more.
 
I've moved from a 3x23" EF setup to a single 30" for gaming + a 24" for added productivity. Like Zorachus, I've thought about picking up a couple of the 2007FP's to run with my 30" in PLP mode but I only really miss EF for racing games so it's not that important to me at the moment. I also don't really like the stretched look on the side monitors (maybe the 20" in P mode would look better?), and to be honest I'd sooner use that $$ and buy a second 30", which I would use to replace the 24". I just couldn't go back to the smaller monitors. I love the 2560x1600 the 30" provides and knowing me I'll probably end up with 3 of them eventually.

One more thing, I also have an Xbox and a PS3 that I use with my 30" when I don't feel like going down to the basement to game on my big screen with my "console only friends", and needless to say it's immensely superior to playing on my "centre" Dell 23" that I was using before hehe...
 
I've had a 3x23" Eyefinity setup and a single 32" monitor. Eyefinity is just a totally different experience. But it takes up a lot of space and energy. After having used both, I think I prefer the single large monitor. But it's definitely worth trying the Eyefinity. A lot of fun. Especially useful on the racer games like Dirt 3, you can see those corners coming and react so much better. There are certain games that Eyefinity makes awesome. Others, you won't miss it as much. It's the peripheral vision that is the key to the immersion of Eyefinity.
 
Thanks, for all the posts and feedback. I just received some additional parts for the EF setup today and am going to get it rolling this weekend so will see how it goes.

Practically speaking I do IT work for a living and could probably use the 3x24. I am actually thinking of going 1-over-3 with a stand. Having those additional screens is a big plus, but will see how it goes.

Do most of you guys with 30" displays as your primary use a smaller second or third display for office work as well?
 
If your mostly gaming/watching videos, especially if you play a lot of new release games the month they come out and don't want to have to mess with drivers, but just plug and play I'd go with a 30''. Now if you spend a reasonable amount of time doing office work/coding combined with games then I'd go with 3 24'' in portrait mode. The available workspace is well worth it and I prefer most games that way.


jojo69 said:
The tearing issue is real. It is far more pronounced in portrait mode. With the torn screen on the side and running landscape I rarely notice it.
Click to expand...

For me it made games/video unplayable in either landscape or portrait. I returned my card though and got one with 3 dp connectors to 3 dp monitors and I've had 0 problems with tearing since.
 
I am debating going back to triple screen gaming again. Not sure.

I have had a Apple 30" single display years ago, LOVED it. Then bought Eyefinity three years ago; 3 x 24" @ 5760 x 1200, it felt a little too narrow, so I upgraded to 3 x 27" at same res. Then recently got bored and sold them, the 3 x 27" was just too large on the desk, took up way too much space, and always turning head left to right to see everything, I think 3 x 24" triple screen is a nice setup, and easier to look at. Now I am back to a single Dell 30" U3011, and loving it with my new system the past month. Games just work immediately with a single display, and with a 30" sitting close to it, no bezels or borders to deal with, but...

Now a month into the single display, I am thinking maybe trying out 3 x 24" again, for NV Surround gaming. But I never had both right next to each other. I wish I had the 30" playing, and right next to it the 3 x 24" playing, to really compare at the same time.

I have been playing a boatload of BF3 and PS2 shooters since I rebuilt my system last month. First time playing both those games. Now wondering how cool they would be at the widescreen res of 5760 x 1200 ? Would it help me seeing more of the battlefield, and do better, compared to 2560 x 1600 ?
 
For first-person shooters Eyefinity/nVSurround is hard to beat - you really feel you are there. The sheer number of pixels to push is a big problem, if you don't have power to drive the monitors properly then you get into the great debate of resolution vs eyecandy.
 
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