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Eyefinity vs. 2560x1600

C

cracknub

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
64
I plan on grabbing couple of 2gb 6970's when they come out and I'm gonna want to put that vram to use. I would like some people's input on my options:

- Add two more 27" monitors to my existing LG Flatron W2753V 27"
- Sell the LG and grab three 22"-24" monitors (some 120hz ones)
- Sell the 27" and get a monster 30" to game at 2560x1600

Either way it looks like I'ma spend around a grand (except for the for the first option $500-$700). I've never gamed at 2560x1600 before and don't know anyone that has a 30" to see. Is Eyefinity all that? If I go with the third option will I need the second 6970?
 
2560x1600 is awesome. 2560x1600x3 is more awesome. No but seriously... I hope to be able to afford it soon.

I game on my 3007wfp-HC 30" 2560x1600. It's awesome, but you get used to the size. Overall I think eyefinity would be more immersive so go with 27"x3. If you do the 30" you only need 1 card. OC 6850 or normal 6870 would handle it well on 95% of games as well. Little slow on some top end maxed out, but just lower gfx a bit.
 
I found this, and it's damn cool

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1394666

computer021.jpg
 
Kryx said:
2560x1600 is awesome. 2560x1600x3 is more awesome. No but seriously... I hope to be able to afford it soon.

I game on my 3007wfp-HC 30" 2560x1600. It's awesome, but you get used to the size. Overall I think eyefinity would be more immersive so go with 27"x3. If you do the 30" you only need 1 card. OC 6850 or normal 6870 would handle it well on 95% of games as well. Little slow on some top end maxed out, but just lower gfx a bit.
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+1

A 30" will only need one 6970, three 27's @ 1080p could run on one card, but two will definitely smooth things out. I just bought a U2711 since I may not go Eyefinity again, but if the U3011 gets any cheaper over the next three months, I'll go with the 30". I had three U2211H monitors and after looking at them for about a week, it seemed pretty excessive for playing video games. I think a person will have a need beyond gaming to have three monitors on their desk, if not, a 27-30" is enough.
 
yeah i use a 30" with a 20" in portrait on the side. i would get another 20" if eyefinity supported it, but it doesnt so nbd. its great to have a big screen for watching video while the 20" does word or firefox or whatever. or maybe 3D modeling on the 30" with itunes on the 20". its a great setup. however, i would suggest 3x27" for you, as it seems you will have the horsepower to support it, and more pixels and more screen area than 2560x1600. if you can try out an eyefinity setup ahead of time, i recommend seeing if you mind the bezels or not. if not go for it, if you do then maybe youd be happier with just a single 30".
 
Kryx said:
2560x1600 is awesome. 2560x1600x3 is more awesome. No but seriously... I hope to be able to afford it soon.

I game on my 3007wfp-HC 30" 2560x1600. It's awesome, but you get used to the size. Overall I think eyefinity would be more immersive so go with 27"x3. If you do the 30" you only need 1 card. OC 6850 or normal 6870 would handle it well on 95% of games as well. Little slow on some top end maxed out, but just lower gfx a bit.
Click to expand...

I run the exact same monitor, it's a beast.

My overclocked 5970 struggles on higher end games, I definitely would not power this screen off a single 6870 which is about the same speed as a 5850, about 1/2 the speed of the 5970.

I certainly wouldn't go crossfire unless you're willing to throw at the very minimum 2 of the fastest cards you can find into a PC, 1920x1080x3 is significantly more pixels than 2560x1600 and will require a lot of rendering power to run smoothly. I would be aiming for at least 3x5870 for that kind of eyefinity configuration, and an aggressive upgrade schedule over the coming years to keep it all playable.
 
Go with Eyefinity, just for the extra space for multitasking at least. The extra field of view in games is great. I recently got a xbox 360 controller, and started playing Just Cause 2. I have everything on max, and damn that's a great looking game, lots of fun grappling and flying/driving around too. I was surprised how much fun just sitting back in my chair, compared to being up close with a keyboard and mouse, playing with the xbox controller is.
 
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I really recommend the Eyefinity setup as well but it's going to cost you. It's yet to be seen if the 6970x2 will be able to handle 2560x1600x3 but it's very possible. You can be sure that it will handle 1920x1080x3 pretty handily, and honestly that's what I'd recommend. I have a 5970 with three 1080p monitors and while it's smooth, it's not quite where I want it - silky and clean with AA. Of course some of that has to do with AMD's poor CFX+EF implementation.. microstutter... everywhere...

We'll see if AMD steps up their game but IMHO stick with one card if at all possible. So my recommendation is 3x 1080p monitors and one 6970, with possibly another if AMD gets their driver situation together and you feel like you need the performance.
 
If you plan on playing FPS you can't lose with Eyefinity it really is just that immersive. 3x27 definitely.
 
Eyefinity is worth it for the desktop real estate alone. Talk about a productivity enhancer. Just make sure you have a desk big enough for those 27in beasts.
 
go w/ both =P

after running a 3007 HC for several years, I thought about selling to go w/ 3x24 or adding additional 3007's....I don't have the desk space or the funds to try and power 3x 3007's haha...I ran 2x3007's, but I don't game all the time.

I love having the option of running eyefinity w/ a single card ie. my 5850 runs my PLP 2007+3007+2007

If I have a weekend off, I'll add my sons 2007 for eyefinity.

So I get the best of both worlds =D
 
I used 3 screens before (triplehead2go) and after a year of use I went back to a single big screen due to fatigue. It can get really tiring on the eyes.
 
Haiku214 said:
I used 3 screens before (triplehead2go) and after a year of use I went back to a single big screen due to fatigue. It can get really tiring on the eyes.
Click to expand...

One advantage Eyefinity has over TH2G is the availability of custom profiles... I run a script that turns Eyefinity on only for games, and sets it back to normal triplehead (three distinct desktops) when in 2D mode. That way, win7 window snapping works well, the taskbar doesn't span all three screens, windows don't open way too large, etc. Goes a long way towards reducing the headache.
 
i used to have eyefinity...

it was a mixed bag, definitely bittersweet for the games i played - amazing when i first got it cause it was new and actually does as advertised - after the new wore off all the little flaws and kinks showed up and needless to say they outweighed the good

i went back to a single screen because all the extra real estate is just that, extra - games are developed with a single display in mind, so most of your action happens center screen - not to mention what do you do when a game simply doesnt work [like mass effect] - you have to physically reconfigure your monitors [since i ran them in portrait]

now the best thing about eyefinity for me wasnt the extra side displays, it was the additional vertical area - a 24+" monitor in portrait is an immense wall of display right in front of you - but that is interrupted by the bezels on either side

an ideal eyefinity setup would be 3 x 27" displays with thin bezels - that would afford you enough uninterrupted space in your center display and the immersive height of the portrait monitors

but it's all preference really, some people like it extra wide, some like it extra tall - some say the bezels 'disappear' and others will always be able to see them

when those affordable super thin bezel 27" displays show up ill maybe give it another go - until then, its 2560x1600 for me
 
I've had eyefinity with a 5970 and 3x24" screens for about 8 months now. The best part of Eyefinity is that it is incredibly immersive, especially in FPS games that support the technology. The downside is that because of the expense of the technology, there aren't a terribly huge number of games that support it well, though that is increasing. The extra screen real-estate is very helpful in BFBC2, though with the 5970, I experience the most annoying CTD issues possible and ATI can't get their drivers right.

It's really a mixed bag.

I don't think 30" monitors are worth it when you could spend about the same amount of money for Eyefinity though. At the very least, you're going to drop $950 on a cheap 30."

From a card perspective, my 5970 runs anything I throw at it on high settings at 5760x1080. Prime example would be BFBC2. With crappy ATI drivers, at 5760x1080, with all setting on high, HBAO on, 4X AA and 2XMSAA, I range between 55 and 40 fps without overclocking. I think that's fairly good and it's smooth enough to enjoy. I would think two 6970s would be sufficient for Eyefinity. If not, just add a third.
 
DMFD-Minister said:
From a card perspective, my 5970 runs anything I throw at it on high settings at 5760x1080. Prime example would be BFBC2. With crappy ATI drivers, at 5760x1080, with all setting on high, HBAO on, 4X AA and 2XMSAA, I range between 55 and 40 fps without overclocking. I think that's fairly good and it's smooth enough to enjoy. I would think two 6970s would be sufficient for Eyefinity. If not, just add a third.
Click to expand...

What is your cpu/clock speed? I'm pretty convinced I'm cpu limited in BC2. I can play with everything on High like you in singleplayer, but I have to drop down a LOT to get multiplayer up and running at even 40fps steady.
 
-Sn1PeR- said:
What is your cpu/clock speed? I'm pretty convinced I'm cpu limited in BC2. I can play with everything on High like you in singleplayer, but I have to drop down a LOT to get multiplayer up and running at even 40fps steady.
Click to expand...

I'm running a Phenom II 955 at stock 3.2Ghz. I do believe this is limiting the 5970, but I'm not going to drop more money into a new platform - I'll just wait for Bulldozer.

I did a small overclock to the 5970, 800/1050, and saw a small performance improvement yesterday. Another weird thing I noticed from MSI Afterburner is that the game never utilized all 100% of the GPU on both cores. Usually it was 80-90% on both.
 
DMFD-Minister said:
I don't think 30" monitors are worth it when you could spend about the same amount of money for Eyefinity though. At the very least, you're going to drop $950 on a cheap 30."
Click to expand...
Several people, myself included, were able to get the 3007WFP-HC ~3 years ago for ~$675. Refurbished from dell + an ebay coupon. Really the best money I've ever spent. You can pick them up for around 750 nowadays. Still at least top 3 bang/buck 30"

It would be nice if eyefinity didn't require all the same rez. I'd love to run it with just 2x24" side panels. 30" = too much $$$.
 
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