GPU for 3-way 1440p

MightyGeekMan

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Feb 11, 2008
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Thanks in advance for any/all help and advice.

I'm currently speccing out a new build and am hung up on whether a single 1070 is best for me, or if I should get dual 1060s. The problem is that my current setup has two graphics cards connected to three 1440p monitors and I don't know if a single GTX 1070 will handle everything I do smoothly or if I should get two 1060s for the same price.

I'll be using the computer for high-end, very large file design projects (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), photography (Lightroom, Photoshop), screen recording (Camtasia, for tutorials and such), audio recording (Adobe Audition, Audacity), video editing (Premiere Pro, After Effects) and light gaming (but possibly doing heavier gaming in the future).

Below is a link to a PCPartpicker list. Quick note, nothing o the list is set in stone and everything can change depending on how my research goes. My total budget is around $2,300.

Parts List
 
For an extended desktop? Not sure. But you should be able to do 3 x 1440p monitors on one card just for desktop usage.

For gaming it might be hard to do 3 x 1440p on one card depending on the game.

edit: let me word it this way -- if you get two 1060s, you'll only be able to use one while gaming.
 
Depending on your usage.

If you want all 3 cards to participate in gaming, then yes, all 3 GPUs must all be SLI'ed, unless if DX12 mGPU changes this.

If you are using them only as display output cards (IE only to display desktops, and not being part of rendering), then no.

I have no idea about image rendering/editing though.

You also linked an empty list, when making a list on PCpartpicker, you need to share the link that's in your permalink box.
 
I run 3 1440p screens currently, you could go either dual 1070s or a single 1080. Personally I would go with dual 1070s.

1060s don't have the sli fingers.
 
So, just to be clear; it is possible to run three 1440p monitors using a single GTX 1070 AND do some light gaming? I don't expect to run RotTR at 100fps on all three screens on Ultra settings. But it is possible to play that or similar games at "normal" settings, correct?

If so, then would I be better served buying a single 1080 to run the three monitors, or should I buy a single 1070 now and a second 1070 if I feel the need when money allows?

P.S. - This GPU stuff is getting harder and harder to keep up with. Thanks to all of you for helping me out!
 
Yes you could run 3 monitors on a single GTX 1070 or 1080. However, you will most likely need to reduce settings to Low / Medium depending upon the game, maybe you could run high settings again depending on the game. You really want to maintain 30fps minimum. By the way, are your 1440 screens G Sync? I have found G Sync really helps when running lower frames.

A single 1080 wont be that much faster over a 1070, save your money and put that towards another 1070.
 
Single 1080 is your best bet. SLI with anything but high end cards is never a good idea -- you're almost always better off with a single faster card.
 
So, just to be clear; it is possible to run three 1440p monitors using a single GTX 1070 AND do some light gaming? I don't expect to run RotTR at 100fps on all three screens on Ultra settings. But it is possible to play that or similar games at "normal" settings, correct?

That's 11 million pixels, or 3MP higher than 4k (8MP) which is a helluva high load. The only single gpu that can barely handle that is a Titan. With a 1070/1080 we're talking very reduced settings just to eek by. You also wanna consult/figure out your apps to hw acceleration question. Get a proper card that will produce decent render times.
 
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3x 1440p is 33% more pixels to drive than 4k, so a rough idea of what you should expect from 3x 1440p would be, take 4k data from reviews, then shave a quarter off the fps data, that's ROUGHLY what 3 1440p would perform like.

If you want a closer to the metal test, you can try using DSR, but I am not sure if there is any options between 2.25x scale and 4x scale (4k and 5k respectively), it's the only 2 settings I use, so not sure on what other settings are there.
 
Right, Rise of the Tomb Raider is a very demanding game, and you want to play it on triple high-resolution monitors, and are surprised that the cost will be so high? This review shows 1070 at 30fps at ultra for 4k, so that falls to 20fps at 3x1440p.

rottr_3840_2160.png


NVIDIA Titan X Pascal 12 GB Review

You're going to need at least a 1080 to have a chance in hell of running triple monitor surround on this game at medium settings.

The only reason this GPU stuff is "getting complicated" is because you insist on running g a game on three monitors at-once in surround. If you just run it on ONE 1440p monitor, a GTX 1070 will blow through that at Ultra with ease.
 
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Pascal Titan or don't even waste time trying to game on all 3. I'd recommend getting a 1070 though and just gaming on one of the monitors, it will still run all three for your other needs.
 
Why is everyone assuming he is going to be gaming in surround? There is nothing stopping him from using 3 monitors for work and then only gaming on the center one.

at which point a single 1070 or 1080 would be fine.
 
Why is everyone assuming he is going to be gaming in surround? There is nothing stopping him from using 3 monitors for work and then only gaming on the center one.

at which point a single 1070 or 1080 would be fine.

That's exactly what was fucking said in the last two posts. Including mine :D

Our only fucking problem is the OP is unclear as fucking hell in his post, so we have to cover BOTH cases.

I mean, he even said shit like this that still sounds like he thinks surround "normal": settings would still be playable:

So, just to be clear; it is possible to run three 1440p monitors using a single GTX 1070 AND do some light gaming? I don't expect to run RotTR at 100fps on all three screens on Ultra settings. But it is possible to play that or similar games at "normal" settings, correct?

WHAT IS NORMAL? Is he still gaming on triple monitors in surround or not? That last sentence implies he's still gaming at surround, but not at highest settings. Because the OP can't English.
 
Thank you everyone for helping me out. I apologize for how scattered my earlier questions were, but I wasn't fully comprehending the information I was reading. Long story short; it appears that a single 1070 should be enough for my purposes. With a 1070 I can run three 1440p monitors and do nearly all the tasks I need on a day to day basis. And when gaming I'll only be able to use ONE of the three monitors, but for the games I'll be playing, that's not a big issue.

On the gaming point; I assume that games will run on the center monitor and the side monitors will still be able to display other things like web pages and system info. Is that correct, or do the side screens need to be completely shut down?

Thanks again for all the help.
 
As long as you set your center monitor as the default screen for gaming then the other two will still display your desktop.
 
As long as you set your center monitor as the default screen for gaming then the other two will still display your desktop.

That was not my experience when running surround. The side monitors went black when I went to full screen. I could only see the desktop if I ran the game in windowed mode.
 
That was not my experience when running surround. The side monitors went black when I went to full screen. I could only see the desktop if I ran the game in windowed mode.

Well I don't have surround enabled on my PC since I only game on my primary monitor in full screen. Everything else I have my steam chat window and browsers open.
 
"my current setup has two graphics cards connected to three 1440p monitors" Which graphics cards?
 
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