Is Single Monitor Gaming Dead?

This, quite possibly, is the dumbest thread topic on HardForums I've ever read.

This would assume that most gamers not only can afford more than one monitor, but a desk to properly display them.

This is roughly equivalent to the people who say that FPSes on PCs are dead.
 
I only play on a single 24" monitor. I think playing on multiple monitors is a niche gamer thing, theres no point and its expensive buying more monitors. Every PC gamer I know runs on 1 monitor even though they could easily afford to play on 3.

Also, my console and my big screen is bigger than 3 monitors :D
 
Maybe it depends on the game, but I tried playing Dirt 2 on a 3 monitor setup at Quakecon this year and I found myself only looking at the center monitor. The other 2 didn't really do anything to help me, but maybe in a FPS or flight sim it would be of more help.
 
boss99 said:
Maybe it depends on the game, but I tried playing Dirt 2 on a 3 monitor setup at Quakecon this year and I found myself only looking at the center monitor. The other 2 didn't really do anything to help me, but maybe in a FPS or flight sim it would be of more help.
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I think its more of an ePeen thing honestly. "Check out my PC.. this is like where I game and stuff... no big deal." /flogpenis
 
theNoid said:
I think its more of an ePeen thing honestly. "Check out my PC.. this is like where I game and stuff... no big deal." /flogpenis
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How much of this entire forum basically got summed up right here? :p
 
The amount of people using multi-monitor is very small, in the average 32 player server I bet there isn't anyone using multi-monitor. There's probably only 1 multi monitor user for every several full servers.

A lot of people are just very good at the game, there isnt even any evidence that using multi monitor is actually an advantage, most of the serious pro players still use single CRTs because they find higher refresh rates more of an advantage over the slower LCD panels.
 
single monitor gaming isn't dead

FPS skill level has been declining since the death of Quake / UT arena style games though
 
to get a better perspective on the question at hand.. i think a poll would of been nice.. that way you could see an easier estimate from the community
 
Not only is single monitor gaming dying, but using a wired mouse/keyboard is too!!!1one! But none of that matters since PC gaming is dead!!


/sarcasm
 
soul555top said:
I keep getting killed in BC2 because I only have standard SLI. The guys killing me probably have tri-SLI and should be placed in their own server.

IMO.
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And how do you know what his sytem config actually was? He might simply A) Be a superior player and/or B) Enjoy much lower ping/latency than you.
Triple monitors doesn't make you a better player, it just lets you see more of the field. You still have got to play the game to win.
 
vjcsmoke said:
And how do you know what his sytem config actually was? He might simply A) Be a superior player and/or B) Enjoy much lower ping/latency than you.
Triple monitors doesn't make you a better player, it just lets you see more of the field. You still have got to play the game to win.
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I think you missed the invisible sarcasm tags
 
steam stats for aug 2010 puts people with more then 1 monitor at 8.96%.

most common resolution is 1280x1024 still. with PC sales shifting to laptops the last few years and most laptops are wide screens. just means lots of people still use 19 in ish screens.
 
gesicht said:
steam stats for aug 2010 puts people with more then 1 monitor at 8.96%.

most common resolution is 1280x1024 still. with PC sales shifting to laptops the last few years and most laptops are wide screens. just means lots of people still use 19 in ish screens.
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And only a small fraction of those users are running more than 1 monitor for gaming.
 
Actually i dont even use a single monitor. I have my printer set as the primary display device and i play at 8 frames a minute. The beauty of this is its portability.

I wow'd a bunch of kids on the train by flicking through Crysis at 60 page per second at A4 resolution highest settings, with no slowdown. It was so frantic, my thumbs were sore for hours.:p



Nah. I play one one screen. I can see the attraction of 3 screens but the actual gameplay merits apart from an increased field of view are kinda minimal from a price/performance point of view imho
 
Single monitor gaming is not dead. It will be at least another 5 years tops before dual or triple gaming is standardized.
 
gesicht said:
steam stats for aug 2010 puts people with more then 1 monitor at 8.96%.

most common resolution is 1280x1024 still. with PC sales shifting to laptops the last few years and most laptops are wide screens. just means lots of people still use 19 in ish screens.
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Yeah but most of those are dual monitor set ups for desktop use, not triple monitor for gaming.
 
I wish I had room for triple monitors. I have the money at least. Sadly, my computer desk with its stupid hutch (that holds all my PC games) doesn't allow it. I could only fit up to two and that's no good for gaming with the bezels in the middle. :(

I guess I'm happy enough with my single, lonely 28" Hanns-G monitor. Still, having three of these babies would be pretty damn sweet. And then I'd have to replace all three of them when they come in 120hz flavors. Oh technology and always having the latest and greatest! :D
 
Multiple monitor gaming as we currently know it is more likely to be "dead" before single monitor gaming. By this I mean certain future technologies would more likely have arrived and replaced the need for current type multi-display setups before multi-display gaming becomes mainstream.
 
I am still hoping for something like a 2560x1080 (21:9) monitor as a nice compromise between fooling with multiple displays and typical 16:9. they do make a TV like that which seems silly because 99% of TV content is 16:9 so you will have black bars on the sides.
 
PC enthusiasts might start adopting multi-monitor setups as their default choice (if they haven't already) but I doubt everyone else could justify buying three panels as well as the costs of maintaining an up-to-date medium/high-end PC.
 
Lol is single monitor gaming dead?... NO. Enthusiasts and people with more money than sense will move to multi-monitor but i don't see it being the majority for many many years, if at all. The initial cost + space (especially for LANs) are the main issues that frankly will be a problem for most gamers.
 
Skirrow said:
Actually i dont even use a single monitor. I have my printer set as the primary display device and i play at 8 frames a minute. The beauty of this is its portability.

I wow'd a bunch of kids on the train by flicking through Crysis at 60 page per second at A4 resolution highest settings, with no slowdown. It was so frantic, my thumbs were sore for hours.:p
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Dude i choked on my pizza that was so funny!!
 
I have an Eyefinity setup, but don't actually use it very much. The only games I like using it for are racing games (pretty much any of them. NFS: Shift particularly, and I'll probably pick up F1 2010 soon), and H.A.W.X.

Other than that, I'm perfectly happy playing RTS and FPS games on a single monitor. I find that playing an FPS on a single monitor, there's just too much to look at. I see more around me, so I can see when there are enemies all around me, but there are so many targets that I don't know which to shoot at. I seem to do better with a single monitor in FPS games.
 
For me, and I suspect a great deal of other people, multi monitor is more about multi tasking than multi monitor immersion. Those types of games simply run better on one monitor and the games that you want multi monitors for are either supreme commander type games or games where your playing while running vent, watching tv, surfing the net, and watching your folding points tick away...
 
I still have no need, desire and want for multiple montiors after all these years, even for none gaming related stuff. I do want to upgrade back to a 24" but beyond that, I don't have a need to have my e-penis that large
 
I am terrible at MW2 but I know it is just because I am terrible at FPS in general.
 
Freezebyte said:
I still have no need, desire and want for multiple montiors after all these years, even for none gaming related stuff. I do want to upgrade back to a 24" but beyond that, I don't have a need to have my e-penis that large
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It's really, really great for multitasking. I use it all the time, just not for gaming.

Once you try three (for desktop use) it's very difficult to go back to one.
 
As far as the multitasking argument, Windows 7 snap was probably the best ,multitasking feature short of 2 monitors. I have always found that two monitors distracted me too much so I am now back down to one wide screen.
 
Absolutely not and this thread cracks me up. :(

You're not missing anything, or being inhibited by only having a single screen. You're placing a mental barrier on yourself, if you really want to improve practice and study up to try and improve your game.

A great FPS player will destroy regardless of what size and how many monitors they are using. I'd even argue that in a highly competitive enviorment like CS or Quake having 3 screens would detract.
 
KatalDT said:
It's really, really great for multitasking. I use it all the time, just not for gaming.

Once you try three (for desktop use) it's very difficult to go back to one.
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Yup. Now you can have three full-screen pr0n files going...

And I even have one 37"er to go along with my two 30"ers... For when one's just so good, it's just gotta be seen larger than life!

And with a quad-core, you can have a core dedicated to decoding each stream, while the fourth is still downloading yet more pr0n!
 
I couldn't imagine getting rid of my 37" HDTV mounted low and flush with the top of the desk on the wall in front of me, with my Klipsch Quintets mounted on the wall to the side of the monitor and the wall behind me. Talk about immersion? I'd say my money was better spent on this than 3 monitors and the compatibility issues involved. I'm not saying I won't do it someday, but they'll need to make smaller bezel 37" TVs first. Then I could put the other 2 37" TVs on articulating arms mounted to the wall on either side of the main TV. :p
 
Because one has an Eyefinity setup, and has properly configured their games to make the best use of triple displays, they have and advantage over those that don't.
Because one has a high DPI gaming mouse, one has an accuracy advantage over those that don't.
Because one has a nice 5.1 surround setup, and thus, can hear you sneaking up behind them, one has an advantage over those that don't.
Because one has a keyboard/game controller that can do macros, or uses scripts to the same effect, one has an advantage over those that don't.
Because, blah, blah, blah.. I have heard these complaints by the haters a number of times. It was BS every time. The advantage is there, especially when all is taken together, but it is not so huge as to be considered insurmountable.
League play would be different, but then league play is generally regulated anyway. In the pubs, it's a waste to even spend time thinking about what hardware other people are gaming on.
 
Having multiple monitors and a higher resolution does not equal advantage. Some more things can be seen yes, but that means more to keep track of and more things visually to digest in making a reaction. I find it more immersing but not advantageous in most situations.

I wont go back to just one, but I highly doubt single screen gaming will go away any time soon... Just like PC gaming supposedly died years ago...
 
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