Multiple vs single monitor help

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Outlaw85

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
Messages
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To start. Here are my specs

4770K
GTX980
8GB RAM
240GB SSD
600GB 10K

HP ZR24W (24" 1920x1200)

I am looking for at least one new monitor. I was at the local best buy looking at their monitors and took a fancy to their AOC 21:9 29" and Samsung curved 27". Both are at the max budget of $300-$350. They also had a smaller but still nice picture Dell 23.8" for $170.

My work setup is a triple 19". Coming home to 1 (albeit larger) monitor is sometimes frustrating when want to to pull up multiple things.

While the larger screens looked real pirty in the store. I don't think I want to go larger than a 24" unless it's some super deal (especially for multi-monitor). If at all possible I would like to try a triple monitor setup. Maybe in the 20-24" range?

The primary uses are gaming and web surfing with occasional movie/tv show.
I am OK with sticking in the 1080P/1200P resolutions.
I am OK with glossy or matte screen. I am leaning towards a glossy though (I've had matte the last 10-11 years) .

2 screens would be nice but the 3 would be cool to try surround. I do have a 17" dell 4:3 I can setup again as a secondary if I do just get another single monitor but would like to have them match if possible.

Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated,
Outlaw
 
your budget is enough to go 2560x1440@ 24/25". I do love my U2515H. Triple 1080p is better for working, but i doubt it would be optimal for watching movies.

In your place i would either get a single U2515H or sell the ZR24W and grab 3 Dell's 23.8". Triple u2515H is the nirvana of screen real state, 50% more pixels than 4k.
 
Thanks.

Funny you mention the U2515H. The one at BB is the smaller sibling- S2415H. I don't know if I could swing the nearly $400 price tag of the 1440 though ($350 was already pushing the limit). I'll have to see if there are others out there. Might just take the space saving and slightly smaller version/s though.

I think the 1080 is appealing just from the perspective of being able to crank the settings and not have to worry about resolution and aspect ratio or black bars...etc. I do not have an option for SLI in the future.

The ZR is going to be passed over to the kids so they can upgrade from dell 19" 4:3 that is barely hanging in there. I think it was one of the first LCDs. lol Would've been nice to make some money though. Any shipping would have killed it. The ZR is a beast.

The movie/tv show is very occasional and only mentioned because I have done it but is not a common occurrence.
 
As this is not an emergency upgrade, you can wait for some Dell coupon.$350 is not unheard for a U2515H sale. In europe you can get one for even less. Last time i cheked, buying a U2515H at amazon.UK and paying shipping+ taxes was cheaper than going to dell.us website.

The Dell P2416D also fits the bill nicely if you are set on a single monitor. The U2515H is the choice for triple monitor setups because of the MHL DP out : you drive 3 of them with a single DP 1.2 output.
 
geok1ng said:
As this is not an emergency upgrade, you can wait for some Dell coupon.$350 is not unheard for a U2515H sale. In europe you can get one for even less. Last time i cheked, buying a U2515H at amazon.UK and paying shipping+ taxes was cheaper than going to dell.us website.

The Dell P2416D also fits the bill nicely if you are set on a single monitor. The U2515H is the choice for triple monitor setups because of the MHL DP out : you drive 3 of them with a single DP 1.2 output.
Click to expand...
The Dell U2515H has a 2560x1440 resolution. You can only drive 2 1440p monitors from 1 DisplayPort port.
 
illustrator said:
The Dell U2515H has a 2560x1440 resolution. You can only drive 2 1440p monitors from 1 DisplayPort port.
Click to expand...

DP 1.2 has 21.6 Gbits/s of total bandwidth , with an effective video data rate of 17.28Gbits/s. which is enough to run 4320x2560@52Hz. With some minor adjustments , it is possible to use a custom resolution for a full 60Hz refresh rate.

The first cable would have to be of good quality, but it is not impossible within the spec.
 
Thanks everyone.

I definitely have some homework to do for surround. Based on what you've all said along with my research, it'd be more realistic to find a solid single monitor. That being the U2515H

Now, assuming the U25 is out of budget (as it is) and not on a sale. What would be a good runner up. Even at 1080P, if 1080P I would like to see a higher hz rating. I've seen them from 75hz - 144hz. In the games I've played at 1920x1200 I haven't had any issues keeping the FPS over 100. In most cases maxing out the games fps max of 200-300 (obviously without maxed settings). My primary source of gaming is FPS and I think the higher fresh would be nice from what I've read. I know mileage varies per user but seems like a good route to go.

I'm not sure the 980 will like pushing 1440p at 100+fps unless i'm in low-med settings which todays games do still look pretty good. Also, if possible. throw in glossy/semi-glossy like the dell.

To keep the costs down, I'm thinking my best middle of the road route would be to look for a 1080p with a 75-120hz and less than 6ms refresh. Is there anything else I should be looking at? I've seen a lot about the BenQ and Asus but know there are others out there.

Trying to finally finish this build and I think a nice monitor would top it off. Recent additions below
WC Node 304 with copper pipe
Corsair K65 ten keyless
Razer Kraken Pro headset
Able to use my G5 mouse that was in retirement. Finally found a new mouse pad it likes.


Thanks,
Outlaw
 
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geok1ng said:
DP 1.2 has 21.6 Gbits/s of total bandwidth , with an effective video data rate of 17.28Gbits/s. which is enough to run 4320x2560@52Hz. With some minor adjustments , it is possible to use a custom resolution for a full 60Hz refresh rate.

The first cable would have to be of good quality, but it is not impossible within the spec.
Click to expand...

So 3 x 2560x1440 @60Hz can't be done over DisplayPort 1.2.
 
illustrator said:
So 3 x 2560x1440 @60Hz can't be done over DisplayPort 1.2.
Click to expand...

math says it can. perhaps you should visit the old Seiki 39" 4k thread [H]ere to learn more about custom resolutions and how reducing back and front porch can free some bandwidth overhead. 10-20% gains in bandwidth are common over DP and HDMI.

Edit: i just tested my U2515H if i can lower the pixel clock to level where it uses less than 34% of available DP bandwidth. On stock settings my AMD driver reports 35% bandwidth usage. So it possible to link triple U2515H over a single DP 1.2 output, as long as your OS and graphics cards allows EDID override.

12697346_10204374673361526_1411107004186208555_o.jpg
 
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I've tried this in the shop for like 2 hours together with one of their TD.
I shop there for 15+ years. I can pretty much walk in and stay all day and play with everything in the showroom, or ask for a test setup.
3 x 2560x1440@60Hz daisy chained from 1 Displayport is not going to work. It doesn't even work with tweaking.

Why would someone buy 3 brand new monitors to mess around with running them out of spec and later on whinge about issues that occur once on a blue moon or on every Monday?
 
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To Outlaw85: I apologise for my part in screwing up you thread.
PM me if you want me to remove my posts.
 
geok1ng- thanks for the screenshot. I don't know if this is the same with nvidia and not sure it's in my relm.
illustrator- No need (i'm guessing it's the removed one). I'm up for all the input I can get (pun intended, haha)

Apparently I missed something with the 2 posts removed. I was just looking for more info than my own research was providing since I haven't had a really good monitor in the last 5+ years when DVI was the cat's meow and anything less than 8ms was considered great.

Regardless of the problems in the thread, I do appreciate everyone's guidance. On your note about having to tweak a setup to get triple monitors working through one port. I don't think that is as much a limitation as finding the costs of these good monitors. I am more than OK with running multiple cables to make it work.

On that note, as I said above. I will be going single solid monitor and maybe upgrade later. I've done it in the past and what would anyone think with downsizing to a 20-23" @ 1080 to increase the pixel density (vs 24-27" @ 1080). Even with a 1440 and what i've read on single cards, I think I would be turning the res down to 1080 for gaming to keep the fps stable anyways.
 
The monitor is running in spec. i have not "overclocked it".
The opposite is more true: it is running at a lower pixel clock, since i reduced the useless porch pixels that are a legacy from analog video. For all practical aspects, it is a ~4% underclock.

Under Nvidia it would be even more simple, because Nvidia has direct support for custom resolutions.

A step by step guide to hook triple 2560x1440 to a single DP would go like:

-turn on the first 2 monitors
-adjust custom resolution
-turn on 3rd monitor
-adjust custom resolution (if necessary)
-send the trolls a kiss

If one decides to turn on all 3 at the same time, what is most likely to happen is that the 3rd monitor will default to a lower resolution as described on its EDID.
 
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