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User experiences with eyefinity.

BravO)))

BravO)))

Supreme [H]ardness
2FA
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
7,283
Since gaming with eyefinity on my 5850 I have now focused more on the gameplay of games than anything else. I forgot out benchmarking and super AA in favor of a consistant and enjoyable game. I now do not enable showfps or anything as I can now just enjoy and focus on the game instead of seeing what my framerates are and how high I can set the graphics. Has anyone here invested into eyefinity and regret it? Eyefinity users please comment on your experiences.
 
I'm curious if seeing physical monitor frames dividing your screen is disruptive to gameplay.
 
Parmenides said:
I'm curious if seeing physical monitor frames dividing your screen is disruptive to gameplay.
Click to expand...

At first it is because you want to look directly at the other 2 monitors. After you get use to it, your main focus is on the center monitor allowing the corner of your eyes do what they do... see out of the corner of your eyes. Now after gaming with it for a month I can honestly say that the bezels do not effect me what so ever.
 
I am a paycheck away from investing myself..I just got my system setup with a i7 and HD5850 combo and very much looking forward to 3x23" Dell widescreens (monitors are the only thing I am missing, currently running on my 42" LCD)

so I am with you Bravo, I want to see what people have to say, although I have done a lot of reading and watched many reviews... and that is why I want to do it :D
 
Eyefinity is so damn tempting. Besides the wallet issues that goes with buying an array of monitors and a new vid card, I'm a bit concerned about longer term support for the technology.

It means your system will always need a card that can do eyefinity, locking you into ATI unless Nvidia comes up with a similar solution. Thats fine for this generation, who knows what the next will bring. Personally, monitors are the system part that I keep the longest, lasting through several computer builds. Buying several would be a long-term thing, I would not want to see Eyefinity be just a passing fad.

Then there is the resolution issue, you will always need to run games at those sick (and awesome) resolutions which will require upper-end hardware. Again, not a problem for the current generation of games, but in a year or two? Who knows. But you are definitely committing yourself to upgrading your system early and often.

Eyefinity seems very much a product of the times. The games are low-end right now, a product of the console cycle, and not really driving the hardware technology. And we have a crapton of GPU power to throw at them, enabling these resolutions. Fad or trend?

Every time I see a giant screenshot my willpower gets a little weaker...
 
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Ritorix said:
Eyefinity is so damn tempting. Besides the wallet issues that goes with buying an array of monitors and a new vid card, I'm a bit concerned about longer term support for the technology.

It means your system will always need a card that can do eyefinity, locking you into ATI unless Nvidia comes up with a similar solution. Thats fine for this generation, who knows what the next will bring.

Then there is the resolution issue, you will always need to run games at those sick (and awesome) resolutions which will require upper-end hardware. Again, not a problem for the current generation of games, but in a year or two? Who knows. But you are definitely committing yourself to upgrading your system early and often.

Every time I see a giant screenshot my willpower gets a little weaker...
Click to expand...

Good point, but I have to justify that buying three or two monitors to run eyefinity is a long term investment as I will not buy monitors every year or two. As far as horsepower, I am running dirt 2, the actual game, at 5670x1200 2xaa with all high settings and I am getting smooth consistant game play on a 5850... a 5850 that I only paid 280 for and it came with dirt 2. I don't know my fps as eyefinity has made me focus more on the experience of the game and not what my experience can be.
 
Bravo,

I'm thinking the same thing, very close to actually buying an ATI card and running Eyefinity.

A few things are holding me back :

1: The availability of the 5970 - I currently use a gtx295, so it would be the obvious upgrade choice.
2. Skepticism about the driver stability and game support ... I've been following a few forums - here and xtremesystems; there are some stability issues. I have had nearly a year of trouble free max settings gaming on my current GPU, I'm hesitant to part with a ton of money and trade to instability.
3. Cost, always a factor. The 5970 is expensive, and I would need to buy two more Dell 27" monitors. I can afford it, but it's still a large cost - I would want it to be a confident purchase.
4. Game requirements. This might seem trivial now, with all the console ports out there - but what about a game like Crysis2 - or some kind of equivalent? A full DX11 title, that really works current tech. A 5970 might be fine for such a game, on a single monitor ... but at Eyefinity resolution? I don't want to compromise smooth-as-butter frame rates for a jerky Eyefinity solution ...

I will probably wait for Fermi - just to see what Nvidia can bring to the table. At the very least, the release of a new Nvidia GPU will cut the prices on the ATI offerings significantly. Right now, if you want to get a DX11 card, it's ATI or the highway.
 
I was gaming on a single 2560x1600 30" and that was awesome, then I stepped it up with softTH and put two dell 2007fps in portrait mode next to it and that gave me my first taste of triple screen gaming. However SoftTH has many many issues and the gaming was choppy.

Since you need three monitors in the same resolution for eyefinity, I bought another 2007fp for $160 and now I am running three 2007fps in eyefinity and it is awesome! So much better than gaming on a single 30 that I am now considering selling my 30 which is something I did not think I would be doing for a long long time.

I highly recommend version A05 of the Dell 2007FPs for triple screen gaming. You can get A+ refurbished units for $160 on ebay and your total out the door cost for three is less than $500 bucks, which is an absolute steal compared to the $700+ cost per a 2560x1600 monitor. Just make sure you get revision A05!!

With the dells I am running at 4800x1200, however if I want more vertical height I can rotate them to 3600x1600 which still gives me 40% more screen than a 30"

And with regards to the BEZEL whinners, first you do get used to them and they do not bother you after a few days of gaming. Second, you have bezels with a single monitor too, but the difference here is you have an entire screen of more eyecandy on each side of your primary monitor whereas before you had NOTHING! With that said, the minute they have bezeless monitors available I will be buying three of em immediately!

Here are pics of my setup!
NOTE: The 2007fps are 4:3 1600x1200 monitors and you do not get the weird stretched fisheye effect with them which is a
HUGE bonus!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/l88bastard/120720098687.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/l88bastard/120720098691.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/l88bastard/120720098692.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/l88bastard/120520098598.jpg
 
I moved from a 30" HP and have noticed the same thing as the OP. Once I went to Eyefinity, I stopped worrying about having 100+ FPS with 24xAA. I'm now much more focused on enjoying actual games.

The only time I worried about game performance since I've gone Eyefinity was in Stalker: Clear Sky. The game can't quite run highest settings with AA on a single 5870. Here's hoping ATI will have Crossfire and Eyefinity running shortly...

That said, there still are some issues and I've spent far more time troubleshooting than I'd like. The following games that I've tried are completely unplayable on Eyefinity right now: Saints Row, Dark Messiah, Drakensang, KOTOR, Left4Dead (res settings are only accessible in landscape mode)

The following games I've tried in portrait mode work excellent: TF2, Crysis (and Warhead), Risen (with some Config.ini tweaks), Assasin's Creed, Empire TW, GRID, Bioshock, Stalker (and Clear Sky), FC2, Dragon Age, NFS Shift, Red Faction Guerilla
 
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torimish said:
snip.
Click to expand...

Just to give you an idea of eyefinity... If a lot of problems with the performance at that resolution did exist, do you think there would be more threads about it? Yes the availability of the 58xx series cards suck right now, but that should not be a deterrent on getting one. Yes there are some driver issues, but this technology is very new and you can't expect it to be perfect. Imo I think the drivers have been a lot more stable and feature rich than a lot of other people realize. I have had minimal issues with a few easily dealt with problems here and there. As far as compatibility for games with eyefinity... There has only been one game that hasn't supported it and that would be BF2142 as dice doesn't support true widescreen gaming. There are a few games that need tweaks and fixes, but it hasn't been to a point where I have been pissed off. As far as cost go, it's a long term investment with the monitors. Once you get them you put upgrade in the back of your mind.
 
Parmenides said:
I'm curious if seeing physical monitor frames dividing your screen is disruptive to gameplay.
Click to expand...

It may look painfully distracting when you see an Eyefinity setup in photos but when you're actually sitting in front of such a setup, the frames disappear. When all three monitors move in concert, your brain sees all motion as one seamless image and the bezels just melt away. This will become even more convincing once AMD releases bezel management software.
 
BravO))) said:
Since gaming with eyefinity on my 5850 I have now focused more on the gameplay of games than anything else. I forgot out benchmarking and super AA in favor of a consistant and enjoyable game. I now do not enable showfps or anything as I can now just enjoy and focus on the game instead of seeing what my framerates are and how high I can set the graphics. Has anyone here invested into eyefinity and regret it? Eyefinity users please comment on your experiences.
Click to expand...

Hell no. Only regret I have is dipping my toe into it by purchasing three 23" monitors just to try it out - which is still a vastly superior experience to my one 40" 1080P - but if I had to redo the effort, I'd get three 26"-27". I can't now because the wife will kill me. :D
 
Ritorix said:
Eyefinity is so damn tempting. Besides the wallet issues that goes with buying an array of monitors and a new vid card, I'm a bit concerned about longer term support for the technology.

It means your system will always need a card that can do eyefinity, locking you into ATI unless Nvidia comes up with a similar solution. Thats fine for this generation, who knows what the next will bring. Personally, monitors are the system part that I keep the longest, lasting through several computer builds. Buying several would be a long-term thing, I would not want to see Eyefinity be just a passing fad.

Then there is the resolution issue, you will always need to run games at those sick (and awesome) resolutions which will require upper-end hardware. Again, not a problem for the current generation of games, but in a year or two? Who knows. But you are definitely committing yourself to upgrading your system early and often.

Eyefinity seems very much a product of the times. The games are low-end right now, a product of the console cycle, and not really driving the hardware technology. And we have a crapton of GPU power to throw at them, enabling these resolutions. Fad or trend?

Every time I see a giant screenshot my willpower gets a little weaker...
Click to expand...

I think if you keep your budget in check, there is no need to worry about 3x monitors. Monitors can always be used somewhere, elsewhere, whatever. 3x Monitors could end up costing less than $600, which is what people are paying for video cards every year or so anyway.

Even if Eyefinity is not the next big Nvidia thing, it is very likely that you can still take advantage of the 3 monitors for desktop related use.
 
HOW DO YOU HAVE DIRT 2

The game isn't out tell the 8th

I bought a XFX 5850 and I "got" the game free but it will not let me play tell the 8th

PM with the hax bro

lol
 
l88bastard said:
I am running three 2007fps in eyefinity and it is awesome! ]
Click to expand...

that's so funny - i got blasted when i suggested that 20" 1600x1200 monitors would be perfect for eyefinity

now here is someone putting that to great use!

cheers mate! :D

to me ... the 1600x1200 monitors are perfect - low cost and the perfect mix of both horizontal and vertical viewing space
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
HOW DO YOU HAVE DIRT 2

The game isn't out tell the 8th

I bought a XFX 5850 and I "got" the game free but it will not let me play tell the 8th

PM with the hax bro

lol
Click to expand...

Came out last Friday in the EU retail stores and on Steam. I have been playing it all weekend.
 
Nickbaldwin86 said:
I am a paycheck away from investing myself..I just got my system setup with a i7 and HD5850 combo and very much looking forward to 3x23" Dell widescreens (monitors are the only thing I am missing,
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar situation. I am currently two paychecks away from the completion of my new build. My other internal components are already here. Core i7 860 processor, MSI GD80 P55 motherboard, 4GBs Corsair Dominator memory (buying another 4GBs soon) I bought the HP 2509m monitor and an xfx HD 5750 just to survive until I have the cash for an HD 5970 and the three Dell 23" monitor setup.

I really can't wait. I've been out of the loop for a bit...
 
I would like to see more comments on user expiriences to help give others a better perspective.
 
BravO))) said:
I would like to see more comments on user expiriences to help give others a better perspective.
Click to expand...

What more needs to be said? It's AWESOME!

If you have the space, I think the sweet spot in terms of budget/value is a triple Asus 25.5" setup. Yeah these are TN panels, but you won't come close to the size/price with IPS panels.

I have a triple Samsung 2343BWX setup. You can see just how much Eyefinity adds to the immersion by using it for a few days, get accustomed to the ultra wide display, then turn off the left and right side monitors. Talk about withdrawal pains!!!

Bottom line is once you've experienced triple screen gaming, one monitor just doesn't cut it (yes, even one large monitor).
 
On the verge of finishing my new build, with Eyefinity in mind. Just waiting on my 5970 - THIS WEEK! - and then settle on monitors. I am torn between 3 Dell p2210hs (bang for the buck), or the U2410s...a little out of budget, but mabye worth it...

Can't WAIT to get this sucker up and running and post some pics/videos.

I have been out of the mix for a few years, and it's GREAT to be back.

Any monitor suggestions between these two?? (I plan on doing a lot of portrait/FPS gaming, as well as some video work, which will probably work better in Lndscape)
 
AlvinMaker said:
On the verge of finishing my new build, with Eyefinity in mind. Just waiting on my 5970 - THIS WEEK! - and then settle on monitors. I am torn between 3 Dell p2210hs (bang for the buck), or the U2410s...a little out of budget, but mabye worth it...

Can't WAIT to get this sucker up and running and post some pics/videos.

I have been out of the mix for a few years, and it's GREAT to be back.

Any monitor suggestions between these two?? (I plan on doing a lot of portrait/FPS gaming, as well as some video work, which will probably work better in Lndscape)
Click to expand...

3x TN in portrait? Cannot recommend the P2210 for that. The price is right for landscape, certainly.
 
So it looks like I am looking for IPS instead of TN? Any other DP compatible ones besides the U2410 anyone likes?

(Excuse my noobi-ness, but to date myself, last "cutting edge" monitor I had was a 21" CRT...:D )
 
tvdang7 said:
wow that dirt 2 games looks realistic. dx 11?
Click to expand...

I haven't checked to see it is dx 11 yet. I will update you on that tonight. But that last video I felt like I was racing a rally event in crisis or farcry2 if that makes any sinse. I love the hell out of this game as it is competition based but yet polished to the point that it keeps my attention. The true rally events are my mode of choice as it is time based and it allows me to focus on my lines. If you are a racing fan (real racing, not that left turn bs like nascar), or just want a fun game in general, this is a must buy imo. For eyefinity in this game I would suggest landscape as your are able to see more of your turns and competitors.
 
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Agreed. Dirt 2 is amazing in Eyefinity. I loaded it up last night and did the first race. The graphics are amazing and I ran at everything on maximum except MSAA (only 4x instead of 8x) and it was still smooth for me at 5040x1050 with my 5850 and I7 860.

Great game. I can't wait for this weekend to get my wheel setup and get some more time with it.
 
i bought 2x 5850 the day they came out with the vague idea of buying 3x 28" hanns g monitors. just fot hte hell of it i got my 22" montior from my other pc (my main is a 24") and an old 19" just to check it out only to find that eyefinity did not work with crossfire. and i am pretty sure it still does not work with crossfire. yay. i think i read somewhere it can run half-assed with some expensive adaptors, but i am losing interest very quickly.
 
vanilla_guerilla said:
i bought 2x 5850 the day they came out with the vague idea of buying 3x 28" hanns g monitors. just fot hte hell of it i got my 22" montior from my other pc (my main is a 24") and an old 19" just to check it out only to find that eyefinity did not work with crossfire. and i am pretty sure it still does not work with crossfire. yay. i think i read somewhere it can run half-assed with some expensive adaptors, but i am losing interest very quickly.
Click to expand...

Drivers are in the works. Early adoption is not for the impatient.
 
vanilla_guerilla said:
i bought 2x 5850 the day they came out with the vague idea of buying 3x 28" hanns g monitors. just fot hte hell of it i got my 22" montior from my other pc (my main is a 24") and an old 19" just to check it out only to find that eyefinity did not work with crossfire. and i am pretty sure it still does not work with crossfire. yay. i think i read somewhere it can run half-assed with some expensive adaptors, but i am losing interest very quickly.
Click to expand...

Also you gave yourself one of the worst case applications of eyefinity. Three different monitors at different sizes and resolutions. Thats like putting 60" tires on a front wheel drive honda civic in hopes to see what a monster truck feels like. Every review I have seen, everyone of them has stated that crossfire is not currently supported, but will be some time in the future.
 
Love it.

I've got 3 24'' dells (came from a 30'' dell).

At first i was using portrait which rocks for FPS use. Loved it. The huge vertical resolution is amazing.

Now I've switched back to WoW. I've changed them back to landscape. If you're palying a game where you have to move your eyes the bezels become distracting when theyre only 1200 pixels appart. Loving WoW in landscape mode though!

Its definately worth the investment, just make sure you play around it with orientations depending on your game.
 
Just seems so pointless with those ugly bezels and not being able to get an acceptable framerate. The game in that Dirt 2 video looks extremely choppy. It would be cool with a big 2560x1600 screen in the middle flanked by two smaller screens so the bezels wouldn't be so obvious, but that's going to run terribly with all sorts of sacrifices made to settings and framerates.

Then you've got driver issues and all sorts of issues with individual games. The only way to run it acceptably is with multiple cards which doesn't work. Basically all the stars have to align to get a decent play experience: working crossfireX with good scaling, a game that plays well with it, FOVs, drivers, etc. And then half the games are going to play best with the monitors turned vertically, destroying the whole point of it since you could have used a large monitor to get basically the same view but without bezels and all the other problems.
 
JCDenton said:
Just seems so pointless with those ugly bezels and not being able to get an acceptable framerate. The game in that Dirt 2 video looks extremely choppy. It would be cool with a big 2560x1600 screen in the middle flanked by two smaller screens so the bezels wouldn't be so obvious, but that's going to run terribly with all sorts of sacrifices made to settings and framerates.

Then you've got driver issues and all sorts of issues with individual games. The only way to run it acceptably is with multiple cards which doesn't work. Basically all the stars have to align to get a decent play experience: working crossfireX with good scaling, a game that plays well with it, FOVs, drivers, etc. And then half the games are going to play best with the monitors turned vertically, destroying the whole point of it since you could have used a large monitor to get basically the same view but without bezels and all the other problems.
Click to expand...

I am sorry, but your post is just ignorant. One the bezels do not come into play as your focus is the center monitor as you would a single screen. The side monitors are there to provide an extremely wide fov that allows you to see out of the corner of your eyes, not to directly look at the side screens. The framerates are consistant and eye candy is turned to high but it appears choppy as it was filmed with a digital camera (not camcorder) that records at 24 fps. I don't see what your big fuss is with it not supporting crossfire yet as most people here would rather run a single gpu. Drivers are a lot more stable from my personal experience than you are giving them credit for and only one game, out of a lot of games I have played, did not support eyefinity and that is bf2142. If these problems where a big deal (which they are not), why is their hardly, if any, backlash from eyefinity adopters on the forums except for the issue with finding one and the dp to dvi adapter? You opinion has been noted, but I am going to tell you that you are wrong anyway from lack of experience. So please troll somewhere else.
 
I've ben using EyeFinity for about a month now......Dell 2408s. I had no, read none, trouble with drivers or setup. It was easy.
It is awesome.
I have learned to adapt to the bezels, but in portrait mode it isn't as aggrevating.

I'm on my second playthrough in Borderlands, and the game is just better in EF.

I've played HL2 and most things Source.......just way better, especially L4D2.....awesome fun.
I've played COD and it's iterations.
Next up on my list is MW2.

I'm anxious to see what Crossfire support brings, and hopefully some bezel adaptation support. Overall I like it, ALOT.
 
BravO))) said:
I am sorry, but your post is just ignorant. One the bezels do not come into play as your focus is the center monitor as you would a single screen. The side monitors are there to provide an extremely wide fov that allows you to see out of the corner of your eyes, not to directly look at the side screens. The framerates are consistant and eye candy is turned to high but it appears choppy as it was filmed with a digital camera (not camcorder) that records at 24 fps. I don't see what your big fuss is with it not supporting crossfire yet as most people here would rather run a single gpu. Drivers are a lot more stable from my personal experience than you are giving them credit for and only one game, out of a lot of games I have played, did not support eyefinity and that is bf2142. If these problems where a big deal (which they are not), why is their hardly, if any, backlash from eyefinity adopters on the forums except for the issue with finding one and the dp to dvi adapter? You opinion has been noted, but I am going to tell you that you are wrong anyway from lack of experience. So please troll somewhere else.
Click to expand...

Run the benchmark and post your FPS instead of claiming they are "consistent." In the Dirt 2 demo thread someone running at 5760x1200 with a big OC on a 5970 is averaging 33.4 FPS. I think you opted to describe your FPS in vague generalities to avoid ridicule. Racing games are not meant to be played at anything less than a solid 60fps. Every time that number is breached it takes away from immersion. The fuss with no crossfire support is that one card isn't enough to drive acceptable framerates. If you're fine with your minimums dipping into the 20's, that's ok, but most people who can afford three monitors can also afford an extra card or two to drive them.

Pretending that bezels do not come into play is equally ridiculous. Most reviewers are reporting that non-racing games need to be played in portrait mode because otherwise vertical vision is too limited. The bezels are then going to be VERY pronounced because the center monitor has less horizontal space than normal.
 
JCDenton said:
Run the benchmark and post your FPS instead of claiming they are "consistent." In the Dirt 2 demo thread someone running at 5760x1200 with a big OC on a 5970 is averaging 33.4 FPS. I think you opted to describe your FPS in vague generalities to avoid ridicule. Racing games are not meant to be played at anything less than a solid 60fps. Every time that number is breached it takes away from immersion. The fuss with no crossfire support is that one card isn't enough to drive acceptable framerates. If you're fine with your minimums dipping into the 20's, that's ok, but most people who can afford three monitors can also afford an extra card or two to drive them.

Pretending that bezels do not come into play is equally ridiculous. Most reviewers are reporting that non-racing games need to be played in portrait mode because otherwise vertical vision is too limited. The bezels are then going to be VERY pronounced because the center monitor has less horizontal space than normal.
Click to expand...

I will run the bench tonight. As for the fps, I really don't care how fast my setup is running at as long as it has smooth play in my mind. I don't need benchmarks to tell me how a game is running. For the vertical vision, it is the same as a single monitor with the exception of a few games (1920x1200 has the same amount of vertical pixels as 5670x1200 which means the same vertical view but wider field of view). But honestly after playing on eyefinity I have had no desire to run benchmarks to tell me what I see.
 
JCDenton said:
Run the benchmark and post your FPS instead of claiming they are "consistent." In the Dirt 2 demo thread someone running at 5760x1200 with a big OC on a 5970 is averaging 33.4 FPS. I think you opted to describe your FPS in vague generalities to avoid ridicule. Racing games are not meant to be played at anything less than a solid 60fps. Every time that number is breached it takes away from immersion. The fuss with no crossfire support is that one card isn't enough to drive acceptable framerates. If you're fine with your minimums dipping into the 20's, that's ok, but most people who can afford three monitors can also afford an extra card or two to drive them.

Pretending that bezels do not come into play is equally ridiculous. Most reviewers are reporting that non-racing games need to be played in portrait mode because otherwise vertical vision is too limited. The bezels are then going to be VERY pronounced because the center monitor has less horizontal space than normal.
Click to expand...

Brother, you just hate on nearly every ATI post in these forums.
EyeFinity is in it's early stages and represents a very positive move for PC gaming that no other modality can offer. I would expect CrossfireX support in the months to come. I am anxoius to see what it contributes, but right now the games I have played have not suffered from the use of a single 5870 at all.

I think if you read the thread about the EyeFinity display that took place in Dallas last month, nearly every person attending had a very positive experience.

My experience has been very good, it took some getting used to, but I dealt with it.
From all the posts I've seen, all you bring is negative to these discussions, and I suspect you've never used an ATI card, let alone EyeFinity.:eek:

So.........what is your point, besides you don't like the idea?
 
magoo said:
snip
Click to expand...

He is not a nvidia fanboi as he own a 5xxx series card. I think he is just one of those persons that speaks without experience. I still think people have a mentallity that gameplay is based on numbers and framerates and seem to lack the understanding that if it works and does it well what is the problem.
 
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