3 replies to this topic

[Burned_Follower]

For the sake of others learning how to do this as well, I thought I'd make this a separate post.

My ultimate goal(whenever I can afford it) is to run MWO on four monitors. 3 for eyefinity, and a 4th for managing hardware temps and TS/Vent. I'm going crazy with monitors because I got plans to construct a mechpit but I want to get all my hardware/software organized first before I even think about building the rest of my mechpit.

I also plan on using a second mouse for the 4th monitor so that managing/monitoring my hardware temps and TS won't interfere with my MWO gameplay...especially if I'm checking something out in the middle of a match.

So here are my questions:

1. Do all four monitors have to be the same model and/or size?

2. I am currently using this video card. I'll be replacing it with a 7990 in the future. When I do repace this card, what specific things do I need to look for in a 3GB 7990 card in order to run all four monitors off of it?

3. Is it unwise for any reason to run all four monitors off of one card? If so, can I run all four monitors on a minimum of two cards?

4. Do all four of my monitors have to be plugged into a DVI-I slot? If not which specific slots do I need to look for in a video card?

5. Is there anything else I should be considering while planning this crazy multi-display idea?




My PC specs are as follows:
Motherboard: ASUS FX990 R2.0
RAM: 16GB dual channel
GPU: XFX HD7950
CPU: FX8350 4.1GB per core(8 core processor)
PSU: 750watt Roswell 80+platinum
OS: Windows 7, Ultimate 64bit

Edited by Burned_Follower, 16 November 2013 - 10:05 AM.

[Goose]

In random order ( ):

Only the monitors you plan to span the game across need to match in size, but the issue of picking one model of monitor that could use any of the patches in the card remains. If the card has two DVIs' and a HDMI, then the monitor(s) would need to have at lest one of each …

VGA patches would still work, but not as nicely …

Asking one card to drive more then one monitor at game framerates is folly: SLI/ CrossFire is needed to do so without major compromises.

You might want some more RAM on them cards.

http://www.maximumpc..._display_setups

[nubcake]

If you want to run more than 2 monitors off one card, you gonna need active (this is important) DisplayPort-to-something adapters or native DP support in the monitors.

No, you can't split monitors between different cards if you want to have crossfire enabled.

Multi-monitor support currently is pretty bad, even so with different sized ones.
Unless you -absolutely- want to do that, you're better off with just a single bigger display (or TV, if you want to go even bigger).

I understand your reasoning for going multiple monitors, but after actually trying it out I don't feel very happy about the outcome. Apart from the obvious problems (software support, increased GPU load, bezels, etc), there's also a major issue with perspective being very wrong on side displays if you position them around you, not flat in front.

I have 20"-30"-20" displays in PLP and I game on just the 30-er now.
Thinking of swapping to just a single ~50" TV for games because of all the issues.

One more thing, 3Gb of video ram might be too low for 1920x1080 x 3. And it will be definitely too low for 2560x1440 x 3.

Edited by nubcake, 16 November 2013 - 02:45 PM.

[Dylan Pickles]

I have been running 3 monitors for several years now with different ati cards, always using a single card without crossfire, here is my experience:

I first had a 5770 run off of a 2.5 ghz 775 socket dual core. I used 3 monitors that each had a resolution of 1680 x 1050. The card was an upgrade from a gt8800 and I was able to get similar framerates at the same quality settings in many games so I was pretty satisfied. I was used to pushing the limits of my previous card so 25-30fps was acceptable in shooters but MWLL ran pretty {Scrap}, I think I would dip to 7-10fps in brawls.

I upgraded my processor to a Q9550, a socket 775 3ghz quad and got a decent framerate boost making MWLL playable but still at the 15-20fps range in brawls and of course at low settings still, MWO was not out yet.

Next upgrade was to a 6950 2gb graphics card which made a huge difference getting me into the 25-30fps range when brawling in MWLL (built on cryengine 2), still at low settings though.

A year later, after MWO beta started I upgraded my mobo and cpu to an i7 2600k and was able to turn my settings in MWO up to medium and maintain about 30fps in brawls, high settings in BF3 did about 25-30fps, a little low but pretty.

a few months ago I had to RMA my 6950 because the an gummed up and they replaced it with a 7870 2gb, I was able to bump my MWO settings to high on some maps and maintain 35fps in brawls but settled on medium settings to keep framerates above 30 on the more intensive maps.

Recently I switched to 3 "square" monitors, 4:3. Instead of a desktop that is 5040x1050 I am now at 3840x1024. I managed to find 3 decent used monitors with a 5ms response time and decent viewing angles when put in portrait mode. I have had a significant framerate boost and now play everything on high settings, I also have very little distortion at the edges of my screens, a significant distraction with 1920x1080 monitors or even 1680x1050 monitors.

I would highly recommend triple monitors to anyone and especially with 4:3 screens if you can find decent ones, I got mine for $50 each from a surplus, less than what I paid for m first widescreen monitor years ago when I started on the monitor madness.

On the point of running 4 monitors I have had great success running my 4th off of the onboard video dvi, mostly because I didn't have another adapter but the built in HD3000 onboard graphics of my i7 handled everything nicely while the card was rendering 3 screens of MWO.

Wider field of view trumps graphics quality for greater immersion in my opinion, I can't recommend it enough.

Edited by Dylan Pickles, 16 November 2013 - 03:24 PM.