Eyefinity Setup

[Musho]

I was recently looking for a nice 30" 2560X1600 monitor to replace my old 20" 1680x1050 monitor with, when the Eyefinity technology catched my eye. I started reading into the subject and decided I would go with 3 1920x1200 monitors instead (either 24" or 26"), which will be cheaper and give me a bigger viewing space too! Now I am completely clueless on what monitor to pick.

I will most likely make use of both landscape and portrait mode (5760x1200 vs 3600x1920) so being able to use the monitor in portrait mode is a must. This ofcourse also means the monitors have to be a perfect rectangle (no roundings on any side). Also, the setup will be used for movies and gaming, so a good response time would be very nice too (Not hardcore FPS gaming, so it doesn't have to be the best of the best, but I wouldn't want any ghosting or noticeable input delays.)
Since at 1920x1200 @60hz it's possible to use a passive displayport>DVI adapter, which are relatively cheap, the monitor only has to have a DVI port (so no overpriced displayport monitors, please )
Thin bezels are ofcourse a very good feature too, although it isn't a must (as long as it isn't too wide).

Edit: Damn, it's already hard enough to find a decently priced monitor that's able to be used vertically. All of the monitors I've found so far are overpriced with useless features such as USB, Card readers, etc (and they have an expensive displayport). Any suggestions?

[Musho]

In my quest to search the perfect monitor for my needs, I found one pretty close. Too bad it's only a 23" and 1920x1080 resolution, though...It also has a displayport connector, so that's going to save me a few bucks on the displayport>DVI adapter and it's quite a bit cheaper than a 1920x1200 monitor, too. I'm wondering if this is a good monitor for my needs? Also, if someone else manages to find a 1920x1200 monitor that fits my needs, please do let me know!

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=320-8325

[AndrewZorn]

the answer,
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dfo/periph...ll-u2410&s=dfo

[SoulsCollective]

I was looking at doing this a while ago, but came to the conclusion that it'd be better instead to get the Dell 30", have it in landscape mode, then two Dell 20.1" monitors on either side in portrait. More usable area, considering just how far out three 24" screens would span, and better suited to our field of vision. Plus if you get the right models the edges line up perfectly.

[AndrewZorn]

i will still be ordering a single 30" though
black strips that have width makes images 'jump' across
also software support for multimonitor seems pretty crappy to me

does the eyefinity stuff allow it to behave like one single monitor?

[Mic]

I was looking at doing this a while ago, but came to the conclusion that it'd be better instead to get the Dell 30", have it in landscape mode, then two Dell 20.1" monitors on either side in portrait.

The dells 20.1'' are the same hight in potrait mode as the 30'' in landscape? very tempting solution if so.

[Musho]

I've ordered 3 of the following monitors:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...317&Tpk=2343bw

No displayport though, so I'll have to fork out 100 bucks for an active displayport to DVI-D adapter, too. But hey, it's so going to be worth it. These monitors have slightly more pixels than 1920x1200 screens, have pivot function and have fairly small bezels. On top off all that, they really have an incredible performance/price ratio. I was torn between those monitors and the following ones:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=320-8325

Displayport build in, small bezels as well, pivot function, cheap. I still decided to go for the slightly higher resolution screens. Knowing myself, I would probably regret it afterwards if I went with the slightly lower resolution ones. Monitors aren't easy to upgrade, so I decided to spend that little bit extra. I'll let you guys know once everything arrives here and be sure to do a small write-up (and ofcourse include some pics, too!).

[ann1985]

i will still be ordering a single 30" though

[AndrewZorn]

that is some crazy res
and nice thin bezels

but having to buy an active displayport adapter... what?

[Musho]

that is some crazy res
and nice thin bezels

but having to buy an active displayport adapter... what?

Due to technical limitations in the displayport used on the HD5xxx series, a cheap 6-10 dollar displayport > DVI adapter won't work. It needs to be an active adapter (it needs to be powered via a free USB port) to convert the displayport signals to DVI-D signals. Those are roughly 100 bucks.
Apple sells one of those active ones, but they are crappy and sometimes they don't work. Proven working ones are the adapters from Bizlink, Dell en Accell.

[Jamesrt2004]

i will still be ordering a single 30" though
black strips that have width makes images 'jump' across
also software support for multimonitor seems pretty crappy to me

does the eyefinity stuff allow it to behave like one single monitor?

yeah thats the advantage of eyefinity it just works... well.. ad it just sees it as one big massive monitor

[AndrewZorn]

i thought it was 2 DVI, 1 HDMI, and 1 displayport?
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/scree...HD_5870_01.jpg
so why do you need more than a $5 DVI to HDMI cable (or adapter + cable, if you prefer)?

and surely that is just one of the many modes... but yeah, if it can detect as one large monitor, then that's not as bad. because i hate it when stuff just refuses to recognize a second screen, and how the taskbar only runs on the first, etc.

[Musho]

1 of the two DVI ports is shared with the HDMI port. This prevents you from using a setup with 2xDVI + HDMI. You _have_ to use the displayport if you want to use 3 monitors.

[AndrewZorn]

wow that sucks
for the price of that adapter you could get another video card
were it not for the unity problems that would create

[Splave]

can that be done without an active display port using crossfire? or even a 4*** card

[AndrewZorn]

the "all monitors act as one" thing I can't recall having seen before, but if i can, id like to know
because then it would make sense to buy two old-gen cards, it would cost about the same as the single newer one and adapter, and would net better performance, and have 4 monitors...

[STEvil]

I think 3x 1920x1080 120hz (true 120hz) monitors would be optimal.

Eyefinity is limited to 57/58 series only and does not work with multiple GPU's... yet.

[SoulsCollective]

the "all monitors act as one" thing I can't recall having seen before, but if i can, id like to know
because then it would make sense to buy two old-gen cards, it would cost about the same as the single newer one and adapter, and would net better performance, and have 4 monitors...

The Matrox Triplehead does a similar thing, except it's limited in the maximum resolution it'll support. Surround gaming has been around for ages, it's not like AMD is doing anything new here.

[zanzabar]

I think 3x 1920x1080 120hz (true 120hz) monitors would be optimal.

Eyefinity is limited to 57/58 series only and does not work with multiple GPU's... yet.

were are u going to get a 120hrz with a good resolution

the answer,
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dfo/periph...ll-u2410&s=dfo

is that panel really still an ips, nvm its $500+

[AndrewZorn]

The Matrox Triplehead does a similar thing, except it's limited in the maximum resolution it'll support. Surround gaming has been around for ages, it's not like AMD is doing anything new here.

yeah matrox can do crazy things but their cards are not competitive in terms of performance with ATI and nvidia

[SoulsCollective]

Erm...did you read either of the links? The Triplehead is not a graphics card. It's a box that attaches to your existing graphics card/s to turn two or more separate physical displays into a single "logical" dislay.

[AndrewZorn]

i didnt read the links but i know what you are talking about
a product which i have seen several times but the resolution limitation makes it not worth it
like you said

i was more commenting on the matrox cards in general that people use for the 10 display flight sim stations

[Rammsteiner]

Ghehe, what about Philips new 21:9 screens? Shame they only come in 56" for now Also kind of expensive

[AndrewZorn]

also kind of useless
try to find content native to that resolution

and inb4 MOVIES, LOL realize that blu ray will still give a boxed-in 16:9 picture
youd be zooming in on it

if you are that into movies, just get a projector, it is much easier to adjust for (blacking out) aspect ratios
and better suited for the media anyway

[STEvil]

were are u going to get a 120hrz with a good resolution

1920x1080 isnt good enough? Impossible to run any higher resolution at 120hz anyways thanks to limits of DVI/DP/etc.