Considering triple screen

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Fleskebacon, Jan 27, 2016.

  1. Fleskebacon

    Fleskebacon Well-Known Member

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    Ok, so I'm considering a triple screen setup. But I'm wondering:
    1. Will a single graphics card get the job done?
    2. What kind of graphics card would you recommend?
    3. What size screens would you recommend?
    4. Is it worth the effort/cost?
     
  2. Dave R

    Dave R Well-Known Member

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    1.Single can get it done. I have a 970 and it does well with R3E, AC, iRacing, SCE, and all of em
    2. I have a GTX 970
    3. I use 22 inch screens
    4. Very much worth it IMO. I don't ever wanna go back
     
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  3. Not Lifting Off

    Not Lifting Off Well-Known Member

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    I cant answer your other questions just an opinion on monitors. I was thinking about this a while ago, it seems a lot of people use widescreen monitors which for me takes up too much space, my thinking was if i did it would be 3 x 21" 1600x1200 4:3 monitors rather than 1080 or higher, nice pixel height and a good width, what you lose width wise you make up for in height plus slightly less load on the gpu.
     
  4. Tuborg

    Tuborg Well-Known Member

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    And as they say, you want a thin bezel on the screens. One of many factors to think about. Three new screens and graphic card is on my which list to.
     
  5. Fleskebacon

    Fleskebacon Well-Known Member

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    Space is no issue for me, neither is wife acceptance factor. :)

    So I'm considering 32" or 40". The curved 32" Samsung pc monitors would be neat, but I'm a little in the wild when it comes to size. I'm currently running a single 48", and I really like the way the screen completely covers my field of view. If I'm going for triple screen, I want the same feeling.
     
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  6. Tuborg

    Tuborg Well-Known Member

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    Ohh...40!! Lucky you...

    This is what i meant.
    bezelless.jpg
     
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  7. Azfalt Raser

    Azfalt Raser Well-Known Member

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    I have a triple screen, dual graphics card setup.

    1. Will a single graphics card get the job done? Yes

    2. What kind of graphics card would you recommend? GTX 970, R9 390

    3. What size screens would you recommend? I have 16:9 aspect ratio, 23" monitors. I actually would prefer 16:10 aspect ratio to get alittle more vertical field of vision and 27" monitors. But good luck finding those.

    4. Is it worth the effort/cost? YES!!!!
    FOR ME....I did a test. 1920x1080 vs 5760x1080.
    Oschersleben track. Audi R8 GT3
    At 1920x1080, my best lap was 1:29.1
    At 5760x1080, my best lap was 1:28...something.
    And I practiced 3x more at 1920x1080 than I did 5760x1080. I attribute the slightly faster times due to the fact that I can look further up the track due to the field of vision settings and the wider FOV with the triple screens.
    But who knows, it could be because I suck. :D
     
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  8. Papifix

    Papifix Member

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    @ Azphalt Raser, I also use triple screen and dual graphics card. Do you have a workable SLi-profile found?
    In Need for Speed Carbon and others it flickers:(
     
  9. Azfalt Raser

    Azfalt Raser Well-Known Member

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    I have crossfire enabled, but R3E only uses 1 gpu.
    Apparently, the one profile that worked in R3E for Sli/Crossfire stopped working after an update.
    I don't have issues in other games though so I don' t have to select a profile. It just works.
     
  10. pixeljetstream

    pixeljetstream Well-Known Member Beta tester

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    single 970, 3 x 24" 16:10 setup here, works well and imo totally worth it. Playing with "real fov" just adds so much immersion, when opponent cars appear relatively "big" on your screen is just awesome :) (although your 40" probably delivered that already)
    One thing so, I don't like the "angle" where the screens meet (the perspective change), so I have a very shallow angle setup (20-30 degrees). This mostly affects the middle of your windscreen, as on the other side you can typically match it well with the window frame.

    with real fov the "corner points" tend to be at the edges of your primary screen, but given you mention 32" as "minimum" already, then you for sure won't have issues there, and probably will see all mirrors (which can be a problem with smaller screens).

    The biggest "negative" effect for me when going tripples, was that the g-force effects in many games really affected me much more. Certain games like dirt rally became unplayable if it wasn't for the third party mods to edit camera files that make the car shake more, and the camera less. Luckily all games I play have options or config file edits to keep the horizon more stable.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2016
  11. shardshunt

    shardshunt Well-Known Member

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    pah.. mirrors are overrated
     
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  12. Azfalt Raser

    Azfalt Raser Well-Known Member

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    oh. one more issue, if you're going triple screens.
    It's common for people, new to triple screens, to feel nausea or dizziness. I did. Especially when the scenery goes by really fast.

    The first time I used it, I was playing a shooter game and running down 5 flights of stairs. By the time, I got to the bottom, I felt so sick. Even the game F1 2011 made me feel abit sick to my stomach initially.

    But you gotta fight through it and eventually you get used to playing on triple screens.
     
  13. MAARTENSWESIM

    MAARTENSWESIM Member

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    Triple 24 inch 144 Hz G-sync with a single GTX 980TI here. Love it! It performs well in R3E, i often get 130-140 fps with high settings.
    I also play Project CARS and that game demands some power. I usually get around 110-120 fps with medium to high settings.
     
  14. The_Grunt

    The_Grunt Well-Known Member

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    Wow, it seems that g-sync really does work nowadays with Nvidia Surround, am I correct? If so, three g-sync monitors just went on my wishlist for my next computer upgrade. I'm fairly certain that g-sync didn't work with the surround after the release, which was at the time a big meh for me and made me not interested in g-sync stuff.
     
  15. le_poilu

    le_poilu Well-Known Member

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    I didn't for a simple reason: there were no Nvida graphic cards with more than 1 display port. You needed 3 cards to have 3 DP, as DP is mandatory for Gsync.
    Last nvidia card gen does have enough DP output to make triple G-sync on single card a reality ;)
     
  16. Paradox Agi

    Paradox Agi Active Member

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  17. MAARTENSWESIM

    MAARTENSWESIM Member

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    G-sync do wonders. It works really well today. The image is stable and smooth as butter. I can really recommend it.
     
  18. le_poilu

    le_poilu Well-Known Member

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    Indeed
    Adaptive sync should have been mandatory since the beginning of lcd panels.
    Fixed refresh rate is a legacy from crt we should have ditch long time ago.

    I just bought a G-sync monitor (acer predator x34), it's really great.
    As I only have a 660 ti, it sometimes struggle to push the 3440x1440 resolution with a little bit of AA. But if I manage to keep the frame rate over 50 fps it's buttery smooth (under 50fps r3e make stuttering even with G-sync). If the display didn't have the refresh rate indicator I wouldn't be able to tell the frame rate.
    I only need to set a frame limiter as the monitor don't do over 100hz. If the frame rate goes over I have tearing again (logic). Fps limiter help to avoid vsync when fps is over the 100hz (so no input lag)
    With my old screen (fixed 60hz) I had stuttering when fps was between 65 and 105, needed to go over 105 to have it smooth.
     
  19. Azfalt Raser

    Azfalt Raser Well-Known Member

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    Just to let you know....
    My graphics card is equivalent to the GTX 580.
    At 5760x1080 on custom low setting, it pushes around 40-70 fps and is pretty smooth. I can go to about 30fps before the game starts to appear to stutter (skip frames). Then it becomes unplayable.
    I can play R3E on HIGH. It looks great, but the gpu overheats (104C) just as I make it out of the pits o_O and starts throttling. Time for a new gpu or an AIO water cooler. I'm already using non-reference triple fan cooler, which lowered the temps 20 degrees from the original reference cooler.

    For R3E at 1920x1080 on medium graphics, it pushes 90-120 fps @ Nurburgring.
    I had some stuttering issues where I was getting as low as 56fps @ Nurburgring. When that happens, the video stutters like < 30fps. And fps was oscillating, no matter where I was on the track. 56 to 120, 56 to 120....over and over. The next day, I tested same car/track combo. Steady 90-120fps. I have noticed this
    56-120 fps oscillation on other tracks too. I posted video of both sessions and submitted files for S3 to review and find the possible bug....alternatively, it could be an internet issue - it happened after an Error 503 the last time.

    All I know is 56 fps should be very playable and smooth. If it isn't and you don't see 56fps at the same track all the time (multiple sessions, not track location), then it could be the same issue I came across and not your graphics card.
     
  20. le_poilu

    le_poilu Well-Known Member

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    I can't say about the 56FPS thing.
    All that I had during my testing was that under 50FPS I lost smoothness. It most noticeable on SPA, after the 1st turn in the downhill before "eau rouge". This is were I have the most difficult situation in the game. As long as I get to stay over 50FPS here (in the middle of the pack, not alone on track), I know I'll have perfect smooth all over the game.
    The fact is, because of that I lowered some settings, and in other case I have way more than 100FPS, that's way I put a FPS liiter to stay under the max 100Hz of my monitor, to avoid tearing or vsync that bring input lag.