I'm thinking about going from triple 24" monitors to one ultra wide 34". I think a 34" 21:9 will give me all the FOV I need and I'll also gain performance of running a much lower resolution. I'm currently running 6010x1080 and I have to use medium settings on most games. RRE looks good but when I switch to 1920x1080 and bump up the graphics the game looks very good and it still plays smooth. So I'm hoping an ultrawide will be an ideal compromise. So for those of you who know, is my thinking correct? Should I go for the ultrawide monitor or stick with the triples? Thanks!
Am curious about this as well, seeing so many folks just use a big TVs, the 34" seems interesting (I think Acer brings out some game "Predator" 34" soonish). Immersion wise of course the angled TVs do add much more, as the curvature will not be that drastic, but simpler setup... Also not seeing VR "there" yet for next year, likely more like 2 years away from something that will be more enduring experience.
This is pretty much my opinion, the triple screens add a lot to the immersion because you see things whizzing by in your peripheral vision which really gives you the sense of movement. Plus you actually move your head left and right to check cars beside you or look at the apex, just like in a real car. You wouldn't get any of this with a single wide screen monitor. For me the immersion factor is why I went with triples and why I love them.
I ran triples for a few years, even ran triples with Forza back some years. I now run a 21:9 monitor - 34" 3440x1440 and am generally happy with the result (GTX 980 GPU). I can run more eye candy than I could with triples, all my sims run smoother (less FPS drops) with higher settings (rFactor 2, pCARS, AC, R3E, Dirt Rally, SCE, etc.). You do give up some peripheral vision, that's a given but it was worth it to me. I also gained desk space and I like this resolution better for general computer use as working across 3 - 1920 x 1080 (nVidia surround 5800x1080) monitors was not ideal. I still use 2 monitors (the 34" ultra wide for racing and a 27" on the side for whatever I need) , and 2 tablets for Roccat PowerGrid and DashMeter Pro. An UltraWide is much better than just a large monitor/TV because of the ratio and higher resolution. I have the ultrawide approximately 24" from my driving position - things are still sharp and does a decent job of filling the view. Again, you do give up width. Its ultimately a personal decision. I realized I need to update my signature.
Thanks everyone for the replies, I went ahead and placed an order. I guess Ill keep the triples around in case I'm not happy with it.
Personally I would have put your money toward a decent GPU so you could run Raceroom in all its glory on the triples, I run 3 x 27" monitors with a GTX780oc and only turn off motion blur and shadows to medium, digging the immersion with triples and am waiting with anticipation on nVidia's new GPU next year, supposedly with 16Gb holographic memory. Be time for 3 x 42" ultra HD tv's me thinks!
I would sell Titan and go for 980 SLI in preparation for VR. However as you don't want SLI I would rather look at 3 screens on med than 1 on ultra.
You have a Titan with all that vram and it won't run RR all out you checked your mobo is running your PCI-E in 16x and not 4x, I know RR is running on the ancient dx9 so you're not utilizing the cards full capabilities but you should be able to run RR all guns firing with a Titan. I also agree less eye candy and more immersion, generally don't get much time to take in the view, eye's for the racing line only, do like a peek to the right coming outta pits at The Red Bull Ring, lovely view of track and the competition!
Thanks I just checked and it is at 16x. I even swapped out the Titan with a 970 and it made little to no difference. Keep in mind I'm very picky and sensitive to framerate, micro stutter and such. The game runs on the higher settings and is certainly playable but I'm a bit demanding I guess.
Its perfectly smooth at 60 fps on my i5 4690 / r9 280, everything maxed except aa on multi-sample, low reflections, no motion blur. No stutter of any kind. You should be getting better performance IMO
Is that with triples? One of my tests is to run Moscow Raceway with 19 AI and start at the back of the pack. Stay at the back of the pack, if you have any framerate dips you will see them between turns 2 and 3. It isn't bad but I will usually see the stands and signs in the back stutter a bit as they pan around. Like I said I'm demanding/picky. Mods - pls feel free to move this to Hardware, I realize should have started it there.
Yeah with triples if the rough patches that get you- whereas with a single monitor the FPS dip won't go low enough to notice, on triples that gets multiplied by 3, so you can easily get down into unacceptable frame rates in spots, while the rest of the track runs great. I've thought about this as well, good topic. I'm running 2x290x's and even the games where xfire works, you can't just jack everything up - not the same as a titan of course, but still beefy GPU power.
A tip I tried in another thread was changing vsync settings in driver to adaptive, completely eradicated all stuttering at Le Source, Spa for me, haven't had time to try it at many tracks but 100% improvement on ones I have. Keep vsync off in game.
Well I got the ultrawide in yesterday and I hooked it up last night. The monitor is impressive, its freakin wide! Being able to crank up the graphic settings in all of my sims and still enjoy smooth framerate is really nice but dang it! I do miss the extra FOV. Not sure yet but I think I might put the triples back in since they give me a more complete cockpit; I can see the whole rear view and passenger window with them. And I won't need to use the virtual mirror - which I'm not a fan of. *sigh*
Yeah, I know if I went that route I would have the same reaction. For me the immersion level is the most important thing and going to one screen, even if it's really wide, is a big reduction in immersion.
Hey folks, Ive just ordered this: http://www.acer.co.uk/ac/en/GB/content/predator-x34-series I cant wait to get it but i have one question I need answering and I thought I'd throw it out to you guys. Here are my specs: Gtx 980 oc, 32gb ddr3 @ 1800 mhz win7 64 pro. Now I know that with the extra resolution and screen size (I'm currently using a 24inch 1080 monitor) my fps are going to take a hit if I dont lower the graphics settings a bit. But will using G-Sync on the new monitor free up some GPU power so I can keep my settings maxed? Thanks in advance for any replies and please forgive my grammar as I'm English and lazy
I don't think you have to get stressed about the the performance you'll have from your setup. You'll had a tiny gpu you'll need to lower your settings to keep the frame rate high enough but I don't think it will be the case for you. G-sync don't free up any gpu power, it only allow to get a nice a smooth display even when frame rate is not ultra high. The x34 max is 100hz, so you don't need more fps, with your pc I don't think it will be a pb to get between a solid 60 and 100hz. R3E is not a very gpu eater ;-) And to be honest I'm looking forward to buy the same display... But I only have a 660 ti at this time
I have a GTX 970, 16gb DDR3, Win10, running three 32" screens and I don't have any problems running R3E at fairly high settings (not maxed but pretty high) with no noticeable hit on frame rate. Granted, my screens are only 720p/60hz which helps, but you're also one step better than me on GPU so I think you'll be fine. You may have to turn some things down a notch but I doubt you'd notice the difference and it will be worth it for the extra peripheral vision/immersion (for best results run a lower FOV of 0.5-0.6 to avoid warping in the side screens). Like Poilu said, R3E isn't nearly as resource hungry as some of the other sims so most newer systems can crank it without much problem.