SLI + 3 - 27.5" Monitors Advice

BiH115

BiH115

Gif Guy
Joined
May 12, 2011
Messages
9,327
So I've got some cash to spare and I was wondering what you gentleman think would be the best course of action.

I've got 2 GTX 560 Ti 1Gb cards in SLI at the moment, the PNY reference cards, and I am running a single 27.5" Hanns G monitor @ 1920x1200.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254052 - This one to be specific

I was wondering if my system would be fine enough to handle an additional 2 of the above mentioned monitors, during gaming of course. I've got about 900-1000 to spend, so I was not sure if the ridiculously high resolutions would be possible with just a mere 2 560 ti's. (Would dropping the high resolution of a triple monitor setup make things look worse/stretched if it wasn't at the max resolution?) :confused:

I'm a newbie to multi monitor setups, thanks in advance!




Edit: What about 2 monitors instead of 3, how would this affect MMO performance when it comes to stretching out the game across the two screens? How big of an fps drop will I expect playing a game like WoW at the max resolution on the two screens? Thanks again!
 
Last edited:
Probably you will run into VRAM limits with 1 GB and three 1920x1200 monitors. You could sell your cards and get 2 GB ones instead.

Gaming on 2 monitors will be possible, but not all games are enjoyable with the bezels right in the middle of your view.
 
You will definitely run into Vram limts with that setup, but if your not the type of person that has to have everything maxed it will run just about anything with the right settings. At this point the three games you would have trouble with would be Crysis, Metro, and BF3. Just about any other game should be fine near max. (No AA)
 
Running 3 screens, myself I'd say you'll run into GPU horsepower AND VRAM limitations. It does depend largely on what type of games you play, however. My minimum recommendation would be 2x 570s or a GTX590, as long as you're not running 3D. If you are considering AMD, then I'd go for 2x 6870 2GB cards

At those resolutions, you're pushing over 6 million pixels, total, if not in 3D. Currently you have just over 2 million. So, roughly (even though it doesn't scale this way in real world):

Current FPS on your single screen = x
x/3 = new FPS on your triple screen setup

So if you're getting say 90FPS now, expect 30 when you go to triple monitors. And that will likely be your high end... the thing about multimonitor gaming is that your low end also gets chopped by roughly /3... so if you low end currently is (for instance) 15FPS, then expect is to go down to 5-8.

The other option, if you don't want to sell you cards and get new ones, would be to get a tri-SLI board and a third 560... but that makes even less sense in a triple card setup with only 1GB of VRAM.... SLI requires each of the cards in the SLI configuration to mirror eachothers framebuffer. In effect, the more cards you use, the less usable VRAM they have. Again, my recommendation is for either 2x 570 or a GTX590, minimum.
 
Mhm, I see, I see.

So, with all of that in mind (thanks all 3 of you by the way, very much appreciated), I think I may go for another monitor of the same kind, or maybe get the two, I'll have to see how I feel tonight after a little bit of thinking. I was considering perhaps going with the monitors for now, and toning down settings to get that nice panoramic view, sacrificing top graphics of course, but later on when the newer generation of cards comes out (Q1 2012 right?), getting 2 of the newest cards. Does that sound like a reasonable plan of action?
 
obliv said:
You will definitely run into Vram limts with that setup, but if your not the type of person that has to have everything maxed it will run just about anything with the right settings. At this point the three games you would have trouble with would be Crysis, Metro, and BF3. Just about any other game should be fine near max. (No AA)
Click to expand...


Oh, also, really quickly, I am not that kind of person at all. Otherwise I may have opted for 2 580's. Money wasn't a huge deciding factor when I built this, I just didn't want to overdo it so to say, I wanted to get something that was an upgrade to my aging ATI 4850 and AMD X2 4800+ system, which was showing it's age dramatically, with every intention of going "all out", so to speak, when the next generation comes out (next generation being nVidia 6xx and AMD/ATI 7xxx). I'm completely within limits of toning stuff down. I even run BF3 and the like on the next step below "ultra" settings just for the framerates. My vision's not picky at all and I can hardly tell the difference when some of the "fancier" options are enabled, I'd rather have nice viewing capabilities (hence more screens) and convenience (performance), over eye candy.


A couple of more questions, if it's not too much trouble as well:

1.) 2x 6870 2Gb in CF, how do these fare compared to my two 560 Ti's in SLI with 1Gb of vram? Huge upgrade for the 3 monitor setup, or?
2.) Would it be better to get one of the 6870x2 cards instead of two individual 6870's? Pros/Cons?
3.) The 6950 and the 6970, how do these cards compare to the 6870? Faster/Worse/Much worse?
4.) The 6990/GTX 590/GTX 580 - 3Gb, are these even worth it over 1.) , 2.), 3.)?''
5.) PSU, is my current psu, (in sig.) good enough for any of these options?

Thank you again all!
 
Last edited:
two screens sucks for gaming on anything other than RTS. FPS will draw the targeting reticule right in the middle with 1/2 of it on each side of the bezels. I'd avoid dual screens for gaming. For productivity, it's fine, however.
 
sabregen said:
two screens sucks for gaming on anything other than RTS. FPS will draw the targeting reticule right in the middle with 1/2 of it on each side of the bezels. I'd avoid dual screens for gaming. For productivity, it's fine, however.
Click to expand...

I figured just for productivity, but I may consider getting both screens and just being done with anything monitor related.
 
BiH115 said:
A couple of more questions, if it's not too much trouble as well:

1.) 2x 6870 2Gb in CF, how do these fare compared to my two 560 Ti's in SLI with 1Gb of vram? Huge upgrade for the 3 monitor setup, or?
Click to expand...

Definitely more frame buffer would help. 6870's are roughly equivalent to the 570.

BiH115 said:
2.) Would it be better to get one of the 6870x2 cards instead of two individual 6870's? Pros/Cons?
Click to expand...

Pro: takes up only 1 PCI-E slot. Could go Quad CrossfireX down the line, if you wanted to (and your board supports it). Con: Some people report "micro-stuttering" when using dual GPU cards, miniscule framerate jittering.

BiH115 said:
3.) The 6950 and the 6970, how do these cards compare to the 6870? Faster/Worse/Much worse?
Click to expand...

in AMD cards, the higher the first number, then newer the generation, the higher the second number, the better the relative performance comparatively betweent he other cards in the same line. 68xx is the mid-tier. 69xx is flagship. You'll need to lookup performance comparisons on these though, and specs, to see which suits you better.

BiH115 said:
4.) The 6990/GTX 590/GTX 580 - 3Gb, are these even worth it over 1.) , 2.), 3.)?''
Click to expand...

6990 and GTX590 are the same idea. two of the highest end cards smacked together into a single dual slot solution. I've not had a 6990, but I did own a GTX590. Per GPU, it was (stock clocks) slower than dual GTX570s, but I was gaming in a mini-ITX rig, so it suited my needs for size constraints. This is the ONLY reason I'd suggest getting a 6990 or GTX 590...space constraints. Neither are as good as two physical top end cards. The GTX580 3GB is what I ended up moving to, after I sold the GTX590. 3 of them, actually, 1 per screen. 2 was simply not enough to push 5760x1080, or 3240x1980 with detail options cranked. When I only had 2x 3GB GTX580s, there wasn't enough GPU horsepower to push the options I wanted. Because of SLI's requirement that cards in an SLI configuration mirror eachother's framebuffer, having only 1.5GB cards would have given me enough GPU power, but not enough VRAM to make the options that I could now push, a feasible option. Hence, 1 card per screen. I later added a GTX465 as the PhysX GPU, but that's inconsequential to this explaination.


BiH115 said:
5.) PSU, is my current psu, (in sig.) good enough for any of these options?

Thank you again all!
Click to expand...

At 750W, you're not going to be able to run more than 2 cards of the 6870/570 type, or a single 6990 or GTX590, and the latter two will be pushing the envelope pretty heavily. Three cards would not be an option on that PSU.
 
Very interesting, thanks for the responses to all 5 of my questions.

So, based upon my type of gaming style, that being not as picky about eye candy, and with the 750Watt, would you recommend the 2Gb 6870's for a tri monitor setup with decent settings cranked up, still giving decent performance, maybe even better than decent? Correct me if I'm wrong here with my expectations.
 
I would say that's really your best bet, yes. If you can get someone to buy one of the XFX 6870's for you, and you buy the other one, then you'll get rebates on both. Tell them you'll give them the other free games for their hassle or something.

I do have concerns that you'll be able to find two more 1920x1200 HannsG screens though, most panel manufacturers have switched completely to 16:9 @ 1080p for their top end.
 
sabregen said:
Definitely more frame buffer would help. 6870's are roughly equivalent to the 570.
Click to expand...
I think you mean 6970 here.

For triple screen gaming, either of the following would be fine (sorted by performance from slow to fast)

6870 2GB CF ($200 AR each)
560Ti 2GB SLI ($250 AR)
6950 2GB CF ($250 AR)
570 2.5GB SLI ($370 AR)
6990 ($720)
6970 CF ($330)
580 3GB SLI ($550)

IMO 6950 2GB CF is the price/performance sweet spot here. (Or 560Ti 2GB SLI if you prefer NVidia)
 
chithanh said:
I think you mean 6970 here.

For triple screen gaming, either of the following would be fine (sorted by performance from slow to fast)

6870 2GB CF ($200 AR each)
560Ti 2GB SLI ($250 AR)
6950 2GB CF ($250 AR)
570 2.5GB SLI ($370 AR)
6990 ($720)
6970 CF ($330)
580 3GB SLI ($550)

IMO 6950 2GB CF is the price/performance sweet spot here. (Or 560Ti 2GB SLI if you prefer NVidia)
Click to expand...

Huh. No way. One 580 with 3Gb is the best choice for a triple monitor setup? I was actually VERY much considering this one card, but was unsure if the msi twin frozr would: a.) fit in my case b.) overtax my antec 750w.

My other choices were between the original 6870 2Gb in CF, or the 6950 2Gb in CF.

Edit: Scratch that, didn't notice it was an SLI setup for the 3Gb 580. How would one fare for three monitors?

Which of the following would be the best choice for a 6950, in terms of size/performance (are they similar in size to a 560 ti reference card like mine? bigger?): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...83901 600095873 600007782&IsNodeId=1&name=2GB
 
Last edited:
the only single cards capable of powering 3 displays are the AMD ones with Eyefinity (but requires Diplayport or Displayport adapter... and an active one, at that), or the GTX590. Nvidia cards (except the GTX590) only have 2 DVIs and one mini-HDMI (current common configuration on single GPU cards). With Nvidia, you have no other options on a single card to power 3 screens. Even if you hooked up 2x DVI monitors to the single card, and also hooked up the mini-HDMI port to the third, it will only allow you to power 2 at a time.

Update: The 3GB SLI setup is 550-590 PER CARD, not total. keep that in mind. I've got $2k just in GPUs, and it all started with wanting to go triple 3D monitor. kind of snowballed on me. This is a little out of date, but here's a shot that's close to my current config (top picture is the most recent):

IMG_2181.jpg

IMG_2180.jpg

IMG_2179.jpg


I've since added Mayhems Ultra Deep Blue dye to the loop, a silver coil, a GTX465 PhysX GPU, and a 12x BD-RE drive, and 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600.
 
Last edited:
+1 sabregen
you either need a single AMD card and displays that have the right matching connections, or adapters
or atleast 2 nvidia cards in SLI

although there are a few novelty cards, such the EVGA 460 2win
galaxy makes a few cards like this that have some sort of "tripleheadtogo-esque"
chipset built in that allows up to 4 displays
 
Eyefinity may not be perfect but I'd probably say take it over Vision Surround, depends on the monitors you're using. Most Geforces don't really have the memory to run three displays that well when the going gets tough.
That said though, two 1GB GTX560Tis will be able to run three monitors in a fair amount of games, as long as you cut the detail down. Lower detail (because two 560s aren't that powerful in the grand scheme of things) will help with memory usage too.
 
Yeah I figured it was SLI for the 3Gb 580 directly after I already posted it, that's what I get for rushing my reply for no reason.

So I think I've made a decision, overall. I am thinking of going for 2 HIS 6950 2Gb cards, the ones with the blue coolers, they had some solid reviews on them, and the cooling seems to do well for most people. If it's anything similar to the 560 Ti's I have in terms of heat in my case (27-30 C idle - 50-55 C load) I'll be more than pleased.

This is the card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161372

I also picked out a dvi - mini DisplayPort active cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999034

This one should be fine, setting it up to the middle screen, and the other two side monitors to the DVI connections on the top card?

That should let me use crossfire and eyefinity fine I'm assuming?
 
New POSSIBLE plan:

Sat down with a buddy and one thing led to another, I may be fine with one monitor for now, but instead get one of the single solution beastly cards, like the GTX 580 3Gb, 590, or the AMD 6990. One of these choices, and then my input was to buy ONE more monitor, for a dual monitor setup for my programming/productivity needs. Which of these 3 cards is the fastest solution (money being no factor when getting ONE of these)? Which one will game at 1920x1200 MAX/Near Max? I realize I said I am not an eye-candy guy but at 1920x1200, I'm somewhat expecting ONE of these powerhouse cards to demolish games at 1920x1200.

Thanks again! I apologize for this thread going on 200 light years.
 
Forget the 3GB GTX580, that's a single GPU, it can't possibly make the use of the 3GB by itself, for that you need to use them in SLI. The HD6990 is a dual-GPU card, it's effectively two HD6970s inside. The HD6990 is not far off twice as fast as the GTX580, even the 3GB version.
 
A 6870 or 560 Ti is able to run modern games at 1920x1200 at close to highest settings. A 6950 or 570 will allow you to turn on AA and still perform very well.

For gaming on a single 1920x1200 monitor, the 580 3GB won't perform better than the 1.5GB. The 590 is essentially a convenient and more expensive form of 570 SLI.
 
Depends on the game. Using a unified system I'm working on to assess the demands of games, An HD6870 at 1920x1200 scores about 145, and a GTX560Ti about 160.
Of 103 recent games benchmarked, with a score of 145, you can only get a guaranteed 60fps average in 48 of those games. With a score of 160, you can do 58 games, but that's not much more than half. In the other half, you'll have to cut some settings down, or suffer an average frame rate lower than 60.
 
Thanks all once again for all the replies and insight, it's making my hardware knowledge skyrocket :).

With that in mind, I decided to sell both of my 560 Ti's, yesterday in fact, to a buddy for $400, I gave him a little bit of a discount in regards to what I paid for it, and he happily took it since he's not a big fan of the whole "waiting" thing, he's very impatient and was itching for an upgrade from his 4850.

Now then, I decided to look around for a new card (or cards) on newegg, and decided that maybe the whole eyefinity idea wasn't such a good idea after all. I think I will wait a while until better monitors come out, perhaps in a year and a half or so, maybe longer, ,maybe less, we'll see, and of course when the newer cards come out as well, maybe even the generation after them.

My buddy gave me a deal on two EVGA SuperClocked 580's (1.5Gb models of course) for $650, so I decided to take him up on it. He works at a local computer shop here so I figured it was a steal compared to ~$500 a piece on newegg. I also decided to grab ONE extra monitor for productivity purposes from newegg, the same 27.5" Hanns-G 1920x1200 model I had.

Looking at benchmarks and everything as a whole, I think it's a nice upgrade and I should be set for 1-2 years at least. Thanks again all :)

Edit: Also purchased a 1200w Antec PSU just in case, and to future proof myself of course (in case anyone makes a remark about the two power-hungry cards that they are, in SLI :) ).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top