Hi all, I'm looking to buy another two U2711s and move to a triple monitor setup. However, I'm not a hardcore gamer and would be completely happy gaming well on a single U2711. I'm looking for advice on the following (warning -- I've only considered the Nvidia angle): 1) I believe that leaves me needing three dual-link DVI ports (or equivalent -- DisplayPort). I realise that the GTX690 is so equipped, but it seems overkill given that I don't plan on gaming at the full resolution. Can I get away with a lesser card (even if it is only one step down -- a GTX680, say)? 2) Is this even doable with a single card? Am I correct though in thinking that SLi doesn't output through the ports of the second/third/fourth card, etc.? 3) While gaming, would my other screens show desktops or would the GPU effectively choose to/need to switch to a single screen display? Many thanks for your help, lunaris
1) as long as you set the resolution down to one monitor then a 680 should run most games at full resolution! 2) It is do-able, AFAIK, although I think you'd need 2 cards to run all 3 monitors at full resolution? (1 by displayport, 2 by DVI-D)? 3) during gaming generally an extra monitor will stay on desktop, however if you want it to be black you can simply turn it off
1) Yes as long as the specific card has the outputs you require. As a quick check I looked at the Gigabyte GTX670 Windforce 3x and that offers; up 2 x dual link DVI ports, 1 x HDMI 1.4a and 1 x Display port connectivity wise. All four ports can output to your screens natively (just run HDMI to DVI-D on the third monitor). 2) Yes, the Kepler cards can output to four monitors simultaneously. AMD cards (HD7950 & HD7970) are also an option but do require expensive adaptors* to get the third monitor up and running unless it has DP natively. *Active Mini DP to DUAL LINK DVI adaptor - retail around £70 3) Depends entirely on how you want it setup. You can just run standard extended desktop if you want. This will allow gaming on the middle monitor and other apps (such as MSI afterburner) on the two side monitors. Surround works in a similar fashion to extended desktop mode when outside of games, but how it displays in game in will depend on what resolution you set in game. I never tested this fully as I run my monitors in Portrait mode but I believe if you set the game to run at 2560x1440 whilst in Surround it will only appear on the middle monitor. If you set it to 7680x1440 it will appear on all three. Ultimately this would require a bit of trial and error to get right for your usage. Eyefinity works in a very similar fashion but requires you set up specific profiles to get your monitors setup just how you like them - either extended mode or spanned.
