Widescreen Gaming Forum

If Eyefinity aims at lowering the entry barrier for triple screen gaming then the ability to mix and match resolutions and orientations is important I would think. At the SoftTH forum you can find people using all kinds of combinations of monitors, often simply because they had them sitting around anyway.

What I would like to know is if this feature is currently not available because AMD didn't have time or consider it important, or are there technical constraints preventing this as I think Mr Killebrew suggested previously?

At present there are technical reasons which all but obviate arbitrary constellations, orientations, and resolutions in SLS mode. SLS mode is preferable for high performance HD+ gaming. I will be frank with you all: I don't intend to offer it unless it meets my requirements for high performance gaming. I realize this may not be the answer that you desire, but it is co-incident with my vision for EF.

If some subset of your ask meets the requirements, it may be supported. If it is offered, later rather than sooner would be the outcome.

Hopefully this helps folks making decisions.

SunSp*t

Thank you for your clear answer, which is important as I have seen confusion about this in several places.

PLP is a tricky one.

Eyefinity is a technology only enthusiasts are likely to endulge in, 3 monitors + a brand new video card is an expensive set up, and people who previously wanted the best of the best went for 30" monitors.

I suspect that a great many of the 30" onwers like myself are tempted by expanding the number of pixels but have found themselves backed into a corner because buying another 2 30" monitors is a massive investment and I'm sure of all the 30" owners only a handful can afford this.

Adding 2 reasonably cheap 1600x1200 panels either side in portait mode is an affordable alternative, until PLP has official support I think that's a large percentage of the potential eyefinity userbase ruled out.

The only other option is to sell your 30" and invest in 3 1920x1200 or god forbid 1680x1050, If the rest of the 30" owners are anything like me they will never sell their 30" :)

It seems like a moot point for me in the UK at the moment anyway, I can't see any flatscreen 1600x1200 panels for sale :/

Getting 4:3 monitors at all is becoming a challenge...

It seems like a moot point for me in the UK at the moment anyway, I can't see any flatscreen 1600x1200 panels for sale :/

Yes 4:3's are disappearing and the ones that are around are more expensive than larger widescreen eqivalents. Do you have a Dell30"? If so these 20"ers may match http://www.itcsales.co.uk/acatalog/20__TFT_Displays.html

they aren't that more expensive if you compare them to s-ips mva pva widescreen panels. Most of the remaining 4:3s aren't TN.
Not a single one of them offers DisplayPort.
This makes me sad, I would prefer a 4:3 + widescreen + 4:3 as an optimal pixelspace to deskspace to fov combination. 3 widescreens are a bit too much fov imho.

On a side note, has anyone seen any new info on the release date of the new Samsung Ultrathin Bezel Monitors?

[quote]If Eyefinity aims at lowering the entry barrier for triple screen gaming then the ability to mix and match resolutions and orientations is important I would think. At the SoftTH forum you can find people using all kinds of combinations of monitors, often simply because they had them sitting around anyway.

What I would like to know is if this feature is currently not available because AMD didn't have time or consider it important, or are there technical constraints preventing this as I think Mr Killebrew suggested previously?

At present there are technical reasons which all but obviate arbitrary constellations, orientations, and resolutions in SLS mode. SLS mode is preferable for high performance HD+ gaming. I will be frank with you all: I don't intend to offer it unless it meets my requirements for high performance gaming. I realize this may not be the answer that you desire, but it is co-incident with my vision for EF.

If some subset of your ask meets the requirements, it may be supported. If it is offered, later rather than sooner would be the outcome.

Hopefully this helps folks making decisions.

SunSp*t

Its not about the answer that I desire, simply put, if you don't support eyefinity for my 20"x30"x20" PLP monitor configuration, then I have no reason to buy ATI this round and will just stick with Nvidia's GT300.

If you wanna win me over, which is not hard to do, you gotta accomodate me and lucky for you I have a monitor setup that is pretty standard for hi end enthusiasts.

Why take a brilliant Idea such as Eyefinity to the goal line and then decide not to score? Makes no sense, but hey you gotta answer to your shareholders not me.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." -Bill Cosby

I think it is safe to say that if any orientation besides the standard 3 identical monitor orientation will be included, it will be the LPL SLS 4960X1600 that we speak of here..

I definitley gather that from this statement, " SLS mode is preferable for high performance HD+ gaming. I will be frank with you all: I don't intend to offer it unless it meets my requirements for high performance gaming."SunSp*t..

I am positive that a 30inch in the center and (2) 20 inch side panels qualify as high performance HD+ gaming... I actually think it will be the highest productive resolution that this round of (ATI) cards will be able to support.. Let me clarify, I believe these cards can run (3) 30 inch montiors but not effectively.. So I think the 20/30/20 will be the crescendo of performance for the triple montior setup this round, if it's supported.. Also, you will still need at least an X2 or CF for the best results...

I am positive that a 30inch in the center and (2) 20 inch side panels qualify as high performance HD+ gaming...

Let me clarify, I believe these cards can run (3) 30 inch montiors but not effectively..

In the current EF implementation most of the arbitrary configurations will trash performance in SLS modes. As I previously noted, pLp is a configuration of interest, but there are many things we are going to do with EF. Rsources aren't infinite.

5870 runs three 30" monitors very effectively. In fact it runs six 2560H 1600V monitors very effectively. Yeah CF would be better, but a single GPU is quite good.

This may sound harsh. I perceive the real reason for the passionate ask is the economics of where some of you are right now, with investments in configurations better suited to the recent past. I am betting that for everyone who won't give up their current configuration, there are 4-5 times the number of folks, many of them not widescreen pioneers such as the folks here, who will go out and buy those cheap 23-24" DP panels to create a new system that features Eyefinity. It is my bet, one that many of you may disagree with, that those customers are the new wave, the future of widescreen gaming. You may not realize it, but you want me to be right and you to be wrong. Think about it.

Someone said something about satisfying stockholders. I have a plan for EF, and what we do or don't do is more affected by that plan than anything to do with satifying the stockholders.