Widescreen Gaming Forum

I currently use a 3 screen setup using GTX580 and GT240 cards and three HAZRO27WD at 2560x1440.
Everything works fine, and I use the screens mainly for work.

I like playing MW3, but have no idea how to make it work across 3 screens, and only play on 1 screen ATM.

If i want to get the best 3 screen gaming experience is my best option to replace my 2 cards with a single AMD 7970?

If so, how do I connect 3 screens when there are only 2 display ports?

Do I need to find a card that has 3 display ports? if so, can you recomend?

Any advice, pointers etc for a virgn 3 screen gamer would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Hi shoreman.
I cannot answer your questions regarding your existing graphics cards as I am not experienced enough with them or triple monitor gaming. However, I have been investigating triple monitor gaming and my current belief (without any experience yet as I am about to purchase a new PC system for gaming) is that it is better to use a single graphics card that would allow you to use 3 exactly the same connectors (e.g., 3 DVI or 3 DisplayPort) to achieve triple monitor gaming. That is what I am planning to do. I intend to buy the ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP graphics card (ASUS HD7970-DC2T-3GD5) and use it on an ASUS Rampage IV Extreme MOBO. Here are two links to the card I plan to buy:

http://rog.asus.com/75602012/guides/whats-inside-the-asus-radeon-hd-7970-directcu-ii/

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121499

Here is a link to a WSGF thread that discusses the issue and the problems with stuttering, tearing, etc. that has led me to my conclusion to use a single top-of-the-line graphics card.

http://widescreengamingforum.com/forum/forums/multi-monitor-gaming/amd-eyefinity-discussions/19638/asus-hd7970-dc2-3gd5-solution-tear

I hope this helps! bye for now.

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NEW SYSTEM: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, Intel i7-3930K, ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Corsair AX1200 PSU, Western Digital 2TB HDD, OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD, 3X Dell U2410, Corsair Obsidian 800D, Corsair H100 CPU cooler, Windows 7 Pro, Corsair Vengeance K90 keyboard, Logitech G9X mouse, 32 GB (8X4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws, ASUS DVD R/W & Blu-ray R/W, Thrustmaster T500RS Wheel & Pedals, Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, Saitek Pro Flight Yoke & Instrument Panels, RailDriver

I should also have mentioned stuttering and provided this link (provided to me by Moose and also contained in the above thread):

http://widescreengamingforum.com/forum/forums/multi-monitor-gaming/amd-eyefinity-discussions/18546/eyefinity-crossfire-stuttering-res

From that link you can fiund other references to microstuttering links that I have found very informative.

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NEW SYSTEM: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, Intel i7-3930K, ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Corsair AX1200 PSU, Western Digital 2TB HDD, OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD, 3X Dell U2410, Corsair Obsidian 800D, Corsair H100 CPU cooler, Windows 7 Pro, Corsair Vengeance K90 keyboard, Logitech G9X mouse, 32 GB (8X4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws, ASUS DVD R/W & Blu-ray R/W, Thrustmaster T500RS Wheel & Pedals, Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, Saitek Pro Flight Yoke & Instrument Panels, RailDriver

You have two options here.
For nvidia Surround you need two identical cards, ie two GTX 580s.
You the use the DVIs from each GPU to enable the monitors. Two on the master, one on the slave.

If you buy a single 7970 you use three ports, generally the single DVI and two miniDisplayPort. Don't fret, the GPU will come with miniDP to DVI,DP and HDMI so you will be able to run three monitors.
I have Crossfired 7970s and use a DVI (normal), amd mini to DP+mini to DVI(active adapter).
I also have a second system running dual GTX 470s in Surround.

Right now, if you want the experience with the least cost, I'd buy a second GTX 580.......you can find them second hand now on alot of forums, or new for under $400.
The only downside is the 1.5 GB of video RAM compared to the 7970s 3GB.

To add something, don't fret about using dual cards......I have had SLi and/or Crossfire forever......essentially since their inception and have NEVER had this stuttering everyone bitches about.

If you want the best three monitor gaming you can get, highest resolution and settings, best framerates......dual cards are your option; whether it be dual 580s or dual 7970s.....a single card just cannot do it......

When I started to look into using 3 monitors I was initially planning to get 2 video cards, and probably two HD7970 cards. However I have seen many comments about stuttering and tearing that lead me to deciding to get a single HD7970 with 3 identical connectors such as the ASUS HD7970 DirectCU II card that has 4 DisplayPort connectors that I could connect to my 3 Dell U2410 monitors that have DisplayPort. It seems that this might be the optimal way to go; however, some people have stated they use two cards and the stuttering and/or tearing does not occur or does not bother them if it does occur. In some cases, some people have said they do not see the stuttering or tearing at all, as you have indicated. One person said that if you use AMD graphics cards with an AMD CPU, that works best.

What is your MOBO and CPU?

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NEW SYSTEM: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, Intel i7-3930K, ASUS Rampage IV Extreme, ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Corsair AX1200 PSU, Western Digital 2TB HDD, OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD, 3X Dell U2410, Corsair Obsidian 800D, Corsair H100 CPU cooler, Windows 7 Pro, Corsair Vengeance K90 keyboard, Logitech G9X mouse, 32 GB (8X4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws, ASUS DVD R/W & Blu-ray R/W, Thrustmaster T500RS Wheel & Pedals, Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, Saitek Pro Flight Yoke & Instrument Panels, RailDriver

If you are considering an SLI or Crossfire setup, it would do you good to at least read up on the micro-stuttering issue. It does happen on both platforms and with a variety of component combinations. My brother-in-law just spent his entire weekend wrestling with this problem on a new AMD system he put together. He couldn't resolve the stuttering, so now he has to do a rebuild.

I have read that the problem is less pronounced with SLI due to the generally higher fps. Also, some people are simply more sensitive to the stuttering than others. Whatever build you decide to try, it is good to be aware of potential challenges.

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