Widescreen Gaming Forum

Greetings,

after being inspired by Forza 2 and its multiscreen mode I subsequently delved into the topic a bit. My wishes have scaled up a bit. Right up to not just using 3 cheapish screens for Forza2, but to actually return to the glory of pc-gaming full time. But when new to something there are questions, indecision and insecurity with the newly gained knowledge. I appreciate any help you can give me.

I live in Austria, thus I obviously talk about EUROs when speaking about price. But it seems, that round about 1:1 translations can be made to USD and GBP. I also tried to seperate my rather lengthy considerations and thoughts (that might not be well sorted or formulated) and questions, as to not bore you if you aren't bored already ;)


With that said, let's start:
I want:
A relatively easy to use surround gaming experience, for my PC as well as my Xbox360(s). I don't want to compromise Text readability in Windows due to scaling. I will also use the 360s for LAN games without any surround-viewing. Just one screen per console.

I have:
Xbox 360 non HDMI
Xbox 360 with HDMI
Dell Ultrasharp 2407wfp (DVI, VGA, Component, Composite, S-Video) - currently as the secondary screen in portrait mode for surfing the web, chatting, etc.
Samsung Syncmaster 2493HM (HDMI, DVI, VGA, Audio) - as the primary screen in landscape mainly used for gaming, watching movies etc.
PC: Core2Duo E6400@3.2Ghz, Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6 Rev 1.0, 6Gb Ram, Vista Ultimate 64Bit, Geforce 7900GTX
Desk 120*80cm (about 47"*31" if my math does not fail me)

Budget:
as low as possible. Originally, before thinking about using my PC I was thinking along the lines of 800EUR. Right now I realize that this might be difficult and am able and willing to spend a bit more as long as it's close to a sweet spot in terms of bang for the buck. That is excluding any kind of new desk.

Considerations:
I was thinking about going for 3* 1920*1080 screens, mainly to avoid any scaling (as my Samsung regreabbly lacks aspect scaling and I don't want to go that route again with my 360). I obviously need at least DVI, HDMI and VGA Ports. A thin bezel also would be advantageous.
Just looking around a store a bit yesterday I noticed that some 22" (regrettably 16:10 and 1680*1050 with unknown scaling abilities) from LG and Philips have rather thin bezels. Anyhow, I also set my sights on the ACER P224W bmii. It seems to have a thin enough bezel, offers 2 HDMIs (and apparently a packed in DVI to HDMI cable) and VGA for 229 EUR.

That's where I stand right now. And I'm not exactly happy about that, because after looking a bit further I stumbled upon the Samsung Synchmaster 2333HD and LG M237WD, both 23" with TV-Tuners and a whole bunch of inputs for not that much more money. Now considering that I started my whole thought of surround gaming with Screens priced aroung 170 EUR the costs seem to be spindling rapidly out of control. I'm also kind of considering of actually using what I already have in some shape or form for the Surround gaming, but then again I have to think that 3 identical screens would be much preferable, especially if sizes/aspect ratios vary along with the obvious differences of different panels. Also I like to use my Dell monitor in portrait mode, not having to scroll all the time is a true revelation for me. And I would like to keep that as it is, however I have yet to decide how to actually integrate this into my surround gaming setup. As you might have guessed, I have a bit of a space constraint in my room. So I was thinking about either putting it on top of the center surround screen or in a up-and-down movable fashion in front of it. How this would be done, well I've got plans, but I wouldn't know how (or who to contact) to realize them. Perhaps a stand as I was thinking about (and did not describe too terribly well already is on the market?)
Anyway, I'm right now slightly lost and also really unsure about where I get the best value.

More Considerations:
Is my Geforce 7900GTX actually fast enough to provide me with a solid experience in TeamFortress2, GTR2 etc. if I game in 1366*786x3, which seems to be the highest possible 16:9 Resolution with the TH2G? I don't really need my games to run on their highest settings as long as they do look acceptable. Right now I'm playing in 1920*1200 and am satisfied with the performance.

Anyhow, to avoid scaling in Windows I planned, as some other folks here do, to connect 2 of the 1080p screens to the TH2G via DVI and one via VGA.
The 1080p Screen that is connected via VGA to the TH2G would also be connected via dvi to the secondary dvi port of my graphics card.
Thus I would be able to switch between gaming (1366*786x3) and Windows (1920*1080x2+1920*1080), right?
Does the TH2Go Powerdesk actually switch automatically to the "gaming resolution" when a game starts, or do I have to press a hotkey or change it myself?

Well, I also would need to buy a second graphics card if I were to connect the screens in said manner to provide an outlet for my Dell 2407wfp that I planned to continue to use in portrait mode. As far as I understand Vista will only load one driver for all graphic cards, correct?
Thus right now I would need to buy another cheapish Nvidia Geforce, or, should I switch the 7900 GTX with a Radeon 4870 (or something along those lines) I would have to buy another cheapish ATI Radeon (perhaps 2600?) as well. I assume that works without too many headaches to set up?

Also, after reading for the past couple of days I do not remember seeing anyone write about the angles of the displays. Are the side-screens to be angled at something like 45°, or less/more? What angles do the games need to display correctly?

And on the point of positioning, where do I position my head? Or rather, how far should the outer edges of the side-screens be away from my eyes? If looking from above and my head ends right about where the edges of the screens start, is that too close?
My only surround-gaming experience was with the 3 screen arcade machine of SEGA's F355 Challenge, and if I remember correctly it's about like that there.

Questions:
1) Is there any downside to using 16:9 1920*1080 displays? Any glaring lack of compatibility?
2) Are there especially recommendable 16:9 1080p screens with hdmi and dvi? How about those that can be had for below 230 EUR?
3) Are there any monitor stands, that allow the screen to travel up and down, far enough to move in front and above another monitor?
4) Graphics Card: For 1366*786x3, is my Geforce 7900GTX sufficient, if I do not demand the highest settings in Team Fortress 2, GTR2, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars etc.? If not, what other card might I be looking at? Maybe the Radeon 4870, and if so, is 1024Mb much preferable?
4b) If Using two Graphic Cards in Vista (non SLI, just to have at least 3 DVI ports), they have to be of the same manufacturer and supported by the same driver. Right? ATI are using a unified driver as is nvidia, right? And 2 different graphic cards from the same chip manufacturer actually do play nice with vista?
5) Any downside of buying a used TripleHead2Go Digital?
6) How should the screens be positioned for an optimal experience? How far should I be away if using ~23" screens? Should my complete horizontal vision be filled with the screens?
7) Is there anything else to be told to me?
8) Bonus Question: Anyone been playing around with F355 Challenge? Any Chance of having that run in any kind shape or form (be it emulators, actual arcade boards, hidden features in the PS2 or Dreamcast port,...) run on my to be bought surround gaming setup?

Thank you for reading this rather lengthy writing and any input is greatly appreciated.

I may have answers to some of your questions

3. Maybe not. You probably should make your own stand for that one.

4a. You have to try your 7900 gtx first. If it's not satisfactory, the ATI 4870 1G or the Nvidia gtx 285 are very good options. You can add another one later on for CrossfireX or SLI.

4b. Having two video cards not in SLI will work as long as they have the same GPU companies(ATI to ATI, Nvidia to Nvidia). The brands doesn't matter(Asus to Sapphire, etc.). It is also best if both cards have kinda similar technology(maybe 8X00 series with 9X00 series works).

5. There is no downside in buying a used TH2Go Digital. It doesn't break easily. Actually I'm selling mine too. How much is that used TH2Go?

6. For the monitor distance, I don't think it's a good idea if you need to turn your head that much just to see the side monitors. Ergonomically, you should only take a slight turn or glance to see the the side monitors. For gaming, you're not supposed to look at the side monitors(peripheral vision only).

Lastly, just try them out. Return them if you don't like the set up.