Widescreen Gaming Forum

Is the Dell 2407WFP or 2407WFPB good for 3x Eyefinity gaming or not really? I already have one 2407WFP I could pick up 2 more for $200 each on craigslist.

While I've not got direct experience of the 2407, I've got two of it's older brother (the 2405) and a 2410 set up in nVidia Surround and it works very well.

Ah, okay. So it being TFT isn't the end of the world?

You need to get an adapter for those displays right? If I use Eyefinity that is... NVidia it would work straight "out of the box?" So to speak... Thanks.

I'm curious if it's better to get two more 2407 WFP's or just get brand new monitors off of newegg now for $200. Which would be better?

Yes, nVidia would work 'out of the box' but you need two GPUs to do it. And frankly, nVidia shows very little interest in fixing bugs/adding features to nV Surround compared to AMD and EyeFinity. But it's a good solution when it works, which is 99% of the time provided the game will support triplewide resolutions. ;)

And no, TFT isn't the end of the world... all flatscreens are TFT. Except plasma telly's obviously. But if you're worried about 'LED'... it just means the backlight. An LED monitor will use LED backlights as opposed to the classic CCFL backlights.

You'll need one Single-Link DisplayPort to DVI adaptor, there should be links for where to get 'em in other threads in the EyeFinity forum. :)

Sorry, I edited my post right when you posted that so including something I added:

I'm curious if it's better to get two more 2407 WFP's or just get brand new monitors off of newegg now for $200 each. Which would be better?

And really, nVidia isn't showing much interest in 3 monitor gaming? Hmm. Do you think it's just a fad or is it here to stay? Is PhysX on nVidia cards much of a benefit or not really?

Well, it's not that they're not showing interest... it's just that they don't seem to have the enthusiasm for Surround that AMD does for EyeFinity. It's like they're using it as a tick-box feature for competition comparison - "What, you mean they can do triplewide gaming? Hell, so can we!" (tick)

You need to make sure you're running monitors that are all the same if you want bezel compensation for EyeFinity. If you mix and match monitors it won't allow you to do bezel correction. Which sucks.

PhysX is pretty much a gimmick unless you play a relatively small selection of games... and even then the PhysX effects can't be too much of an essential as that instantly means the dev cuts their target audience down by a large percentage.

I like my 2405s. I like my 2410. If I had been able to get a third 2405, I'd have done that and probably gone the EyeFinity route. If I was going after all-new monitors, I'd look at getting three of the Dell U2311H, which has a DisplayPort for easier EyeFinity.

You need to decide whether you want to go single GPU with adaptor route, single GPU with three new monitors (with DisplayPort) or two GPUs and whatever monitor combination. :(

I think I have to go the dual GPU route either way to get any playable framerates at multiple-monitor setup. Isn't that right?

For example, playing Metro 2033 on 3 monitors would require at least 2x 6950's, and I doubt that would be at any respectable quality.

I think I have to get either 2x nVidia GTX 570's or 2x nVidia 6970's. ~$700

I can either use 3 Dell 2407WFP's (use the one I have now, and get 2 more on craigslist for $200 each) ~400

vs.

I can get 3 new monitors on Newegg for $200. I'd do this if the monitors on newegg are better quality than the dell. I'm not sure how to gauge this though?

I would get those new Dell panels you mentioned but they're $300 a pop and that turns this from $400/$600 to $900 and that's a bit much I think.

The Dell 2407 is a PVA type panel IIRC, which is not as good as IPS, but miles better than TN type, which I suspect those $200 monitors will be.

I think a single 6970 should cope with everything bar Metro 2033, to be honest (and even multiple top-end cards struggle with that in Surround).

I understand that getting three 2311H's is probably pushing the budget too much. ;) Although if they're $300 apiece, they're a lot better value in the States than they are in the UK (where they're ~£265 although they're not badly priced here for an IPS panel. :)

I'd probably try out twin GTX570s and get two more 2407s (I vastly prefer 1920x1200 to 1920x1080). But check out the GTX460 1GB vs. 2GB VRAM comparisons here - more VRAM helps a lot.

The Dell 2407 is a PVA type panel IIRC, which is not as good as IPS, but miles better than TN type, which I suspect those $200 monitors will be.

I think a single 6970 should cope with everything bar Metro 2033, to be honest (and even multiple top-end cards struggle with that in Surround).

I understand that getting three 2311H's is probably pushing the budget too much. ;) Although if they're $300 apiece, they're a lot better value in the States than they are in the UK (where they're ~£265 although they're not badly priced here for an IPS panel. :)

I'd probably try out twin GTX570s and get two more 2407s (I vastly prefer 1920x1200 to 1920x1080). But check out the GTX460 1GB vs. 2GB VRAM comparisons here - more VRAM helps a lot.

What he said :)

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The Dell 2407 is a PVA type panel IIRC, which is not as good as IPS, but miles better than TN type, which I suspect those $200 monitors will be.

I think a single 6970 should cope with everything bar Metro 2033, to be honest (and even multiple top-end cards struggle with that in Surround).

I understand that getting three 2311H's is probably pushing the budget too much. ;) Although if they're $300 apiece, they're a lot better value in the States than they are in the UK (where they're ~£265 although they're not badly priced here for an IPS panel. :)

I'd probably try out twin GTX570s and get two more 2407s (I vastly prefer 1920x1200 to 1920x1080). But check out the GTX460 1GB vs. 2GB VRAM comparisons here - more VRAM helps a lot.

Got it - I'm scouring craigslist now for 2407's. I just got a bit of christmas money as well so now I'm thinking about going for the 2311H's or even more daringly 2410's (ouch $1,500!)

Also, regarding the video card. You recommend the GTX 570's over 2x 6970's? Main reason I ask, if RAM is such a big issue wouldn't the 6970's offer more performance at a higher resolution?