Eyefinity vs Nvidia Surround

[christianled59]

Disclaimer:

 

I'm creating this thread purely for insight on what to upgrade to and am not in any way encouraging or purposely enacting a brand loyalty conflict. If this thread for some reason becomes an inaccurate bias, I'll summon a moderator.

 

 

 

I recently decided to purchase a triple monitor set up. Currently running at 5920x1080. Driving these displays is a Gigabyte Windforce G1 Gaming GTX 970. In nearly every game, it provides playable framerates but not quite up to my standards. I had my mind set on upgrading to a GTX 980ti for its marvelous price point and for not having anything "better", for lack of a better word, on AMD's side as far as price to performance goes. 

 

 

With the announcement of the AMD r9 Fury, benchmarks look fantastic. At the price they're promising, it absolutely blows the 980ti out of the water. My primary concern is I haven't used an AMD card since I owned my HD 6950 and at the time, drivers seemed to have been honestly atrocious. I'm aware that they have marvelously improved and that Nvidia's drivers aren't much better -if any better, at all.

 

However, what are you guys' first hand experiences and impressions of Eyefinity on AMD cards? Does it set up efficiently? Are there any major bugs or disadvantages to an nvidia card? I've done some searching around and I can't seem to find anything comparing the two. If there aren't any driver issues or eyefinity issues regarding the use of triple screens, the r9 Fury looks to be my next upgrade. 

 

Please give me your thoughts and impressions. Thank you.

[CoolaxGaming]

I have used eyefinity, but not nvidia surround.

But the process was flawless with a HD 7850

[christianled59]

I have used eyefinity, but not nvidia surround.

But the process was flawless with a HD 7850

A few questions, how is desktop usage? I would like to not be bothered by switching it on and off. For nvidia surround, I can keep it on and I can use each monitor as a separate desktop but make a fullscreen application go across all 3 or just one, if I so choose. 

 

Secondly, are there ANY issues in gaming at all? 

 

 

 

Also, how are drivers now? It's been some time since I've really messed with them. I've read a lot on this forums but you know how biased people can be and how accurate those people are.

[CoolaxGaming]

A few questions, how is desktop usage? I would like to not be bothered by switching it on and off. For nvidia surround, I can keep it on and I can use each monitor as a separate desktop but make a fullscreen application go across all 3 or just one, if I so choose. 

 

Secondly, are there ANY issues in gaming at all? 

 

 

 

Also, how are drivers now? It's been some time since I've really messed with them. I've read a lot on this forums but you know how biased people can be and how accurate those people are.

I don't remember how the desktop usage was , this was a good time ago

2. No, well on 720p screens no. But than again I only play triple as. However, SOMEtimes I had issues with the game meus

3. Dont have an issue with them. Honestly CCC was really bad before, but now its pretty stable.

[-rascal-]

I have used Eyefinity in the past, and I can say, it has come a long way.

Eyefinity on HD 5850's compared Eyefinity on HD 7970's...much refinement over the generation of GPUs.

Eyefinity has been available one or two years ahead of NVidia Surround, so it had the extra time to develop and mature.

Eyefinity is fairly easy to set up -- specially with the major update it got a few months ago (along with the mixed resolution support)

 

That said, I was able to try out NVidia Surround during this year's gaming convention. It was a pretty good experience; very fluid.

Well...they were running Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed on three 24" 1080p monitors on a single GTX 980.

(Entered the draw for a MSI Gaming GTX 980...never heard back from them. Damn)

 

IMO, since you have a GTX 970 already, go with the NVidia Surround.

[christianled59]

I have used Eyefinity in the past, and I can say, it has come a long way.

Eyefinity on HD 5850's compared Eyefinity on HD 7970's...much refinement over the generation of GPUs.

Eyefinity has been available one or two years ahead of NVidia Surround, so it had the extra time to develop and mature.

Eyefinity is fairly easy to set up -- specially with the major update it got a few months ago (along with the mixed resolution support)

 

That said, I was able to try out NVidia Surround during this year's gaming convention. It was a pretty good experience; very fluid.

Well...they were running Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed on three 24" 1080p monitors on a single GTX 980.

(Entered the draw for a MSI Gaming GTX 980...never heard back from them. Damn)

 

IMO, since you have a GTX 970 already, go with the NVidia Surround.

Yes, but is there any reason I shouldn't upgrade to the r9 fury? Since I'll be making the change from nvidia to amd. Or should I wait for an equivalent nvidia card?

[-rascal-]

Yes, but is there any reason I shouldn't upgrade to the r9 fury? Since I'll be making the change from nvidia to amd. Or should I wait for an equivalent nvidia card?

 

At this point, I would say wait until the actual professional reviews are out for the Fury(X) before you make the choice.

It doesn't look like NVidia has any plans to release a new card soon

• The Titan X is a fully utilized GM200 GPU
• GTX 980 Ti is a cut down version of the GM200
• GTX 980 is a full GM204
• GTX 970 is a cut down GM204

You'd would most probably have to wait for 'Pascal' for anything new.

 

The Fury(X) and R9-Nano looks promising, but then again, this is all PURE speculation for the time being.

[bomerr]

do you really need 3 screens? what about 1 ultra wide 34" 3440x1440?

[christianled59]

do you really need 3 screens? what about 1 ultra wide 34" 3440x1440?

Yes. There is a substantial difference from ultrawide and surround. More than twice in fact. And I already have the monitors so what is your point? Productivity and aspect ratio of triple screens is better than 21:9 imo. Only downside is bezels.

[Prysin]

I am running eyefinity, and to this day, i have had no issues with it so far.

From a technical standpoint, i may suggest AMD as their cards seem to scale better with higher resolutions then Nvidia. It is noticable in benchmarks where they show of multiple resolutions.

[Prysin]

its sort of a second thing, but if you plan to try out Virtual Reality, then it seems like AMD will be the best place to do so for the time being. They are really pushing hard for VR, and i sort of do agree that eventually, VR will be the next true gaming experience. When is uncertain, but it will happen.

[ExcitezR]

i have used both Eyefinity and surround but currently using surround and i will go over the pros and cons

 

surround

pro's

when you full screen google chrome it only fills the screen its on 

cons 

have to set it up every time 

 

eyefinity 

pro's

save screen res with border fix 

quick to set up 

cons

all apps would fill all screens so if you wanted to use the desktop as normal you would have to disable it

would sometimes crash (depending on driver)

 

hope this helps

 

i used the eyefinity on 2x R9 280x's 

surround on msi GTX 970

Edited June 19, 2015 by ExcitezR

[christianled59]

i have used both Eyefinity and surround but currently using surround and i will go over the pros and cons

 

surround

pro's

when you full screen google chrome it only fills the screen its on 

cons 

have to set it up every time 

 

eyefinity 

pro's

save screen res with border fix 

quick to set up 

cons

all apps would fill all screens so if you wanted to use the desktop as normal you would have to disable it

would sometimes crash (depending on driver)

 

hope this helps

 

i used the eyefinity on 2x R9 280x's 

surround on msi GTX 970

Well in this case, it seems I'll have to stick with surround. The window filling up all three screens would be a huge nuisance to me.