Surround gaming

[Zoszko]

Hey,

I'm just about to build my next PC and I have got a huge 'problem'.

Currently I have got a HD5970 with three standard 24" displays (1080p 60Hz...) I would like to keep this setup, BUT I would like to use 3D Vision as well.

So Q. one: Is it possible to play 3D Vision games only on one of the displays? (If yeah I would change my middle one) With my current setup I can set it up like that.. (This means I dont have to buy 3 new monitors only one for those games I would like to play with glasses.)

I know, back in the days it was possible to use both ATi and nVidia cards in the same system... I guess they have "fixed" (fckd) this up over the years, but it could be interesting too. (3 displays on my ATi + 1 on my nVidia card for 3D vision) This may sounds weird for you, but if it works that would be the perfect solution for me. (Raw ATi power + Physx + CUDA for rendering)

I don't want to start a big flame war about ATi vs nVidia cards, so please dont do that. :)

[hiyayhi]

It would be cool if you could do it and I have heard of people doing such things as these but with massive compatibility problems. It would probably be better to just sell your 5970 and get a 4gig 680 or something if you REALLY want to play with 3D. (I'm not just saying this because I'm an Nvidia fanboy, I currently have a HD6990 in my system.)

[Zoszko]

It would be cool if you could do it and I have heard of people doing such things as these but with massive compatibility problems. It would probably be better to just sell your 5970 and get a 4gig 680 or something if you REALLY want to play with 3D. (I'm not just saying this because I'm an Nvidia fanboy' date=' I currently have a HD6990 in my system.)[/quote']

Yeah I know it may cause some problems, but if there is a slight chance I would like to try it or at least get some feedback on it. :D But yeah I'm not gonna buy 2 brand new VGAs just to make sure it's not compatible. What do you think about the display setup? I would like to use all the 3 for non-3D Vision gaming and only one for the Vision experience. I think this is possible, but who knows whether both drivers work the same way, when you set the ingame res. to 1920x1080.

[Helltech]

Get some 670 4GB, 680 4GB or a Titan if you want to do surround 3d, thats really the only options.

[R4STABAN]

Surround:

In order to join the displays into a surround config they need to have the same refresh rate. This means if you have 2 60hz ones on the sides and a single 120hz for 3dvision in the middle, you'd need to set it to 60hz to use surround.

This would suck because it's an EPIC ballache to switch between surround and 'activate all displays' especially if using SLI (which also constrains the outputs you use on the cards as you must use certain outputs to enable surround in SLI.

4gb:

For 3d surround you don't need 4gb of memory on a 680 or 670 because for newer games the fps will be low at max settings so you'll be lowering them, freeing up vram. (aa is an fps killer and vram hog). This is true of 1 or 2 of them at 5760x1080 in 2d also. 4gb is useful for 3 670s/680s as they can push higher frames at this res and you can up the settings. 4gb is also useful for skyrim mods etc will dump a tonne of extra textures onto the gpu. If going dual or single I wouldn't bother with 4gb cards unless they were a good brand and not too much more $$$ than 2gb cards.

2 cards:

Windows 7 will allow you to have an amd and an nvidia card running and powering different displays. Idk if you will have driver headaches though. I also have no idea how the displays would extend in windows and how the focus would switch from fullscreen 3d on the nvidia to the amd displays. Also no idea how the desktop will function with one displays running 120hz on nvidia and the other 2 60hz on the amd (this works fine coming from the same nvidia though btw), all stuff for you to try and find out..

What i would do:

Attach the displays to a 2gb 670 (for example), make the 120hz the primary display in the center and activate all displays. when you game you use the centre monitor (either 120hz 2d or 3d) and use the other monitors as accessory. During gaming they will turn off however (windows limitation).

[Zoszko]

Surround:

In order to join the displays into a surround config they need to have the same refresh rate. This means if you have 2 60hz ones on the sides and a single 120hz for 3dvision in the middle, you'd need to set it to 60hz to use surround.

This would suck because it's an EPIC ballache to switch between surround and 'activate all displays' especially if using SLI (which also constrains the outputs you use on the cards as you must use certain outputs to enable surround in SLI.

4gb:

For 3d surround you don't need 4gb of memory on a 680 or 670 because for newer games the fps will be low at max settings so you'll be lowering them, freeing up vram. (aa is an fps killer and vram hog). This is true of 1 or 2 of them at 5760x1080 in 2d also. 4gb is useful for 3 670s/680s as they can push higher frames at this res and you can up the settings. 4gb is also useful for skyrim mods etc will dump a tonne of extra textures onto the gpu. If going dual or single I wouldn't bother with 4gb cards unless they were a good brand and not too much more $$$ than 2gb cards.

2 cards:

Windows 7 will allow you to have an amd and an nvidia card running and powering different displays. Idk if you will have driver headaches though. I also have no idea how the displays would extend in windows and how the focus would switch from fullscreen 3d on the nvidia to the amd displays. Also no idea how the desktop will function with one displays running 120hz on nvidia and the other 2 60hz on the amd (this works fine coming from the same nvidia though btw), all stuff for you to try and find out..

What i would do:

Attach the displays to a 2gb 670 (for example), make the 120hz the primary display in the center and activate all displays. when you game you use the centre monitor (either 120hz 2d or 3d) and use the other monitors as accessory. During gaming they will turn off however (windows limitation).

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I know AA is not for high res gaming so I always turn that off in the first place. :D But I would like to correct a few things. So with the dual card (AMD + nV) setup, I would go with 4 displays. 3x60HZ on the HD and the 120Hz on the GTX, which means I would have 'dual mid screen'. So when I hit the magic key for 3D Vision the nV card does the trick w/ the 120Hz display. (I dont think this would work cuz I can't extend a 5760*1080 image to a 1920*1080 display without any 3rd party software correction.)

So my current decision is: GTX 680 (2GB/4GB depends on the price gap) + 3D Vision Ready monitor + my old HD5970. If it works the way I have just described above I will get a 7970 too. If not, I hook the 2 side screens to the 680..

[R4STABAN]

Surround:

In order to join the displays into a surround config they need to have the same refresh rate. This means if you have 2 60hz ones on the sides and a single 120hz for 3dvision in the middle, you'd need to set it to 60hz to use surround.

This would suck because it's an EPIC ballache to switch between surround and 'activate all displays' especially if using SLI (which also constrains the outputs you use on the cards as you must use certain outputs to enable surround in SLI.

4gb:

For 3d surround you don't need 4gb of memory on a 680 or 670 because for newer games the fps will be low at max settings so you'll be lowering them, freeing up vram. (aa is an fps killer and vram hog). This is true of 1 or 2 of them at 5760x1080 in 2d also. 4gb is useful for 3 670s/680s as they can push higher frames at this res and you can up the settings. 4gb is also useful for skyrim mods etc will dump a tonne of extra textures onto the gpu. If going dual or single I wouldn't bother with 4gb cards unless they were a good brand and not too much more $$$ than 2gb cards.

2 cards:

Windows 7 will allow you to have an amd and an nvidia card running and powering different displays. Idk if you will have driver headaches though. I also have no idea how the displays would extend in windows and how the focus would switch from fullscreen 3d on the nvidia to the amd displays. Also no idea how the desktop will function with one displays running 120hz on nvidia and the other 2 60hz on the amd (this works fine coming from the same nvidia though btw), all stuff for you to try and find out..

What i would do:

Attach the displays to a 2gb 670 (for example), make the 120hz the primary display in the center and activate all displays. when you game you use the centre monitor (either 120hz 2d or 3d) and use the other monitors as accessory. During gaming they will turn off however (windows limitation).

Ok I see what you're planning. You'd want the nvidia display separate.

Tbh @ 1080p 4gb of vram is pointless. 3d doesn't use extra vram.

[Zoszko]

Surround:

In order to join the displays into a surround config they need to have the same refresh rate. This means if you have 2 60hz ones on the sides and a single 120hz for 3dvision in the middle, you'd need to set it to 60hz to use surround.

This would suck because it's an EPIC ballache to switch between surround and 'activate all displays' especially if using SLI (which also constrains the outputs you use on the cards as you must use certain outputs to enable surround in SLI.

4gb:

For 3d surround you don't need 4gb of memory on a 680 or 670 because for newer games the fps will be low at max settings so you'll be lowering them, freeing up vram. (aa is an fps killer and vram hog). This is true of 1 or 2 of them at 5760x1080 in 2d also. 4gb is useful for 3 670s/680s as they can push higher frames at this res and you can up the settings. 4gb is also useful for skyrim mods etc will dump a tonne of extra textures onto the gpu. If going dual or single I wouldn't bother with 4gb cards unless they were a good brand and not too much more $$$ than 2gb cards.

2 cards:

Windows 7 will allow you to have an amd and an nvidia card running and powering different displays. Idk if you will have driver headaches though. I also have no idea how the displays would extend in windows and how the focus would switch from fullscreen 3d on the nvidia to the amd displays. Also no idea how the desktop will function with one displays running 120hz on nvidia and the other 2 60hz on the amd (this works fine coming from the same nvidia though btw), all stuff for you to try and find out..

What i would do:

Attach the displays to a 2gb 670 (for example), make the 120hz the primary display in the center and activate all displays. when you game you use the centre monitor (either 120hz 2d or 3d) and use the other monitors as accessory. During gaming they will turn off however (windows limitation).

Yeah thats right! :D But I am still confused. It could work if I use the 3x60Hz display as a main + 2 extended but I like the wide desktop.

I know its pointless for one screen, my 5970 has got 2GB and it's still enough for eyefinity in BF3.