Use 1 or 2 video cards for 3 monitors???

[ChineseChef]

It has been a while since I have had multiple video cards, and I remember it used to cause lots of issues running a game on multiple monitors using multiple video cards not in SLI/Crossfire. 

I currently have a GTX980 with a 4k that I use as my main, and a 1080p as my secondary right now.  But I am looking to get a second 1080p.  So I would have the 4k in the center, with the a 1080p on each side.  I am planning on getting a new/additional video card, but I am not sure if I should just replace the 980, or plug in the 1080p monitors to the 980, and hook the 4k up to the new card.

I don't anticipate any issues playing games on just the 4k.  But will I have trouble playing across all 3?  Do they all need to be the same resolution?  Will not having the cards in SLI be a problem?

 

I have tried googling, but there is just so much fud out there it is hard to tell what info is current, and what isn't.  I would only be using the multi monitors for gaming in games like Star Citizen and other Sim type games.

[Mira Yurizaki]

Most video cards can output to three monitors of independent resolutions. And if I recall the last time I dabbled in SLI (I think it's been four years now), it doesn't matter which card you plug the monitors into.

[ChineseChef]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Most video cards can output to three monitors of independent resolutions. And if I recall the last time I dabbled in SLI (I think it's been four years now), it doesn't matter which card you plug the monitors into.

I know 1 card can handle 3 monitors.  But do you think a card can handle 4k plus dual 1080p monitors and still keep up the framerates?

[Mira Yurizaki]

2 minutes ago, ChineseChef said:

I know 1 card can handle 3 monitors.  But do you think a card can handle 4k plus dual 1080p monitors and still keep up the framerates?

Yes.

 

The desktop is a joke to render. If it wasn't, I would be worried about either the hardware or the desktop compositor.

[MedievalMatt]

I cant attest to 4K gaming with 2 1080P monitors as i only have a triple 1080 setup.

 

However, as long as the things you have up on the other displays arent resource intensive, or arent also using massive ammounts of your GPU horsepower you should be fine.  For example, if you have 3 games up, one on each display.... shit will get dicey.  But like Rocket League, youtube, and Sys monitors stuff, or emails, or twitter.  you gucci.

[ChineseChef]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

Yes.

 

The desktop is a joke to render. If it wasn't, I would be worried about either the hardware or the desktop compositor.

My concern isn't the desktop.  It is playing a game across all 3 screens.  A game that is already graphically intensive.

[Bananasplit_00]

3 minutes ago, ChineseChef said:

I know 1 card can handle 3 monitors.  But do you think a card can handle 4k plus dual 1080p monitors and still keep up the framerates?

for games, forget it, for desktop usage sure no problem what so ever. NVIDIA surround is also complete garbage and i honestly can not recomend getting 3 screens. its too much for me, im not going to get rid of one but had i known i would never have gotten my third one probably

[MedievalMatt]

5 minutes ago, ChineseChef said:

My concern isn't the desktop.  It is playing a game across all 3 screens.  A game that is already graphically intensive.

 

4K and 1080 doesnt make for the best wrap around experience IMO.  triple 4K gaming youd NEED like SLI 1080s or SLI titan XPs.

 

I have a single 1070 and its enough to handle modern AAA games at triple 1080 (thats 5760*1080) at 45 - 60FPS ish.

 

Edit - Games at maxed out settings also with all the eycandy on as candy as possible.

 

Edit 2 - The way that Nvidia Surround works your limited to triple 1080 resolutions with only 1 4K monitor anyways, running your 4K display at 25% of its native resolution will also look disgusting.

[ChineseChef]

4 minutes ago, MedievalMatt said:

 

4K and 1080 doesnt make for the best wrap around experience IMO.

The only games I would play using all 3 monitors would be games that allow the offloading of HUD/map type stuff.  So that the "game" is shown on the main screen, and all the extra stuff is shown on the other screens.  Similar to how some top down games will allow the full map to be shown on a secondary monitor.

 

But yah, I figured a mismatch of resolutions for normal viewing would bad.

[MedievalMatt]

1 minute ago, ChineseChef said:

The only games I would play using all 3 monitors would be games that allow the offloading of HUD/map type stuff.  So that the "game" is shown on the main screen, and all the extra stuff is shown on the other screens.  Similar to how some top down games will allow the full map to be shown on a secondary monitor.

 

But yah, I figured a mismatch of resolutions for normal viewing would bad.

 

your missing what im saying.  when you enable Nvidia surround (i know ive tried with mismatched resolution displays in the past) it limits your Y pixels to the max of the smallest display, in your case 1080.  4K has a 2160 Y resolution IIRC.  the X axis is similarly limited, however you may be able to get away with a longer X (effectively an ultrawide) combining 2* 1920 and 3160 (IIRC).  But if the screens arent the same size its gonna be terrible. 

 

Play around with it, but i can pretty much garuntee your gonna have a bad time.

[ChineseChef]

1 minute ago, MedievalMatt said:

 

your missing what im saying.  when you enable Nvidia surround (i know ive tried with mismatched resolution displays in the past) it limits your Y pixels to the max of the smallest display, in your case 1080.  4K has a 2160 Y resolution IIRC.  the X axis is similarly limited, however you may be able to get away with a longer X (effectively an ultrawide) combining 2* 1920 and 3160 (IIRC).  But if the screens arent the same size its gonna be terrible. 

 

Play around with it, but i can pretty much garuntee your gonna have a bad time.

Ah, so you are limited by the resolution of the smallest screen.

[thegoogler]

yeah if you want to use 3 monitors with 1 powerful gpu would be better but like what @MedievalMatt said before for even dual 4k you would need dual titan xp's or very powerful 1080's like the g1 gaming edition 1080's.

hope this helped.

[MedievalMatt]

3 minutes ago, MedievalMatt said:

 

your missing what im saying.  when you enable Nvidia surround (i know ive tried with mismatched resolution displays in the past) it limits your Y pixels to the max of the smallest display, in your case 1080.  4K has a 2160 Y resolution IIRC.  the X axis is similarly limited, however you may be able to get away with a longer X (effectively an ultrawide) combining 2* 1920 and 3160 (IIRC).  But if the screens arent the same size its gonna be terrible. 

 

Play around with it, but i can pretty much garuntee your gonna have a bad time.

 

 

I looked it up, youll have a 7680*1080 virtual display thats a 64 : 9 aspect ratio.

 

Edit  - 5760*1080 is 80% of the pixels of a single 4K screen, i did the math.  and one 1070 can barely handle it.

[Mira Yurizaki]

12 minutes ago, ChineseChef said:

My concern isn't the desktop.  It is playing a game across all 3 screens.  A game that is already graphically intensive.

If we're talking about the GTX 980 in SLI, then it's going to struggle to even do 4K anywhere near 60 FPS. The other problem is that you cannot do NVIDIA surround with three monitors if one of them is a different resolution, even if you set the 4K monitor to 1080p. I tried this with two 1920x1200 monitors and a 2560x1440 monitor set to 1920x1200 and the NVIDIA control panel wouldn't let me enable surround. Though if I recall, it was mostly complaining that the monitors were different enough in terms of the display controller that it wasn't going to work.

 

If you wanted a surround setup, you need to have ideally three of the same monitor.

[Mick Naughty]

Setting the 4k to 1080, then enabling surround should work. But its gonna be stuck at 1080.

So yes youre gonna get frame drops compared to a single display but that's to be expected.

[thegoogler]

you could if you want get 1 large curved asus 1080p gaming monitor for the price of 1 normal 4k monitor, thats better in my opinion.