Tri-Monitor for Gaming BF4

[Cr0nJ0b]

Hey guys, I currently have a Dual monitor setup with 2 x Dell 24" flat panels and a single AMD7970 card. In the past I've just played BF4 on a single screen at 1920 x 1080 and it work great. Lately however, I've gotten to think about getting a third monitor to try to run the game spread across all the monitors with a larger field of view. I ran the game on two monitors and it ran fine, but the obvious issue of the aimpoint being between the monitors doesn't really work. I ran it windowed just to move the aimpoint over and check if it was playable and it ran great.

So, now I'm thinking of getting a third screen and trying them all together.

Here are my questions.

1) do I need a matched screen?
2) will my sapphire HD7970 output to 3 screens?
3) do I need another graphics card for memory or performance?

thanks for the help!

 

[TerryMathews]

Hey guys, I currently have a Dual monitor setup with 2 x Dell 24" flat panels and a single AMD7970 card. In the past I've just played BF4 on a single screen at 1920 x 1080 and it work great. Lately however, I've gotten to think about getting a third monitor to try to run the game spread across all the monitors with a larger field of view. I ran the game on two monitors and it ran fine, but the obvious issue of the aimpoint being between the monitors doesn't really work. I ran it windowed just to move the aimpoint over and check if it was playable and it ran great.

So, now I'm thinking of getting a third screen and trying them all together.

Here are my questions.

1) do I need a matched screen?
2) will my sapphire HD7970 output to 3 screens?
3) do I need another graphics card for memory or performance?

thanks for the help!

1-up to you. Some people find unmatched screens distracting. Others don't.
2-yes
3-depends on what settings and fps you'll be satisfied with. Probably. If your target is 60 fps and medium or better, yes.

And yes, I know its 3 and not 4. I couldn't find one for 4.

 

[KentState]

I run three at 5760x1080 (or whatever 3x1080p is) and found that CF is necessary for ultra + 4x MSAA if you want to stay above 60fps. If you don't want to run 4x MSAA then a single card will probably work.

As far as different size monitors, this is how my setup looks. The HP is native 1440p, but Eyefinity requires the same resolution for all monitors.

 

[blastingcap]

I run three at 5760x1080 (or whatever 3x1080p is) and found that CF is necessary for ultra + 4x MSAA if you want to stay above 60fps. If you don't want to run 4x MSAA then a single card will probably work.

As far as different size monitors, this is how my setup looks. The HP is native 1440p, but Eyefinity requires the same resolution for all monitors.

This. As a rule of thumb, triple 1080p monitor will give you ~40% of the framerate you would get on a single 1080p monitor with the same settings. It varies by game and by settings and by resolution, of course.

 

[SiliconWars]

I run three at 5760x1080 (or whatever 3x1080p is) and found that CF is necessary for ultra + 4x MSAA if you want to stay above 60fps. If you don't want to run 4x MSAA then a single card will probably work.

As far as different size monitors, this is how my setup looks. The HP is native 1440p, but Eyefinity requires the same resolution for all monitors.

How is the main screen at lower resolution? I had three 1680x1050 TFT's (pretty old but do the job), I gave one away and was thinking of picking up a much better main screen while keeping these two as my Eyefinity side screens.

I guess 1920x1200 looks fine at 1680x1050 even though it's not the native resolution? Do you find that it's an issue with your centre screen being at lower resolution than normal?

Also, I guess you run the screen natively outside of Eyefinity and just have it set to auto lower resolution when you activate Eyefinity, yes?

 

[KentState]

The main screen is native 1440p, but the other two are 1080p. When that happens, Eyefinity runs all at the lowest native which is 1080p or 5760*1080.

The only issue is that the HP has a much sharper picture at native resolution, but it really isn't that noticeable when gaming.

For Eyefinity, I have CTL+ALT+SHIFT+E setup to trigger for gaming and then CTL+ALT+SHIFT+D for normal desktop mode.

 

[SiliconWars]

The main screen is native 1440p, but the other two are 1080p. When that happens, Eyefinity runs all at the lowest native which is 1080p or 5760*1080.

The only issue is that the HP has a much sharper picture at native resolution, but it really isn't that noticeable when gaming.

OK cool thanks, I think I'll check out a 1920x1200 just to keep the aspect ratio, but i'd like a good IPS as well and 1920x1200's are pretty hard to find...

For Eyefinity, I have CTL+ALT+SHIFT+E setup to trigger for gaming and then CTL+ALT+SHIFT+D for normal desktop mode.

That's the exact keybind I use for Eyefinity as well lol! I use CTRL+ALT+SHIFT 1,2 and 3 for different setups outside of eyefinity, ie 1 for centre screen only, 2 for centre and right screen (normally if I'm watching football while browsing) and 3 for all 3 screens on for work.

 

[KentState]

I have these for my office at work. 1920x1200 ASUS IPS screens.

http://www.amazon.com/PA248Q-24-Inch...words=asus+ips

 

[SiliconWars]

Any idea how they are for gaming? It's not like I'm playing anything that requires extreme precision but I would definitely get bugged by obvious ghosting etc.

 

[KentState]

Never gamed on them since my office laptop has integrated graphics. IPS is all about quality over refresh rates. They probably would have similar ghosting and a lower gray-to-gray than a TN panel.

 

[Headfoot]

Hey guys, I currently have a Dual monitor setup with 2 x Dell 24" flat panels and a single AMD7970 card. In the past I've just played BF4 on a single screen at 1920 x 1080 and it work great. Lately however, I've gotten to think about getting a third monitor to try to run the game spread across all the monitors with a larger field of view. I ran the game on two monitors and it ran fine, but the obvious issue of the aimpoint being between the monitors doesn't really work. I ran it windowed just to move the aimpoint over and check if it was playable and it ran great.

So, now I'm thinking of getting a third screen and trying them all together.

Here are my questions.

1) do I need a matched screen?
2) will my sapphire HD7970 output to 3 screens?
3) do I need another graphics card for memory or performance?

thanks for the help!

I just upgraded to a three monitor setup. I get around 40-60 FPS depending on the map in BF4 with my 7950 @1100/1500 and a 2500k @ 4.6Ghz. Settings are Ultra except running SSAO instead of HBAO and only FXAA. My FPS stays near 60 until there is a huge amount of stuff on screen at once. You could likely turn up settings if you don't mind lower than 60 fps average. The actual resolution I run at is 5329x1050 (1680x1050 + bezel correction). I get a bit disoriented without bezel correction in first person games so I would recommend having it on. It does effectively increase the resolution you must render. Suggested FOV for 3 monitors like that is around 105, which is what I'm running and its very comfortable.

So to answer your questions:
1) You do not need a matched screen, not even same resolution as long as it can run the same resolution as the lowest resolution monitor.
2) 7970's can run 3 monitors BUT can only run TWO DVI at once. You will need to have at least one of the monitors running via DisplayPort as the RAMDAC that runs the DVIs also runs the HDMI. I just got a single DisplayPort Mini to DVI adapter on amazon and ran the other two on the DVI + HDMI.
3) Your 7970 will run it well but you may need to turn MSAA off to do it if you want to stay at 60 FPS. I suggest overclocking your 7970. That will most likely be enough. I am personally upgrading to a R9 290 so that I can keep my AA on

 

[blastingcap]

In an effort to spare disappointed people, I will once again post the URL to the dongles GUARANTEED to work with triple monitor Eyefinity:

http://support.amd.com/en-us/recommended/eyefinity-adapters

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Couldn't help it

I thought about it myself but think I'm going to either go 21:9 or switch gears to 4k.

I wonder what BF4 looks like on 21:9

 

[blastingcap]

21:9 at least gives you more FOV in theory but nothing like tri-monitor. 4K gives you standard FOV.