Possible triple screen setup?

RobJackson85

RobJackson85

279
RobJackson85
Seriously tempted to join the triple screen community.

Just purchased a GTX 580 as my 9800GT was showing signs of exhaustion, so I should be set on that department. I now just need 3 new screens.

Does any body know of any good deals currently on in the UK?

Overclockers currently have a 24" listed for £125ish. Just wondered if there where any more offers that I may have missed.
 
Alright

you wont be able to run triple screens of that 580, all nvidia series except the latest 6 series require 2 gpu's to run in surround/triple screen. some options are to get another 580 or sell your 580 and get a 590 or sell your 580 and get a 680gtx.

you could also get a 560 or 570 and run it with your existing 580 but that would make your 580 run like a 560 or 570 depending on what you get.


also how many giga bytes of mem has your 580 got? 1.5 gb or 3gb? if its 1.5 i suggest you sell it and go down for any of the other options ive mentioned.
 
I see.

That buggers up my plans then. Literally, I've just bought the 580 it was a eBay purchase.

To be honest I just presumed that as it had 2 DVI slots and a mini HDMI I could connect 3 displays that way.
 
I'm in the same boat as you, I have a GTX 580 and want to do triple screen but as BLACK86 said, each card can only drive two monitors each. You and I both need another card, but given the difference in price between a 580 and 680 it would make more sense to buy a 680 and run both monitors from that (I didn't know that the 680 could drive more than two screens, though, is that a fact or assumption from the 4 display connectors they have on them?) instead. I had been hoping that you could use any other graphics card separately to the main 580, even an AMD card, and run the two surround monitors on a lower resolution (given that they're surround ones and everything so you won't notice quite so much lack of quality in your peripheral vision), but if that's not the case then I suppose I'll start saving for the 680.

As for monitors, I don't know of any deals but you might like to read this Rock Paper Shotgun article on choosing monitors. Even if you don't go for any of the four they recommend it should give you more of an understanding of what to look out for, so I hope it helps.
 
BLACK86
Alright

you wont be able to run triple screens of that 580, all nvidia series except the latest 6 series require 2 gpu's to run in surround/triple screen. some options are to get another 580 or sell your 580 and get a 590 or sell your 580 and get a 680gtx.

you could also get a 560 or 570 and run it with your existing 580 but that would make your 580 run like a 560 or 570 depending on what you get.


also how many giga bytes of mem has your 580 got? 1.5 gb or 3gb? if its 1.5 i suggest you sell it and go down for any of the other options ive mentioned.
Click to expand...

It's 1.5gb. I think I should've done that little bit more reading before buying the card :dunce:. I could keep a look out for another 580, but I would then probably need to upgrade my PSU. Oh well, at least I have a better card than previous.

Gdog96
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWG8...DvjVQa1PpcFNSQDYuniw5RDvmfpP7TDmyzsifLA8VoKE= Could this be the answer to your problems?
Click to expand...

Again, thanks for your help. I think I'll just stick with this card for now and just buy one new monitor and keep an eye out for items going cheap in the future.

*If I where to get another 580 - am I right in thinking that it doesn't have to be the same manufacturer?

neema_t
I'm in the same boat as you, I have a GTX 580 and want to do triple screen but as BLACK86 said, each card can only drive two monitors each. You and I both need another card, but given the difference in price between a 580 and 680 it would make more sense to buy a 680 and run both monitors from that (I didn't know that the 680 could drive more than two screens, though, is that a fact or assumption from the 4 display connectors they have on them?) instead. I had been hoping that you could use any other graphics card separately to the main 580, even an AMD card, and run the two surround monitors on a lower resolution (given that they're surround ones and everything so you won't notice quite so much lack of quality in your peripheral vision), but if that's not the case then I suppose I'll start saving for the 680.

As for monitors, I don't know of any deals but you might like to read this Rock Paper Shotgun article on choosing monitors. Even if you don't go for any of the four they recommend it should give you more of an understanding of what to look out for, so I hope it helps.
Click to expand...

I'll take a look at that link. Thanks.
 
It does not have to be from the same manufacturer, 680 definitely supports 3 monitors out of the box.

580's will be going cheaper and cheaper, i think 1.5gb will be fine for older dx9 race games like rfactor/gtl/gtr etc but im not sure how 1.5gb would fair with the latest ones like project cars/shift2 as they are alot more graphically demanding, running them at max details with triple screen resolutions could use up all the 1.5gb, remember just because you get 2 1.5gb cards, this does not mean you have 3gb of available video memory, sli does not work like that, you will still have 1.5gb only.
 
The 680 will run triple screens just fine on its own. A friend of mine just got one, and reports 100 FPS in iRacing at max settings, and 50 FPS in Project CARS at max settings.
 
BLACK86
It does not have to be from the same manufacturer, 680 definitely supports 3 monitors out of the box.

580's will be going cheaper and cheaper, i think 1.5gb will be fine for older dx9 race games like rfactor/gtl/gtr etc but im not sure how 1.5gb would fair with the latest ones like project cars/shift2 as they are alot more graphically demanding, running them at max details with triple screen resolutions could use up all the 1.5gb, remember just because you get 2 1.5gb cards, this does not mean you have 3gb of available video memory, sli does not work like that, you will still have 1.5gb only.
Click to expand...

I understand the sli part, where 2x 1.5gb does not equal 3gb.

To be honest, I really only play iRacing.

I think, instead of jumping straight into triple screen I'll go there gradually as I don't yet have a full permanent setup. This new card will do me for some time. I'll probably upgrade my main monitor this weekend and purchase others as time goes by, sort of put money aside each week/month until I can buy one. Hopefully by the time I'm ready for another card the 580's will be abit cheaper or I could sell this one and get a 680 or similar.

I wanted an upgrade from my 9800gt as in large field races my FPS would drop below 20 in congested corners and really stuttered.

I usually read about things for months in advance, but for some reason I've jumped in abit too quickly.
 
Zero7159
The 680 will run triple screens just fine on its own. A friend of mine just got one, and reports 100 FPS in iRacing at max settings, and 50 FPS in Project CARS at max settings.
Click to expand...

I should clarify that he is running triple screens at 5760 X 1080 when he gets those numbers.
 
BLACK86
Alright

you wont be able to run triple screens of that 580, all nvidia series except the latest 6 series require 2 gpu's to run in surround/triple screen. some options are to get another 580 or sell your 580 and get a 590 or sell your 580 and get a 680gtx.

you could also get a 560 or 570 and run it with your existing 580 but that would make your 580 run like a 560 or 570 depending on what you get.


also how many giga bytes of mem has your 580 got? 1.5 gb or 3gb? if its 1.5 i suggest you sell it and go down for any of the other options ive mentioned.
Click to expand...


Matrox triple head 2 go digital.

Works great, gives you superb levels of screen manipulation, and won't be obsolete when your card is. Doubt me? Check my VR3 thread.

Your GTX580 is plenty
 
Last edited:
Mayaman
Matrox triple head 2 go digital.

Works great, gives you superb levels of screen manipulation, and won't be obsolete when your card is. Doubt me? Check my VR3 thread.

Your GTX580 is plenty
Click to expand...

Well this thread just got cheaper... That 680 will still be on my mind, though! This Matrox thing looks great, I'd never heard of it, thanks Mayaman!
 
neema_t
Well this thread just got cheaper... That 680 will still be on my mind, though! This Matrox thing looks great, I'd never heard of it, thanks Mayaman!
Click to expand...

I too will be looking into that. Maybe I didn't jump in too quickly then! :)
 
RobJackson85
I understand the sli part, where 2x 1.5gb does not equal 3gb.

To be honest, I really only play iRacing.

I think, instead of jumping straight into triple screen I'll go there gradually as I don't yet have a full permanent setup. This new card will do me for some time. I'll probably upgrade my main monitor this weekend and purchase others as time goes by, sort of put money aside each week/month until I can buy one. Hopefully by the time I'm ready for another card the 580's will be abit cheaper or I could sell this one and get a 680 or similar.

I wanted an upgrade from my 9800gt as in large field races my FPS would drop below 20 in congested corners and really stuttered.

I usually read about things for months in advance, but for some reason I've jumped in abit too quickly.
Click to expand...


Well that's a staggering upgrade from a 9800gt. If you only play i racing maybe two 6950's in xfire like me? I've seen them as cheap as 160 for the 2gb version. actually i think that the price on overclockers lol
 
Mayaman
Matrox triple head 2 go digital.

Works great, gives you superb levels of screen manipulation, and won't be obsolete when your card is. Doubt me? Check my VR3 thread.

Your GTX580 is plenty
Click to expand...

No i don't doubt you mate.

I always thought th2go had a low resolution limit and couldn't output 5760x1200/1080.

Guess they got around it then. that's pretty good because even tho you could probably get a new 580 for bit more, you would be saving on a new psu.
 
BLACK86
Well that's a staggering upgrade from a 9800gt. If you only play i racing maybe two 6950's in xfire like me? I've seen them as cheap as 160 for the 2gb version. actually i think that the price on overclockers lol
Click to expand...

As far as I know, my motherboard doesn't support crossfire. I've always had Nvidia cards and seem to get drawn to them.

BLACK86
No i don't doubt you mate.

I always thought th2go had a low resolution limit and couldn't output 5760x1200/1080.

Guess they got around it then. that's pretty good because even tho you could probably get a new 580 for bit more, you would be saving on a new psu.
Click to expand...

Mayaman, how is iRacing when running this way? Can you keep the graphics quite high with reasonable FPS or do you need to drop it down quite abit?
 
nVidia does make single GPU's that support triple monitors.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0371828

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0381793

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0381762

I use 2 GTX 570 's in SLI and in triple monitor I can maintain a frame rate of around 140 FPS and on tracks like SPA and Susuka I can maintain 100 FPS. With a single 55" HDTV I can maintain 400+ FPS in SLI. I run triple 55" HDTV's and it is awesome, pretty much stick with iRacing for the past year or so.

BTW I run everything on max in iRacing except double shadows.
 
Last edited:
RobJackson85
As far as I know, my motherboard doesn't support crossfire. I've always had Nvidia cards and seem to get drawn to them.



Mayaman, how is iRacing when running this way? Can you keep the graphics quite high with reasonable FPS or do you need to drop it down quite abit?
Click to expand...

Yes because the triple head to go isn't actually maxing your graphics card, it's trickery so you can run 5760x1080 smoothly. It's a great device. You must have dual link dvi enabled card which most high end cards are. I get ridiculous frame rates in every game I play. Core i7 is recommended though.

Love the TH2GO
 
RobJackson85
As far as I know, my motherboard doesn't support crossfire. I've always had Nvidia cards and seem to get drawn to them.
Click to expand...

Ive had both nvid and ati, i just go for the best at the time, but ive never had as much trouble with nvid drivers as i have with ati....though all is running sweet at the moment. what cpu have you got mate?


cool left888 didnt know about them galaxy models, 1.5gb would be the best for 3 screens however after a quick look the prices seem to be from £370-400 and just for a touch more you can get the 680 2gb
 
So Mayaman what kind of frame rate do you get in iRacing?

BLACK86
cool left888 didnt know about them galaxy models, 1.5gb would be the best for 3 screens however after a quick look the prices seem to be from £370-400 and just for a touch more you can get the 680 2gb
Click to expand...

Personally I would go for the GTX 680 as well. I too would never go back to ATI, used ATI in several PC and the drivers are too problematic. Currently all 8 of my i7 PC's are equipped with nVidia cards.

RobJackson85
Definitely going to look into this further. I'm assuming my 580 supports the dual link dvi as it's a decent card. Is there any way I can double check? I am abit of a noob in graphics cards, but also understand more than the average casual gamer.

I only have an i5-2500k @ 3.3ghz. No overclock. Would this be suitable?
Click to expand...

What are you using for monitors? are they 120hz or 60hz?
 
Last edited:
Mayaman
Yes because the triple head to go isn't actually maxing your graphics card, it's trickery so you can run 5760x1080 smoothly. It's a great device. You must have dual link dvi enabled card which most high end cards are. I get ridiculous frame rates in every game I play. Core i7 is recommended though.

Love the TH2GO
Click to expand...

Definitely going to look into this further. I'm assuming my 580 supports the dual link dvi as it's a decent card. Is there any way I can double check? I am abit of a noob in graphics cards, but also understand more than the average casual gamer.

I only have an i5-2500k @ 3.3ghz. No overclock. Would this be suitable?
 
Mayaman
Yes because the triple head to go isn't actually maxing your graphics card, it's trickery so you can run 5760x1080 smoothly. It's a great device. You must have dual link dvi enabled card which most high end cards are. I get ridiculous frame rates in every game I play. Core i7 is recommended though.

Love the TH2GO
Click to expand...


So you can max out the games graphics options at that res and th2go trickery somehow transfers that quality to all 3 screens without maxing the gpu out? t
 
caution.
when using the Matrox triple head to go with three screens there is a 50Hz refresh limit.
only certain monitors will support this rate and if attempting to run on standard monitors will result in monitor damage over the long haul.

taken from a service manual i have
(Note that the 5760x1080 (3x 1920x1080) mode runs at 50Hz which may be incompatible with most displays. Verify with your display vendor for compatibility.)
 
left888
nVidia does make single GPU's that support triple monitors.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0371828

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0381793

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0381762

I use 2 GTX 570 's in SLI and in triple monitor I can maintain a frame rate of around 140 FPS and on tracks like SPA and Susuka I can maintain 100 FPS. With a single 55" HDTV I can maintain 400+ FPS in SLI. I run triple 55" HDTV's and it is awesome, pretty much stick with iRacing for the past year or so.

BTW I run everything on max in iRacing except double shadows.
Click to expand...

Are your screens 60ghz or 120ghz? Those are sony bravia's your using correct?
 
Another option, no cost option is to give SoftTH a try. I used to run a GTX480 with a 8800GT using SoftTH before going the Eyefinity route. You don't need to have 3 monitors of the same resolution either. You do need to do some tweaking with configuration files.

This can be an option while saving for another GTX580 or getting a triple monitor capable card or researching the TH2GO option.

Good page explaining it: http://kebeklan.com/community/modules/smartsection/item.php?com_mode=nest&com_order=0&itemid=10
 

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