Multi-monitor gaming, opinions?

[Marble]

I see it more and more on tech blogs and threads where people show off their systems, but do you think it's an impractical luxury or does the added ambience add to the experience enough to warrant purchasing 3 displays?
Personally I can't see the appeal in it. The downsides are that a lot of games don't support it properly (correct me if I'm wrong!), you have the black lines where the bezels meet (or whatever colour it is), you need a pretty beefy rig to start with and of course you have the price to consider!
Would the money not be better spent on a single display of top-notch quality and performance? I'm sure there must be something to this or it wouldn't be catching on. Anyone have a setup like this? Was it worth it?

[LoTekRabbit]

I played on a system with 3 monitors and it made me want to pick up a third. Playing Battlefield 3 with only one monitor doesn't feel the same anymore.

You need to get the right monitor. Find one with a thin bezel. You can see so much more and the experience is incredibly immersive; I loved it.

[Watch4Cliff]

It is one of those things were you would have to try it to see for your self. Like 3d gaming which I like on the right game, on some think it is a waste, and on some games it is worth it. If you are looking to spend 300$ are so to enhanse your game experance I would wait for the oculus rift to come out. sorry I cant give you a definent anwser, but in my oppion no, but to others yes.

[The Grapist]

To run 3 Monitors, you're going to need multiple Graphics cards either way... Even a GTX 680, can't cope running games at 5760x1200 and is going to be pumping only like 20-30 FPS at max.

But, If you have the cash, and the will to upgrade to something along the lines of 680 Sli, Or even Titan, By all means go for 3 Monitors.

[rotNdude]

I've tried it and it was really nice while gaming. However, it takes a lot of real estate for space and the setup you have needs to accommodate how you do things when you're not gaming. When you're gaming you need to sit further away so you can get the full benefit of all three monitors due to your restricted peripheral vision or you're continually rotating your head.

If you have the money and space, it's just like any other hobby. Spend it or don't.

[gggg336]

I don't really like triple monitors. I have seen those F1 racing simulators at roadshows in my country with three or more monitors. I have got to say that even though you can look to your sides, it is incredibly distracting and the side panels don't provide as much details as you would expect. The effect can be gained with a larger field of view in single monitor setups, though there is a bit of weirdness. Three monitors are a hassle to setup and are space consuming too. The gaming value is also not as good as you think it might be, the way the view warps around the monitors seem to stretch all the models at the side and they aren't as clear to what is in front of you. The other downside is that HUD elements may go everywhere if not properly supported by the developer. Your response time is also slow as you have to look to your side if an enemy is coming at you from there. And needing a good, expensive computer to run three monitors is already costly enough, let alone three monitors or more. In other applications it may be fine, like extra large spreadsheets or video editing, but not for gaming, especially fast paced ones.

[wt7]

There really are a ton of games that support multi-monitor natively, and there are community-created patches for most of the few that don't. Multiple GPUs are not nessesary. After 2 minutes of gameplay you will never see the bezels again. It's like being in a cockpit sorta... you're looking past the bezels to the action.
Check out the WSGF community online and here for helpful info. (not associated)

[Tusken GA]

I'm of the mind that it's a luxury that doesn't justify the cost.

Wanna max out a game at 1080p? Great! Take $550 and you'll be able to buy a GTX 680 or HD 7970 Ghz Edition and max out every game at that resolution till the thing fails.

Wanna run a game at the same settings with three 1080p screens? Not so great. Be prepared to buy two GTX Titan's for a combined total of close to $2000 for the privelege.

That's not factoring in the cost of the extra monitors.

It's a nice effect don't get me wrong; I just have an impossible time rationalizing spending hundreds upon hundreds of extra dollars for peripheral vision.

And sure you could be less ambitious and get dual GTX 670s or 7950s but you won't be running it at the same framerates and you won't be running it at the same quality settings. Resolution is the single greatest determinant of performance in any game. Tripling the number of pixels a system has to generate tends to require quite a bit of horsepower.

[wt7]

You can successfully run multi-monitors (3x) on a less-than-$200 HD6870. I did it for over a year on my work PC (it saw plenty of gaming)
Multi-monitor gaming isn't a luxury. It's a preference.

[LoTekRabbit]

wt7 eredeti hozzászólása:

You can successfully run multi-monitors (3x) on a less-than-$200 HD6870. I did it for over a year on my work PC (it saw plenty of gaming)
Multi-monitor gaming isn't a luxury. It's a preference.

There's a difference between running it and running it with nice visuals.

There is no way you were able to max out high end games running three monitors with a 6870. Please do not say otherwise because I can link benchmarks.

If you want to game on 3 monitors AND play on max/near max settings you will need to SLI or Crossfire.

[wt7]

It wasn't maxxed out, but I saw you coming around the corner....

[LoTekRabbit]

wt7 eredeti hozzászólása:

but I saw you coming around the corner....

Huh?

Anyway, they were talking about high settings and 3 monitors.

The experience is a luxury. When I tried it out I loved it but if I was to do it for myself I would need another GTX 680. I don't like compromising on visuals and I'd rather play BF3 @ Ultra, 1080P, 4xMSAA at 60 frames than turn down settings for 3 monitors. I can't game under 60 frames or one where the FPS fluctuates.

[wt7]

I missed the part where the thread turned into your desired gameplay experience.

[Tusken GA]

wt7 eredeti hozzászólása:

I missed the part where the thread turned into your desired gameplay experience.

So you missed the part where the OP asked for our opinions then?

[Marble]

And I am still watching, thanks all :).

[LoTekRabbit]

wt7 eredeti hozzászólása:

I missed the part where the thread turned into your desired gameplay experience.

The thread is asking for opinions on multi monitor gaming.

My opinion is that it's a great experience but not worth it if it results in lower visuals.

If that's too hard to grasp I can buy you a copy of Rosetta Stone - Best Way to Learn English.