PC gamers... simple questions about multiple monitors. Why use them?

[Lightingbird]

Title says it all.

Recently I've been thinking of hooking up my gaming laptop to a docking station and buying a 40inch monitor or even a 23inch 3d monitor. Doing some research, I came across videos on youtube regarding curved monitors and multiple screens. I have been amazed. They looked really cool. Anyway, so I'm wondering. Besides it looking cool, why would a person play on three screens when they can just look at one? Wouldn't it be annoying to actually look to the left or right compared to just looking at one screen? Just wanted to get some opinions about this in case I'm missing out on something.

 

[SKYSTAR]

i asked my self the same question , but i still have no reasonable answer

 

[LinkedKube]

Same reason why you buy or build a high end system I suppose. I have multiple screens but I don't use them in games.

 

[LNCPapa]

I think Red would be the ideal person to answer this question, but my desire has always stemmed around a wider field of view. With that wider field of view comes deeper immersion into the game environment. Say for instance you are playing a flight sim or a driving game, you can very easily look to your left or right to look out of the side windows. Most first person shooters have low fov settings... somewhere in the neighborhood of 75-90 degrees. Playing multimonitor will often require you to increase this fov to make the game look sane. The same can be done with these games where you look to your left or right (without turning your character) to see what is coming from your left and right. You can even use your actual (IRL) peripheral vision to see what would be happening in your character's peripheral vision. Also, a reason many folks desire 3 monitors over 2 is because you don't end up with monitor bezel right in the middle of where most games would have you concentrating.

Again, it's a matter of immersion and how much you're willing to spend to get that feeling.

This might be a good watch to see how far some folks are willing to go for that immersion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Bh5iI2WY

 

[Lightingbird]

I think Red would be the ideal person to answer this question, but my desire has always stemmed around a wider field of view. With that wider field of view comes deeper immersion into the game environment. Say for instance you are playing a flight sim or a driving game, you can very easily look to your left or right to look out of the side windows. Most first person shooters have low fov settings... somewhere in the neighborhood of 75-90 degrees. Playing multimonitor will often require you to increase this fov to make the game look sane. The same can be done with these games where you look to your left or right (without turning your character) to see what is coming from your left and right. You can even use your actual (IRL) peripheral vision to see what would be happening in your character's peripheral vision. Also, a reason many folks desire 3 monitors over 2 is because you don't end up with monitor bezel right in the middle of where most games would have you concentrating.

Again, it's a matter of immersion and how much you're willing to spend to get that feeling.

This might be a good watch to see how far some folks are willing to go for that immersion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Bh5iI2WY

Ha that video is insane.

 

[red1776]

It is a completely different gaming experience. in driving/racing/sim games, the whole perception of speed changes (for the better) I noticed my lap times improved immediately due to being able to see more of the track, and the other drivers. the triple screens cover about 160 degrees (almost your entire peripheral vision and its very immersive. in FPS games like BF3, in situations while you are waiting to see where the attack is coming from you can catch them from your peripheral vision..it' great. People have this idea that it merely stretches 1080P to cover the three screen resolution, that is not true. if you start a game in eyefinity, and simply unplug the two side monitors, you are left with what you would normally see while playing in 1080P. my setup catches the attention of nearly every potential customer i sit down with and I sit them down to have a go an the track, or their favorite radioactive monster, and have yet to hear that the bezels are a problem for them. they all but disappear while playing, and with bezel correction, you miss nothing. For me, reverting back to a single screen is a major let down. as for the FOV many games you can adjust the FOV, or have an after-market bit that will let you adjust it from the usually default 70 to up to 135+ or so. as for the "having to move your head" deal. i wont pretend to understand that. It is not as if you are craning your neck like you are sitting on the fault line of a tennis match. the head movement is maybe 5-10 degrees when you have to move it, otherwise your eyeballs moving in your sockets is sufficient LOL. They are also always improving things like moving the HUD to the center screen if its not there already.

I would also talk to someone who does not like it as well...but make sure its someone who has actually used it, not someone who "knows a guy who knows a guy' or just pissed off that they don't have one I highly recommend it!
if you want some screen caps or have other questions, let me know. I will help if i can.

 

[mopar man]

So that's how those guards in Skyrim see me?! I'ma have to get me some of that Eyefinity.