Triple Monitor Gaming: GeForce GTX 590 vs. Radeon HD 6990

[red1776]

For the first time, 5760x1200 is playable with the newest games at 60 fps by the HD6990 CF and GTX590 SLI. The power is there now but the 40nm chips are primitive, hot, loud and power consuming. I think something in the line of a HD7950 Cf and a 650W PSU on an i5 2500k would be perfect come this Christmas. Not too far off. So far, the Asus Pro Art 1920x1200 IPS display is the definite piece of this build.

By your own logic you wont...or ever should build system.

The power is there now but the 40nm chips are primitive, hot, loud and power consuming.

Huh? the 40nm Gpu is what is current technology, how is it primitive? by that logic the 28nm will be primitive as soon as they exist.
As far as the 'hot and loud' aspect, current materials (the same materials that will be used for the 28nm chips) have been found to run acceptably up to a 100c. thermal limit. the next gens clocks will be pushed to that limit the same as the previous generations for performance sake. and unless there is a break-through in fan blade design, they are not getting any cooler or quieter. If you think that your mythical 7950 is going to run at 40c....its not going to happen.
From Guru3D;
GTX 280 load:
Full 3D performance mode: varies - worst case TDP 236W @ 85c
GTX 580 load:
Subjective obtained GPU power consumption = TDP 280 Watts @ 87c

There is a fighting chance that the next offerings from red and green will be more power hungry and warmer still. Not to mention that the latest generation of GpU's are the first to run roughshod over the PCI-SIG's 300w limit.
if you are awaiting the '7000/600' series to be a stone cold, mute, run on cooking grease eco friendly affair...you are going to be disappointed there Luay

 

[Leeky]

Hi Leek,
This is why I like this setup so much. i do a lot of A/V editing and PSE/Adobe InDesign/Creative Suite stuff.

https://www.techspot.com/gallery/member-galleries/p4305-avs-editor-on-eyefinity.html

Erm, how cool is that!

Not sure what I'm looking at, but it looks right at home across those screens. I like it mainly because I usually have 2 programs I'm using at the same time, and it makes life so much easier when I can have one filling one screen, and the other the other one. 3 would be so much nicer though! :haha:

 

[red1776]

Erm, how cool is that!

Not sure what I'm looking at, but it looks right at home across those screens. I like it mainly because I usually have 2 programs I'm using at the same time, and it makes life so much easier when I can have one filling one screen, and the other the other one. 3 would be so much nicer though! :haha:

Its AVS editor and all of those boxes are where you drop media. across three screens you can work on a very long film/production with out scrolling or toggling back and forth and have the hole project in front of you. it's great when you are working in PS/E as well. you have all of your photos/Layers visible at the same time.
if you work with this type of software, having all this screen-estate is wonderful.

 

[madboyv1]

red1776 said:
If you work with this type of software, having all this screen-estate is wonderful.

Photoshop CS3, Audition CS3, and Premier Pro CS3 all at once on three screens = amazing. Too bad I don't do that kind of stuff much anymore. A friend of mine does this; has Premier Pro on the left, Photshop on the right, and Audition above both (triangle setup) and he swears by it. If he's not using all three he either throws up on the top screen an explorer window, Itunes or basically forgets about it, using only the bottom two screens. =/

 

[red1776]

Photoshop CS3, Audition CS3, and Premier Pro CS3 all at once on three screens = amazing. Too bad I don't do that kind of stuff much anymore. A friend of mine does this; has Premier Pro on the left, Photshop on the right, and Audition above both (triangle setup) and he swears by it. If he's not using all three he either throws up on the top screen an explorer window, Itunes or basically forgets about it, using only the bottom two screens. =/

That I agree with. I have a 4th identicle monitor here, I am fighting the urge to throw it in there, or change to a 4x1 portrait setup. I also thought the bezels would bother me ...a lot, but they don't, not even for gaming.

 

[madboyv1]

Go for the portrait setup, you know you want to~

=p

 

[red1776]

Go for the portrait setup, you know you want to~

=p

, yeah...I know I will talk myself into it anyway....wheres that screwdriver!

 

[dividebyzero]

Nice article.
Unfortunately, the two protagonists are fast heading towards extinction.

A quick look at Neweggs listings:
GTX 590
EVGA -out of stock
Asus - Deactivated
HD 6990
MSI -in stock
XFX -out of stock
HIS -Deactivated
PowerColor - Deactivated
Sapphire -Deactivated
Gigabyte -Deactivated
Diamond -Deactivated
VisionTek -Deactivated
Asus -Never in stock at Newegg.

Bring on the GTX580 SLI/HD 6970 CFX Lightning multi-screen review (should we start up a petition to MSI for review samples? :nudge::nudge::wink::wink:

 

[TrekExpert]

Could I expect similar results from two 6970's in crossfire to the 6990 in these tests?

 

[red1776]

Nice article.
Unfortunately, the two protagonists are fast heading towards extinction.

Now there's a shock!. The bin (as expected) was rather shallow.

Could I expect similar results from two 6970's in crossfire to the 6990 in these tests?

you should expect an 6-10% in performance over the 6990.

 

[Leeky]

Now there's a shock!. The bin (as expected) was rather shallow.

you should expect an 6-10% in performance over the 6990.

They're cheaper than one HD6990 as well aren't they?

 

[red1776]

They're cheaper than one HD6990 as well aren't they?

yep, about $70-100 less to pair them up.....but then you don't get the lesser performance...

 

[dividebyzero]

Same deal with the GTX590...although the performance difference is more marked since the 590 is heavily underclocked.

It would also seem that choice of test system (and CPU clockspeed) has a part to play at higher resolutions also.
From [H]OCP's 3-way SLI/CFX Eyefinity/Surround follow-up review. This is by far the greatest deviation between results, but the whole series of benches is worth noting.

https://www.techspot.com/gallery/data/500/HOCP_CPU_scaling.jpg

 

[red1776]

Same deal with the GTX590...although the performance difference is more marked since the 590 is heavily underclocked.

It would also seem that choice of test system (and CPU clockspeed) has a part to play at higher resolutions also.
From [H]OCP's 3-way SLI/CFX Eyefinity/Surround follow-up review. This is by far the greatest deviation between results, but the whole series of benches is worth noting.

https://www.techspot.com/gallery/data/500/HOCP_CPU_scaling.jpg

I commented to Steve earlier to try this again and crank up the CPU to above the Usual 'end of the trail OC (3.6-3.8) because since I have been building and benching multi-monitor,multi-GPU systems, I have seen that the standard results go right out the window. The dynamics of the relationships between subsystems completely changes.

 

[Steve]

Bezels + peripheral screen stretching + the performance hit = no thanks. I love my two HD 6950's, and i could easily pick up two more Samsung BX2431's, but i'm not impressed. Multi-monitor gaming is still early and it will get better... i will wait til then.

I agree.

I was happy to see this article although it puts 3 monitor gaming in an unfavorable light... Almost as if the writer is intimidated by the setup and it looked like the fear spread to the first few posts. First off, I have 3 Hanns-G 27in monitors that cost 300$ a piece(shipping included), a 6870 cost me 200$ and a rebate, A Ph2x6 (200$), an ASUS C.A. IV mob0 (200).. that's what... 1500$ so far? The cost has been extremely exaggerated by the writer(although im sure you can find a way to make it cost 5000$).

Don’t take my findings personally, I really don’t like dual or triple monitor setups “for gaming”, does nothing for me as I am only focused on the center screen, don’t have time for sightseeing when fragging.

Still your post made me chuckle a little “intimidated by the setup”, I like that. Now I know why I have been sitting at my desk each day trembling for the past 5 years.

While I am sure the 3 Hanns-G 27” does a nice job in my opinion it doesn’t hold a candle to the Dell 3008WFP monitors. You get what you pay for and while the 3008WFP’s could easily be considered overpriced they are an amazing monitor to look at. However that aside the key here is the 2560x1600 resolution. I would much rather have a single 30” (2560x1600) for gaming than three 27” monitors and for the price of the 27s you could probably get a discounted 30.

So I am not intimidated by the setup as much as I find it mandatory for going triple. My point was I wouldn’t bother with multiple smaller monitors until I had a 30”. That said I can understand that some love the experience even with 22s but I just don’t see it.

That being the case there is nothing exaggerated about the price at all.

On another note how the hell does a single 6870 handle 5760x1200? Do you just use medium/low settings?

IPS panels, which usually cost at a significant premium over standard TN panels offer much better color reproduction, higher color depth, often better gamut ranges, usually better absolute blacks and gradient grays (CFL ftw in that respect), and mimumum color/contrast phasing when viewed at an angle. They are generally the CHOICE monitor tech for anyone involving in design, and absolute resolution with these kind of monitors is prized moreso than total resolution in mutiple monitor setups.

However they aren't that great for gaming since their response times are not nearly as fast as TN monitors, so I'd be questioning why someone would be getting three+ of the 5ms monster size IPS panels for the sake of gaming...

Never had a problem gaming on these LCD’s, in fact games are incredible on them. As far as I can tell they have no weakness other than the price.

 

[red1776]

Still your post made me chuckle a little “intimidated by the setup”, I like that. Now I know why I have been sitting at my desk each day trembling for the past 5 years.

I hope I don't run into your setup in a well lit alley!:haha:

 

[Steve]

I hope I don't run into your setup in a well lit alley!:haha:

When three 30s are turned on any alley is well lit, its when they go into stanby mode that you will be in trouble.

 

[red1776]

When three 30s are turned on any alley is well lit, its when they go into stanby mode that you will be in trouble.

:haha::haha: Stop it!...your making me ascared!

I bet thats true. My three 25"s at 300 cd/m2 are a bit overwhelming on a white site. I bet you get a sunburn when those things go white.

 

[Leeky]

Feels as small as his single 18.4" laptop display. :haha:

 

[red1776]

Feels as small as his single 18.4" laptop display. :haha:

I'm not so sure a big new monitor is such a good investment for you Leek:

:haha:

 

[Leeky]

:haha: What can I say! :haha:

 

[madboyv1]

Steve said:
Never had a problem gaming on these LCD’s, in fact games are incredible on them. As far as I can tell they have no weakness other than the price.

I guess it's not so bad if the panels are new enough to have the overdrive feature, but I've seen high fps shooters "lag" on 8ms IPS panels without overdrive and some of the cheaper (sub $300 is slowly becoming popular for smaller size screens) ones artifact moreso during an overdriven frame than the $500-$600+ panels. The reason why I say 8ms and not the 5ms you usually find on the top of the line models is because of that price: people who want an IPS panel for general use tend to go on the cheaper side, so they sacrifice some performance here and there for that lower price. On the super nice Dell/Apple/HP 27/30s this doesn't tend to be a problem as much, but of course you're also paying $900-$1300.

Just an observation considering the general population of IPS panels. If I could afford it I'd love to get a Dell U2711, but that's besides the point. =)

 

[Guest]

Great review, been waiting to see how those two cards would go against each other at those resolutions, had a feeling Green wouldn't do so well at the higher settings. I have been using 3x22" for about 8 months and love it. Games run smooth and other than metro 2033 can run everything maxed with 2 GTX 460 1GB @ 5760x1080. I think this is a taste thing, some like it others don't, to each their own I guess. I couldn't go back to a single monitor. I was troubled by the bezel for about a day then I just got use to it. If you really want to get dizzy load up EVE and just go outside a station and spin the view!

 

[Superpeter]

@Steve: "Don't take my findings personally, I really don't like dual or triple monitor setups for gaming, does nothing for me as I am only focused on the center screen, don't have time for sightseeing when fragging."

lol, we're comparing ideas on "things"/ "objects" So that we can all be informed and make better choices about our purchases in the future..not my identity. I'd have to slap my own self for taking this stuff personally,haha. Tho you seem like a cool cat for caring and bringing it up, "Much Respect". I'm also glad that you saw "intimidated by the setup" in the correct light..it was meant to make you chuckle as of course ur not intimidated by ur setup, excited if anything. But i wanted more understanding from the writer so i teased u a bit..my bad. Please don't take that personally either.

When i shoot in real life i always need to be "sightseeing"..so the "sights" don't accidentally get in the way of my bullets...FPS on the center screen only; is like trying to shoot with those horse blinders on or a helmet that doesn't let your peripheral into viewing without looking left or right. Extremely debilitating and dangerous...That's in real life.. Now in gaming if u wanna believe such a handicap is fine as long as ur used to it, then by all means, make yourself happy. But your definitely @ a disadvantage to someone with an peripheral field of view. I have a 50in Samsung plasma directly above my three 27in monitors, I game on them both depending on who's in the room and the game. Still, unanimously everyone that watches says the same thing "no-matter how big the screen is if u don't have ur peripheral..big disadvantage" (alot of my freinds are "gun nuts" that im trying to get into gaming or upgrade their computer)

@Steve said: "On another note how the hell does a single 6870 handle 5760x1200? Do you just use medium/low settings?"

Medium to high settings actually, I have an overclocking "fetish", but i haven't graduated to LN2 yet. My XFX (non black ed)6870 is clocked(without voltage increase) with AFTERBURNER 1007/1251, when gaming i go to 1025/1251,(volts added now)for benchies..1050/1251. Phenom2x6 @ 4.1. 12gb(8gb+4gb) of Gskill Ripjaws 2000 running@ 2006...Rosewill 850w PSU, Asus C.H.IV Mobo,.. Mushkin 120G SSD..the rest is unimportant....

My last 3, 3D Mark 11 scores are: 4812-4804-4804.
My last 2, 3D Mark Vantage are: 18960 & 18423 (Gpu score 18538 Cpu 20350)

I game on three 27" fine, but im okay with around or right above 30 FPS. at medium to high settings. Still..my second 6970 is in the air as we i type this and my framerates will be increased by Friday.

 

[fpsgamerJR62]

@Steve - Can you rerun the benchmarks using a pair of the newer GTX 590s with 3 GB buffers versus a pair of HD 6970s with 2 GB buffers ? My impression is that with the current design of both AMD and Nvidia dual-GPU cards, we are not seeing the true performance potential of a dual GPU configuration using the current high-end parts of both companies.