Triple Monitor Gaming on a Budget: SLI vs. Crossfire vs. Single High-end GPU

[Souvs]

I was planing to buy a MSI Lightning 7970 for 5760x1080 resolution. The plan is after purchasing this bad boy, I will purchase one more cheap 7970 or a 7950.

I was wondering few things

1. If I will push Lightning 7970's overclocking potential, do I need a second one ?
2. Should I go for 7870 crossfire instead of a 7970 ?
3. I have a 1366 X 768 montor (Please dont laugh) . Though I have plans for upgrading the display but....Can I add 2 more monitors of same resolutions for playing games ? will it look good.

Jeet, a single 7970/7950 will suffice....but always use latest driver from amd (13.2 beta 6 at present) and happy gaming.....

and ,as for 1080p is only noticeable if you are using 40"+ big monitor and several inch away from monitor...
don't go for market scam,720p hd is still a great resolution for gaming man....see the below uld for that...

 

[Burty117]

and ,as for 1080p is only noticeable if you are using 40"+ big monitor and several inch away from monitor...
don't go for market scam,720p hd is still a great resolution for gaming man....see the below uld for that...

Market scam? you genuinely can't see the difference between a 1366x768 resolution monitor and a 1920x1080?

Because the difference is pretty noticeable, I presume any retina display is also marketing rubbish as well?

 

[Souvs]

Market scam? you genuinely can't see the difference between a 1366x768 resolution monitor and a 1920x1080?



Because the difference is pretty noticeable, I presume any retina display is also marketing rubbish as well?

http://www.geek.com/hdtv-buyers-guide/resolution/

"That all said, if you are considering buying a smaller television, or even if you just want to save a couple of hundred bucks, 720p is a perfectly acceptable resolution that will still impress eyes used to the blurry appearance of standard definition television. All 1080p content will still be watchable on your 720p display, with a marginal decrease in quality. In addition, most streaming high definition media maxes out at 720p, as well as all Xbox 360 content. If you need to save some money or your HDTV is primarily aimed at gaming or streaming media, going down to 720p is a decent bang for your buck."

(Our eyes can see millions of pixels but our brain determines how much we can analyse it.....720p vs 1080p is barely noticeable unless the conditions and screen I posted above...if those people wants to spend money on bigger monitors then it's their choice)

 

[LNCPapa]

Wow - we really must implement that dislike button soon.

 

[Souvs]

Also dislike these,
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090430163643AAfA12P
http://asia.gamespot.com/forums/topic/25969416
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-t...tell-the-difference-between-hdtv-resolutions/

Any diff-??

 

[LNCPapa]

I'm missing something here - when did the focus change to TVs? Who before you said anything about TVs? Most people use Televisions and computer monitors in very different ways and at very different distances.

 

[Jad Chaar]

I'm missing something here - when did the focus change to TVs? Who before you said anything about TVs? Most people use Televisions and computer monitors in very different ways and at very different distances.

A lot of pro gamers on xbox and PS3 actually like using small computer monitors for some reason

 

[LNCPapa]

A lot of pro gamers on xbox and PS3 actually like using small computer monitors for some reason

Interesting. I did see a lot of strange stuff when I used to play competitively. I wonder why.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Interesting. I did see a lot of strange stuff when I used to play competitively. I wonder why.

Maybe it has something to do with the field of view... I am actually pretty interested why.

 

[amstech]

720p vs 1080p is barely noticeable

Completely disagree. First off, all console games are just 720p upscaled to 1080p, so using them as a comparison is irrelevant.
Play games at 720p and 1080p on a PC and there is a big difference in scale, ecpecially for games like Starcraft, Dragon Age, Warcraft, SimCity, etc etc. Shooters are programmed to fit to scale so other then a cleaner look sometimes they won't look much different, its technologies like dynamic range, PhysX, MSAA/TXAA, advanced lighting effects etc etc that set them apart.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Just out of curiosity, could you please link me the review, or multiple ones as well, where I see a full representation of multi-threading performance in games? I'm always willing to learn something new.

That link also wasn't intended for you. It is for people who are new to the whole thing. Also, you made your profile private so people like me aren't allowed to drool over your specs.

I see what you are saying with not including low-budget CPU's, but this review isn't meant to review CPU performance in triple monitor setups. It's a standoff of

"SLI vs. Crossfire vs. Single High-end GPU"


I don't think this review is trying to say "this is a budget build that is perfect for triple monitor gaming", simply "this is how budget SLI vs. Crossfire vs. Single High-end GPU will compare against each other when CPU bottlenecks are eliminated". TechSpot could/should do a follow up review saying something along the lines of "based on our recent review about budget triple monitor graphic card configurations, we found Crossfire 2GB HD 7850's to be the best value solution. Now let's see how low we can go with processors that are cheaper than an 1155 i5 3570k/2500k without bottlenecking the GPU's performance."

I hope TechSpot would do that, as part of a "Budget gaming series" or something. I'm sure we would agree that that would be beneficial, informative, and educational to all of us.

I sure as hell hope this guide was intended to be more than a showdown between single and multiple GPUs.

As per your request:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3930k-3820-test-benchmark,3090-12.html

My Techspot profile should be unlocked now and show my current specs. If you are still having problems, here are some pictures of two of my last two personal builds. I have not taken any pics taken since my last few upgrades. The dual 6950's were sold because I needed the money, and replaced them with a 7870, with another to follow shortly, upgraded my SSD, added 2TB of HDD space, and bought a new mouse and mouse pad.

Eye Candy:
http://s43.beta.photobucket.com/user/str8maks/library/Share This

Conclusion:
I still think the guide is incomplete.

 

[Steve]

Anyone who tires to tell you that 1080p offers no noticeable visual improvement over 720p probably doesn't have 20/20 vision

Movie and gaming quality aside anyone who uses a HTPC will tell you it is so so much better using a full HD TV opposed to a 720p TV.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Anyone who tires to tell you that 1080p offers no noticeable visual improvement over 720p probably doesn't have 20/20 vision

Movie and gaming quality aside anyone who uses a HTPC will tell you it is so so much better using a full HD TV opposed to a 720p TV.

I notice a huge difference when I change my TVs cable box from 720P (default) to 1080i... but other people in my family cant haha.

 

[LNCPapa]

Yeah - everyone is different. Always have to keep that in mind for stuff like this as what is applicable to you may not be for everyone. You may even be outside of the norm and something you find vital no one else will care about. I find myself in that situation all the time especially when it comes to audio. My friends think I'm nuts because I'm about to buy a pair of Audez'e LCD-2.

 

[Burty117]

My friends think I'm nuts because I'm about to buy a pair of Audez'e LCD-2.

Yeah, I agree with them xD