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Triple-monitor (mismatched) setup for high settings gaming - help!

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  • multiple monitors
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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March 17, 2014 1:34:43 AM

I'm planning on buying a powerful PC for triple monitor gaming. I want to play at high framerates on max settings (driving sims mostly, Project CARS, Assetto Corsa). I've been planning on using two GTX 780s in SLI.

However, for a variety of reasons, I want to keep the 46" plasma TV I have and add two screens on either side (those screens would be best at 27" in portrait - an almost perfect fit, in fact). With the peripheral monitors in portrait, I guess that's a 4080 x 1080 resolution across the three monitors (1080 + 1920 + 1080 = 4080). Is that right? If I have to use the peripheral monitors in landscape, that would be acceptable, although not at all ideal.

So I'm hoping to use mismatched monitors. I've understood that you can use mismatched monitors with GPUs in SLI, but they have to have the same resolution, refresh rate, and sync polarity. I'm thinking this won't be possible for me as it's pretty much impossible to get info on what sync polarity a monitor has. And the plasma is reportedly 600hz - that'll be hard to match too.

How can I get around the same-resolution, refresh-rate, sync-polarity problem when using GPUs in SLI? Has anyone got an idea?

Any help will be much appreciated.

More about : triple monitor mismatched setup high settings gaming

March 17, 2014 2:47:01 AM

Quite an interesting situation. So you want the height of the 2 side monitors in portrait to match the height of the landscape plasma? The only problem I see is that the smaller monitors will have a much greater pixel density than the plasma screen. The actual mismatched sizes shouldn't be a problem once you align them all right.

As for matching the 600Hz refresh rate of the side monitors, that's not going to happen, I don't know of any monitors that are 600Hz or anywhere near. However in my experience the refresh rate doesn't need to match, I have a 120Hz centre screen and two 60Hz screens on the sides and that's not a problem in eyefinity.

I don't have experience with nVidia Surround but you could always turn the refresh rate of the plasma down to whatever the side monitors are. Sync-polarity I don't have a clue about.

As for using 2x GTX780s, I think that's a bit of an overkill for the kinds of games you'll be running. Driving sims are usually quite easy to run, even the good looking ones at high resolutions. I'd recommend something more like 2x GTX770s or my personal recommendation 2x R9 290s as I have experience with AMD Eyefinity and can confidently say that this sort of setup would work with an AMD GPU. It probably would work with nVidia as well but I can't say for sure.

Hope this helped!
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March 17, 2014 8:39:46 AM

tjcoops said:
.... So you want the height of the 2 side monitors in portrait to match the height of the landscape plasma? The only problem I see is that the smaller monitors will have a much greater pixel density than the plasma screen. ...

As for matching the 600Hz refresh rate of the side monitors, that's not going to happen, I don't know of any monitors that are 600Hz or anywhere near. However in my experience the refresh rate doesn't need to match, I have a 120Hz centre screen and two 60Hz screens on the sides and that's not a problem in eyefinity.

I don't have experience with nVidia Surround but you could always turn the refresh rate of the plasma down to whatever the side monitors are. Sync-polarity I don't have a clue about.

As for using 2x GTX780s, I think that's a bit of an overkill for the kinds of games you'll be running. Driving sims are usually quite easy to run, even the good looking ones at high resolutions. I'd recommend something more like 2x GTX770s or my personal recommendation 2x R9 290s as I have experience with AMD Eyefinity and can confidently say that this sort of setup would work with an AMD GPU. It probably would work with nVidia as well but I can't say for sure.

Hope this helped!


Thanks for your reply. It's interesting. It does help.

I don't see what the problem is with the different pixel densities.

It's interesting that in Eyefinity the mismatched refresh rates of your screens don't matter. That makes me think perhaps my proposed set up might work.

"I have experience with AMD Eyefinity and can confidently say that this sort of setup would work with an AMD GPU" this makes me very hopeful. Are you saying that my portrait/landsacape/portrait idea would work? AMD Eyefinity with crossfire will be able to output to a 1080x1920 ; 1920x1080 ; 1080x1920 setup?


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April 28, 2014 4:38:31 AM

Billy Pilgrim said:
tjcoops said:
.... So you want the height of the 2 side monitors in portrait to match the height of the landscape plasma? The only problem I see is that the smaller monitors will have a much greater pixel density than the plasma screen. ...

As for matching the 600Hz refresh rate of the side monitors, that's not going to happen, I don't know of any monitors that are 600Hz or anywhere near. However in my experience the refresh rate doesn't need to match, I have a 120Hz centre screen and two 60Hz screens on the sides and that's not a problem in eyefinity.

I don't have experience with nVidia Surround but you could always turn the refresh rate of the plasma down to whatever the side monitors are. Sync-polarity I don't have a clue about.

As for using 2x GTX780s, I think that's a bit of an overkill for the kinds of games you'll be running. Driving sims are usually quite easy to run, even the good looking ones at high resolutions. I'd recommend something more like 2x GTX770s or my personal recommendation 2x R9 290s as I have experience with AMD Eyefinity and can confidently say that this sort of setup would work with an AMD GPU. It probably would work with nVidia as well but I can't say for sure.

Hope this helped!


Thanks for your reply. It's interesting. It does help.

I don't see what the problem is with the different pixel densities.

It's interesting that in Eyefinity the mismatched refresh rates of your screens don't matter. That makes me think perhaps my proposed set up might work.

"I have experience with AMD Eyefinity and can confidently say that this sort of setup would work with an AMD GPU" this makes me very hopeful. Are you saying that my portrait/landsacape/portrait idea would work? AMD Eyefinity with crossfire will be able to output to a 1080x1920 ; 1920x1080 ; 1080x1920 setup?

Hi, guys! I have the same situation 46" plasma and two 27" monitors, so I am wondering , did it worked out for you with nVidia?


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April 28, 2014 4:47:12 AM

Hi, guys!
I have the same situation: 46" plasma and two 27" monitors, willing to set up multimonitors. So I am wondering , how did it worked out for you, with nVidia or AMD?
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