3-monitors / old games, casual use

[mikteafool]

I'm looking at getting 3 - 1907FPT 19" LCD's today-- in a few hours, all 3 for about $150 (total, $50 each)...i currently have a 28" hanns-g, and a 23" Asus 2ms........the 19" LCD's in question, specs here:

Aspect Ratio 5:4
Contrast Ratio 1000:1,
Native Recommended Resolution 1280 x 1024
Response Time 8 ms

Inputs
Supported Inputs: Digital DVI / Analog RGB (VGA)
D-Sub (RGB) Inputs: 1
DVI Inputs: 1


http://catalog.ebay.com/Dell-1907FPT-19-inch-TFT-Monitor-/80087579/r.html

Question is this--- is this a good deal? I'm not looking to extreme game, but rather Try out triple monitors at a lower price...this is somewhat of a Gift item as well...if i dont like the entire set up, resolution, or whatever, i'll be able to sell 1 or 2 monitors to my family for $50 each anyway. [side note] I have a Ati-5450, 2x (4870's), and an extra 4670.

I would have these set up at a different house than where my current rig and setup are anyway, butnot 100% sure if i should buy these now or save up for a much better 3-way setup next year, using 2 more 23" Asus's....

Any comments would be great, just looking to get a feel, I've been using dual monitors for a while and am pretty settled into it..

 

[ScrewySqrl]

you'll need an AMD 68xx video card, or two videocards of 5xxx class or 2 cards in sli for triple monitor

 

[kennyj313]

I use three 1907FP's right now, and I have to say that I love them. The bezels are pretty narrow, so there isn't a lot of space in between the displays. I would look for a better price though, I got my two peripheral ones about a year ago for around $90 each.

As far as compatibility, I currently run them off of a single 5770 with an active DP-DVI adapter on the center monitor. I would ASSUME that you can use the two 4870's to run them w/o crossfire (emphasis on ASSUME, that's pretty much a guess on my part), but I know you definitely won't be able to run them all off a single card unless it's one of the newer cards with Eyefinity. Long story short, you won't be able to do ultra widescreen gaming without using a Triple Head 2 Go with your current setup. However, if you just want to game on the center monitor and use the side ones for other programs, you SHOULD be fine (wait for someone else to confirm that before doing anything though!)

 

[mikteafool]

Each display would be $50 each; not completely for gaming, although i have read with the 5450 -64bit i should be able to get a triple setup, otherwise, maybe i'll get a cheap 5770 or higher during the holiday.

I'm hoping to use this for older games, such as older shooters & rts games...

 

[kennyj313]

Sorry, I guess I read that too quickly then . Like I said, the 5770 works great, but you WILL need an active Display Port to DVI adapter. Depending on how lucky you are, it could cost you between $50 and $100. I might actually be selling mine on eBay soon, so I'll throw a post up if/when I do.

 

[coldsleep]

There has been some talk recently of AMD-approved passive DVI to DisplayPort adapters, but I haven't checked up on it recently. Passive adapters tend to sell for around $15-20, I believe.

As kennyj313 mentions, any 5nnn or 6nnn series card can run 3 monitors, though the lower-end cards might struggle, even on older games...no way to know for sure without trying, though.

 

[kennyj313]

I should have noted that I've had very mixed results with running games on 3840x1024. For instance, World of Warcraft tends to stay in the upper 40's in terms of FPS, while Company of Heroes is almost unplayable. I've also tried Age of Empires 3, although it tends to do goofy stuff when I try to set it to ultra widescreen. FSX has generated the most impressive results - the framerate tends to be a little low (mid 20's - low 30's), but it looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

 

[4745454b]

you'll need an AMD 68xx video card, or two videocards of 5xxx class

Wrong Screwysqrl. The 5 series from AMD does support triple monitors. They were the first AMD cards to do so.

Looking at the specs I find it hard to believe that they would make good monitors. 8ms response time? 4:3 aspect ratio? They seem like much older monitors that someone is dumping. Kenny seems to like his but I'm not sure you will if your stepping down from the Hanns-g or the Asus. I have a funny feeling you won't like them as much.

There are supposed to be some incredible deals on Black Friday (and probably Cyber Monday) on 22" 1080P monitors for $99. I know its more expensive but seeing as you have the Asus already perhaps you can pick up a two more screens to pair with it for not much more then the $150 you were going to spend.

 

[kennyj313]

you'll need an AMD 68xx video card, or two videocards of 5xxx class

Wrong Screwysqrl. The 5 series from AMD does support triple monitors. They were the first AMD cards to do so.

Looking at the specs I find it hard to believe that they would make good monitors. 8ms response time? 4:3 aspect ratio? They seem like much older monitors that someone is dumping. Kenny seems to like his but I'm not sure you will if your stepping down from the Hanns-g or the Asus. I have a funny feeling you won't like them as much.

There are supposed to be some incredible deals on Black Friday (and probably Cyber Monday) on 22" 1080P monitors for $99. I know its more expensive but seeing as you have the Asus already perhaps you can pick up a two more screens to pair with it for not much more then the $150 you were going to spend.

Yeah, I think my setup kind of proves it's possible with just one 5XXX series card .

I have a similar feeling about it, but for a different reason. The 1907FP's work great, but the main problem I have is getting good performance while using it. The 5770 doesn't have a problem with World of Warcraft, but most other games I play tend to run significantly slower. In all honesty, I tend to switch to Eyefinity only for FSX. I usually just swap in my 24" Samsung when I want to play on a single display. Basically, my main interest in having a triple monitor system is multitasking. I love it so much that I get annoyed every time I'm using a computer that doesn't have more than one monitor. If you are serious about gaming in surround, you will need a pretty powerful system to get the most out of it.

To answer your main question miketeafool, the monitors are definitely a good deal and will work well with a triple monitor setup. HOWEVER, you will not be able to be able to try out surround gaming with your current setup. If you plan on using it for multitasking and just trying out surround gaming, then a 5770 will work fine (you should be able to use the 4870s for a normal (independent desktops) setup, but you will need the 5770 for a surround setup). If, after trying it out, you are interested in setting up a more serious surround setup, I'd suggest checking out the NVIDIA 400 series. From what I've read, you won't need the DP adapter with SLI cards, and the performance will definitely be sufficient for the ultra high resolutions. At that point, it would also be worth considering getting 2 more of the ASUS monitors.

Hope this helped!

 

[4745454b]

It works, but the 5770 doesn't make a good gaming eyefinity card. It can handle most games at 1680x1050 ok, but stretch that out to 3 screens and it lacks the muscle to provide playable frame rates. A 5850 or better cards is what you want minimum for 3 screens.

 

[mikteafool]

Hey guys, thanks for the info & input for the price $150 total, I went ahead and got them--and just in case it doesn't work out, i set up 2 buyers already (my mom and cousin ) which can take them off my hands if i dont like the setup.

This is like my "2nd home setup"; I'll rarely use, like once or twice a week; so i was going for the budget-and-Awe-effect. Plus just playing around with triple monitors of the same type should be entertaining....as far as a video card...I purchased the 2nd 4870 not too long ago.

Also I still love using my HIS 4670 card; would picking another one up work, for this triple monitor system-for gaming-??? i see a lot of mixed feelings on this throughout the net (ati 4670 - non crossfire or crossfire for triple monitor gaming)..

The Monitors 1907FPT - look sleek, bright, and perfect for everyday tasks, web editing, and watching videos, etc. I'll get to test out the triple setup tonight and can update on if/how the setup works on dual 4870's.......may update tomorrow on that topic.

 

[mikteafool]

To answer your main question miketeafool, the monitors are definitely a good deal and will work well with a triple monitor setup. HOWEVER, you will not be able to be able to try out surround gaming with your current setup. If you plan on using it for multitasking and just trying out surround gaming, then a 5770 will work fine (you should be able to use the 4870s for a normal (independent desktops) setup, but you will need the 5770 for a surround setup). If, after trying it out, you are interested in setting up a more serious surround setup, I'd suggest checking out the NVIDIA 400 series. From what I've read, you won't need the DP adapter with SLI cards, and the performance will definitely be sufficient for the ultra high resolutions. At that point, it would also be worth considering getting 2 more of the ASUS monitors.

Hope this helped!

Specifically the 1907FPT monitors will be for multi-tasking, and Older games....next year or the year after when i'm finally able to buy a house, i'll invest in some nice LED -and maybe 3D monitors, for a triple setup with Dual 5850's or higher....since these monitors are not 1080p or high def, i probably wont even use them in my main setup, but rather as my secondary system at my fiance' s house. I'm certainly more of an ATI fan than Nvidia, i have plenty of ATI cards i can put in crossfire, and currently no Nvidia cards, so SLI would be more expensive right now for this budget-gamer machine.....

 

[4745454b]

You can't use three screens with the 4870s, even in CF. (not that I've heard anyways.)

Good luck with the screens. I hope you enjoy them as much as kenny does.

 

[mikteafool]

True you cannot connect 1 single 4870 to 3 displays, also true this is not possible when 2 4870's are in crossfire, however, once crossfire is disabled- you can connect up to 4 displays, 2 for each video card. I have 2 of the 1907FPT Dell displays alongside, and Turned to match my 28" hanns-G.... I didnt realize the size would match this well, since the Dell's are widescreen, it turned out perfectly---- i Do, however, look forward to upgrading all these to LED's in the future, maybe 2 or 3 years from now, but this certainly beats the pants off the Dual setup i've had so far.

Multi-Tasking = Perfect
Gaming = Crossfire on middle screen, or with SoftTH for triple screen. Some games allow windowed mode to strectch the image. I will probably open a new thread later to discuss triple screen gaming, etc.

Posting pics - Thanks for all the support and input.

 

[4745454b]

Yes you can use them independently, but I thought you wanted an Eyefinity type setup. Good luck with this.