Best graphics card for 3 monitor set up.

[MUDDY MUD]

Hello,

Alrighty since the 6990 is over priced, I am trying to decide my best option.

Evga gtx 460 2gbs in Sli for $460

Palit gtx 560 ti 2gbs in Sli for $559.98

Xfx 6950 2gbs in CF for $579.98

Now I will be gaming at 5760x1080 and I will need the extra vram. I have used nvidia for the last couple cards, I would like to get the 6950s, but how is it playing games that use physx with the 6950s? Any suggestions, the 6990 and gtx 590 our out of the question, since they are out of my $600 budget.

 

[kennyj313]

Hello,

Alrighty since the 6990 is over priced, I am trying to decide my best option.

Evga gtx 460 2gbs in Sli for $460

Palit gtx 560 ti 2gbs in Sli for $559.98

Xfx 6950 2gbs in CF for $579.98

Now I will be gaming at 5760x1080 and I will need the extra vram. I have used nvidia for the last couple cards, I would like to get the 6950s, but how is it playing games that use physx with the 6950s? Any suggestions, the 6990 and gtx 590 our out of the question, since they are out of my $600 budget.

6950's all the way. I personally have had bad experiences with Palit, and the 460's won't be nearly as powerful. Also keep in mind that the 6950's can be unlocked and overclocked to more or less the same performance as a 6970.

Here are 2 other threads about this:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/310855-33-6950#t2324961
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/310875-33-video-cards-monitors

And HERE are benches comparing SLI 460's with CF 6950's. To be fair, that IS the 1GB 460's, and the 2GB version will be significantly better at ultra high resolutions, but the 6950's will still be performing better.

 

[darkphox]

another page with some possibly useful info is the vote listed as my "member website" (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/310523-33-surround-eyefinity-6950s). The vote ended 50/50 between the palit 560's, and amd 6950's. I started with almost the same query as you...5760x1080, and two of what card to power them with. I ended up deciding on a 6990 for the increased px over 560's, and no screen tear (might want to look into that if you intend to use vsync at all) like the 6950s. Anyhow, just one more resource to hopefully help you in your decision!

 

[kennyj313]

another page with some possibly useful info is the vote listed as my "member website" (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/310523-33-surround-eyefinity-6950s). The vote ended 50/50 between the palit 560's, and amd 6950's. I started with almost the same query as you...5760x1080, and two of what card to power them with. I ended up deciding on a 6990 for the increased px over 560's, and no screen tear (might want to look into that if you intend to use vsync at all) like the 6950s. Anyhow, just one more resource to hopefully help you in your decision!

I was actually reading your thread when I was making my decision too, lol. From what I've been able to find elsewhere, the screen tearing issue seems to be pretty rare/ isolated, so I wouldn't worry about it.

If you are on a budget, the 6990 probably isn't a great choice. It's +$100 over what you are looking at, and it has about the same performance as the CF 6950's. THIS thread does a pretty good job of explaining it.

 

[darkphox]

I hope I do not come across as a fear monger, but personally the screen tear would kill the multi-screen experience for me. You can get really good detail about the problem on this thread:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1576329&page=1

Simply because of this I would go for the Palit 560's...With $600 on the table (in GPUs alone) I'd rather play it safe, with a little less performance...than sorry with a little better fps

 

[MUDDY MUD]

Would the screen tearing be solved if I just hook up each of my monitors to the DVI ports of the 2 cards? Like 2 monitors hooked up on 1 card, and the third monitor on the dvi port of the second card? Does eyefinity work like that? I know nvidia surround does, but I don't know anything about eyefinity.

 

[kennyj313]

Would the screen tearing be solved if I just hook up each of my monitors to the DVI ports of the 2 cards? Like 2 monitors hooked up on 1 card, and the third monitor on the dvi port of the second card? Does eyefinity work like that? I know nvidia surround does, but I don't know anything about eyefinity.

Nope, you have to use the ports on the first card only. I just want to throw in that I've been using an Eyefinity setup for about a year now, and I've never had the screen tearing issue. I use an active DP to DVI adapter, which might make the difference. In fact, the one guy in that thread mentions the same thing. There's also no noticeable difference in terms of quality between a DP-DVI connection and a straight DP connection, so if that solves the problem, it's a $20 fix.

I hope I do not come across as a fear monger, but personally the screen tear would kill the multi-screen experience for me. You can get really good detail about the problem on this thread:

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1576329&page=1

I was worried about it when I was looking for solutions myself, so it's definitely understandable.

 

[MUDDY MUD]

Nope, you have to use the ports on the first card only. I just want to throw in that I've been using an Eyefinity setup for about a year now, and I've never had the screen tearing issue. I use an active DP to DVI adapter, which might make the difference. In fact, the one guy in that thread mentions the same thing. There's also no noticeable difference in terms of quality between a DP-DVI connection and a straight DP connection, so if that solves the problem, it's a $20 fix.



I was worried about it when I was looking for solutions myself, so it's definitely understandable.

Can you link me to one on newegg? I want to make sure I am getting the right adapter. I am just about sold on eyefinity, since I will be gaming in landscape and shouldnt worry about screen tear too much.

 

[kennyj313]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814999030&cm_re=diplay_port_to_dvi-_-14-999-030-_-Product

That's the first one I found, there are probably more.

 

[MUDDY MUD]

That doesn't look like it would fit into the mini displayport, all my monitors are DVI

 

[wolfram23]

In this case I would say the 6950s so long as you can unlock them to 6970s. No doubt.

PhysX? Honestly, there's quite literally only 20 games (including upcoming ones) that use hardware physx. Yes, it looks great in a few of them (Batman, Cryostasis, Mafia 2) but it's not that great. I bought a $65 GT240 for it, and it works great but it's not something I'd really consider until it catches on more.

 

[kennyj313]

That doesn't look like it would fit into the mini displayport, all my monitors are DVI

Whoops, forgot it was a mini DP on the newer cards. THIS one should work.

 

[MUDDY MUD]

Best answer selected by MUDDY MUD.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey