GPU Configuration for 5760x1080 for a new rig, lofty budget.

[MNeidig]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: March or sooner.

BUDGET RANGE: $1000-$2000

MONITOR RESOLUTION:
5760x1080

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, web surfing, graphic art with digital media.

Sample list of current games:
World of Warcraft
Mass Effect 2
Dragon Age 2
Dragon Age: Origins
Dead Space 2
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Dead Island
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Portal 2
Prototype
Team Fortress 2

Games I would like to play:
Mass Effect 3
Diablo 3
L.A. Noire
Skyrim
Battlefield 3 (Maybe)
Crysis 2 (Maybe)
Modern Warfare (Maybe)

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY:
This rig will be brand new. I haven't selected the GPUs yet and I haven't selected a PSU either. I'll find a PSU after I determine what GPU configuration I'll be using. Currently eyeballing the 1200W Gold from Corsair, though.

GPUs I'm looking at:
Radeon HD 7970
Radeon HD 6990
nVidia GTX 590
nVidia GTX 580


OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
Rig will be using (and this is a 'rough draft'):
Case: Cooler Master Haf X
CPU: Intel i7 2600k 3.4GHz
Mobo: P67 Sabertooth
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gig (4x4).
HDD: Western Digital Cavier Black 2TB
SDD: <Undecided>
Cooling: Exploring options

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS:
Newegg.com
Amazon.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States of America.

PARTS PREFERENCES:
No real parts preference other than Intel CPUs over AMD. Very slight lean toward nVidia when it comes to GPUs. Very slight. I think I might miss the Phys X if I went with Radeon. I also hear there are commonly driver issues. But I also hear there is more Eyefinity support off the bat.

OVERCLOCKING:
Probably.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE:
Most likely.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Mass Effect 3, if nothing else, has to be the game that I can run with three displays with little to no sacrifice of ultra settings or FPS. I usually play WoW or TOR mostly after I've finished a good single-player game. The last game I finished was Arkham City. It was fantastic, but my old machine could barely run it. I want to see these games, which have an almost cinematic quality, spread over three screens so I can really get into the environment, and get immersed its world.

I have a very high budget. I don't to say "Money is no object" because I won't throw money at "GPU Config1" if it's twice the price but doesn't have more than a ten percent improvement over "GPU Config2", if that makes sense.

 

[rolli59]

HD7970 and add another one when not enough anymore!

 

[esrever]

2x 7970s is the way to go.

they beat every other combo in price and performance. add a third one if you want but you'd need a new mobo.

 

[refillable]

cool budget!

Agree with that, take a look at 7970 crossfire, they are going to satisfy your needs.
And you can also wait for the aftermarket coolers so you can overclock better.

Also, the case, why don't you get a cosmos II? You have the very high end system!

 

[MNeidig]

Still trying to figure some other things out at the moment!

I do have my eye on that case though, simply because I recently learned aluminum makes for better cooling. I do still want to save some money where I can, though, so if the HAF X does fine enough, I might still go with that.

 

[dummos]

to save money first of all id ditch 16gb of ram for a 2x4 setup as anything more is just not used and imo a waste of money
second. unless you are doing heavy video rendering there is no advantage to the 2600k over a 2500k for games as no games use hyperthreading.
as for a gpu its very simple at the moment 7970 xfire is a beast but if they look to expensive xfire 6970's will play the games you listed on a 5760x1080 monitor and scale much better than nvidia sli 570's and pretty much even with 580 sli

 

[hitechgowthaman]

Simple search these below items with amazon in google , graphics card 6970 + 6990 make crosswire u get the speed or 6970 + 570 crosswire give both speed into one,

 

[hitechgowthaman]

how muck psu u have wanted check in asus.com 7970 + 590 can do all ur gaming needs

 

[PCgamer81]

how muck psu u have wanted check in asus.com 7970 + 590 can do all ur gaming needs

You can't pair a radeon card with a geforce card, dude. Come on.

OP:

I have dual 6970's and can handle just about any game @ 5760x1080, although BF3 has to be played on high with AA (which is not important at that resolution) off to achieve 60 fps. It looks amazing.

If maxing every game is important to you, as opposed to merely playing the game at high visual settings/almost maxed (and usually with AA off), then I would recommend something a little stronger. Personally, I would prefer a 6990 crossfire over 7970 crossfire. I can guarantee you that two 6990's will rock your world. I will say that they are hard to find and very expensive, so it may be economically friendly to go with dual 7970's.

But dual 6990's @ 1000/1500 is the most WIN I have ever seen in a system. It will rock even the most demanding games at 5760x1080 without so much as breaking a sweat. It will blow you out of your chair. If at all possible, that would be your best option - full of so much win.

 

[desinoober]

actually you can install a high-end AMD card and a low-end nVidia card if you want Eyefinity without losing nVidia Physx. People have done it before you just need to find the right forums. Either if you are just looking surround gaming then go with AMD GPUs your life be a lot easier because Eyefinity is much better system than nVidia's, but nVidia has better physics integrated into their cards if you are looking for real-world actions like shattering glass

 

[burritobob]

2x 7970 ghz edition is the way to go, nice cards tons of vram and the amd gpus perform better at those resolutions than a 590 or sli 590 could. And physX isnt that great of a physics engine anyways, you can live w/out it there are better engines to come, you can hardly see a difference, and most games DO NOT SUPPORT IT. The only one to support physX on that list is batman, and the new 12.11 drivers are pretty awesome....