Triple display setup: a fork in the road

[RS1no2047]

Ok, I think I may have goofed big-time here.

I recently bought an nVidia 560 Ti 448-core-edition card. It seemed a good idea at the time, but before I even return home to install it, I realize it may be the stupidest buy I've made.

I would like, at some point in the future, to set up a triple screen (3x 1920x1200) setup or gaming. I wasn't aware, but apparently the 560 Ti doesn't support more than 2 discrete digital outputs (unless in SLI).

I don't particularly want to use SLI for three important reasons. First, I really don't want micro-stutter (but from what I've heard SLI barely even does it). Second, I'm not sure my 850W Diablotek POS PSU can handle it, and I don't really want to buy a new one. Third, I might not even be able to. Who knows how many of these will be available by the time I've even bought 3 monitors? Likely none considering they are limited stock.

My other option (as I see it) is to use some sort of display extender for two monitors, and attach one to normal output. Can anyone verify if this has worked? I'm not positive if nVidia surround would allow me to do this.

Thanks for reading this far. Any advice at all is much appreciated.

 

[vmem]

1. your PSU is fine

2. a pair of 560ti (448) core are pretty powerful and should drive 3 monitors fine, but it will have trouble with demanding games such as BF3.

3. you cannot use a display extender to drive 3D surround... it doesn't work that way

 

[RS1no2047]

1. your PSU is fine

2. a pair of 560ti (448) core are pretty powerful and should drive 3 monitors fine, but it will have trouble with demanding games such as BF3.

3. you cannot use a display extender to drive 3D surround... it doesn't work that way

1. Really? awesome

2. Will the micro-stutter be noticeable in games like skyrim, though? I don't want to spend $250+ if it's unsatisfactory.

3. So, extender will not suffice to add another screen or panorama in-game? Sorry, I'm not sure if it's possible without using 3D whatever.

 

[vmem]

well, to answer your qualms about microstutter, it has always been a bigger problem with lower end set-ups than high-end. it seems to become an issue once your fps drops to around 40 or so on average (even then it doesn't always happen). no one truly knows the cause as far as I know. thus, for 4 monitors, I would really advise getting a single 670 (either ASUS or Gigabyte) for now. it may be slightly slower than a pair of 560ti, but there won't be microstutter at all, and you'll still have an upgrade path.

as for extender, 3D surround is Nvidia's phrase for eyefinity, or just running 3 monitors as one big single monitor. as far as I know, it doesn't work with a monitor extender as your GPU won't recognize it correctly for games

 

[RS1no2047]

well, to answer your qualms about microstutter, it has always been a bigger problem with lower end set-ups than high-end. it seems to become an issue once your fps drops to around 40 or so on average (even then it doesn't always happen). no one truly knows the cause as far as I know. thus, for 4 monitors, I would really advise getting a single 670 (either ASUS or Gigabyte) for now. it may be slightly slower than a pair of 560ti, but there won't be microstutter at all, and you'll still have an upgrade path.

as for extender, 3D surround is Nvidia's phrase for eyefinity, or just running 3 monitors as one big single monitor. as far as I know, it doesn't work with a monitor extender as your GPU won't recognize it correctly for games

So how about for 3 monitors (5760x1200)? Will Skyrim, SWTOR, or other AAA games (not BF3, considering I'm not much of a FPS fan) suffer when run on the best settings? I have 3770k OCed (41x~102BCLK) and Sabertooth Z77. Also, will the Lucid MVP still work with cards in SLI?

Sorry to keep on pestering you.

Edit: Also, might I be able to use one of the outputs on my motherboard to achieve this instead?

 

[a little black duck]

Sorry to jump into the middle here guys, but we've just been discussing the same topic in another thread >> http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/361471-33-multiple-monitors

Also, might I be able to use one of the outputs on my motherboard to achieve this instead?

No, it cannot be done. You can connect a 3rd monitor to your mobos' monitor I/O (provided your mobo and OS meet the requirements) and run 3 single desktops, you just can't run them as one large screen.

Edit: To run them as 1 large screen you will need a 2nd gtx560ti (non sli) and connect your 3rd monitor to the 2nd gpu.

 

[smorizio]

the mvp chipset does not work for all games and all video drivers..a lot of people my self have tried using it and it crashes windows or the games.

 

[RS1no2047]

Best answer selected by RS1no2047.

 

[RS1no2047]

I have started an RMA with newegg (and no surprise, there's a damn $36 restocking fee which I plan to give them a lot of *** for). I will be ordering an ASUS 670 soon in the hopes I won't need a new graphics card for a very long time.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey