3x 1080p in Eyefinity or Single 1440p?

[jkteddy77]

I am in the process of upgrading into the PC big game. I'm almst done building a rig with 8350. I plan on buying a Sapphire R9 290 OC Tri-X. Sucker is faster than a 780 Lightning, but has a 512bit bus and 4GB for larger Resolutions, plus AMD in case of eyefinity. Just waiting for them to become affordable to snatch one up. (stupid miners) (don't recommend me Nvidia...just don't)


Now that you have an Idea of my future PC performance, which should I buy?

3x Asus VN247h-p 23.6" 1080p
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236307
I would wait for these to drop to $150 on sale to buy them, as they drop to this occasionally.

or

A single Asus PB278Q 27" 1440p
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236294
I'm a little open to suggestion on which monitor to buy, But I'm looking at around or under $500. I've kept korean monitors in mind also, as those are usually only about $350. I choose this because I love Asus's monitors.

Which should I buy considering I will use this a majority of the time for BF4? keep in mind:
Eyefinity only cost $450 (if i can wait for a sale)
while
1440p cost me $539, or MAYBE $350 for korean monitor.

Any advice or opinion is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[luckiest charm]

Not many games support multiple displays. But for those which do, they look incredible.

However I am still on the side of 1440p display because of vast amount of compatible games (and patches which make the non-compatibles compatible) and also because of high resolution. Eyefinity provides immersion, but it puts a lot of load on a GPU, not something an R9 290 can manage on high settings with 3 Full HD monitors. You would not get that good frame rates.

To successfully run those displays smoothly with modern games on high settings you need either GTX 780 Ti (Faster than 780 Lightning and way faster than R9 290X) or SLI of GTX 770. Because you do not like Nvidia, AMD equivalents are CrossFire of R9 290 which would probably result in micro-sluttering in most games due to poor multi-GPU support by AMD.

Nvidia currently trumps AMD in every field at the moment, including cost due to miners as you know it .. haha

And yeah, if you are still not convinced and want to go for AMD, stick to Sapphire .. They are noisy and hot enough, but still a lot cooler than those of ASUS'.

 

[jkteddy77]

Not many games support multiple displays. But for those which do, they look incredible.

However I am still on the side of 1440p display because of vast amount of compatible games (and patches which make the non-compatibles compatible) and also because of high resolution. Eyefinity provides immersion, but it puts a lot of load on a GPU, not something an R9 290 can manage on high settings with 3 Full HD monitors. You would not get that good frame rates.

To successfully run those displays smoothly with modern games on high settings you need either GTX 780 Ti (Faster than 780 Lightning and way faster than R9 290X) or SLI of GTX 770. Because you do not like Nvidia, AMD equivalents are CrossFire of R9 290 which would probably result in micro-sluttering in most games due to poor multi-GPU support by AMD.

Nvidia currently trumps AMD in every field at the moment, including cost due to miners as you know it .. haha

And yeah, if you are still not convinced and want to go for AMD, stick to Sapphire .. They are noisy and hot enough, but still a lot cooler than those of ASUS'.

Currently, the Sapphire 290 Tri-x is a bit faster than a 780 Lightning, runs only 70C full load, and runs just as quiet as a custom 780. So it does beat nvidia a bit, but only if the card drops to $450. AMD's largest advantage right now is extra vram and lower price... and they lost one of the two. I personally don't want a 3GB card for the next 3-4 years, and I am an avid BF4 gamer so Mantle is a factor. Not to mention, a 290 wins in 1440p or eyefinity, and I plan on a higher resolution.

I think 1440p would be a great bet, since a single R9 290 can run most games just over 60fps on Ultra. Another problem is that I like multiple monitors. I have a 39" TV above me as a third monitor, a 1080p Asus I game on, and one 900p to my left. Should I sell the 900p, buy the 1440p, and stand the 1080p in horizontal next to me? Seems like enough real estate to me. (I like the battlestation style setup, and there's no way I can go back to just one monitor and a tv...)

Another factor is that 1440p, as many as there are, is still quite expensive. Should I buy a Korean monitor now, or wait for Asus's model to drop?

 

[luckiest charm]

Its not 780 Lightning I am comparing it to. I am comparing it to 780 Ti. The fastest single GPU card on the planet.

But it depends on you.

Well, its a good idea to sell 900p monitor and waiting for ASUS's prices to drop. You wont have to invest more that way and would also find a good deal for your old monitor.

But if you are going to use your 1440p monitor alongside your 1080p displays, it won't work. You can not play any game that way. To use eyefinity or more than 1 display, all of them need to have a fixed and same resolution. If you plan on playing games on 1440p, then you can play on only one of them. Otherwise buy 1080p.

In my opinion its more about your choice. If you can not revert back to single display then it makes no sense buying 1440p. I prefer single display so I recommended 1440p but because you have different preferences, different options suit you.

Good luck!

 

[jkteddy77]

Its not 780 Lightning I am comparing it to. I am comparing it to 780 Ti. The fastest single GPU card on the planet.

But it depends on you.

Well, its a good idea to sell 900p monitor and waiting for ASUS's prices to drop. You wont have to invest more that way and would also find a good deal for your old monitor.

But if you are going to use your 1440p monitor alongside your 1080p displays, it won't work. You can not play any game that way. To use eyefinity or more than 1 display, all of them need to have a fixed and same resolution. If you plan on playing games on 1440p, then you can play on only one of them. Otherwise buy 1080p.

In my opinion its more about your choice. If you can not revert back to single display then it makes no sense buying 1440p. I prefer single display so I recommended 1440p but because you have different preferences, different options suit you.

Good luck!

To clear up confusion, I plan on only playing on the 1440p, I'm just saying I could never go back to JUST having a 1440p Monitor in my PC. Multiple displays has spoiled me xD So I'll figure something out. Might even put 2 1080p's in horizonatal on either side of the 1440p, and have the TV mounted above.

I know you were talking about the 780TI, but at $300 more than I wish to spend (Sapphire MSRP'd their Tri-x model at $450, retailers just massively inflated them) I don't need the extra performance for anohter 60% the price. I am only comparing the 290 to 780 because they ar in similar performance and price range. Plus, no sense in buying a $739 card with 3GB Vram... that won't last forever.

 

[luckiest charm]

Ah thats okay. I thought you do not have a budget and want to go for pure performance.

Anyways, then 290 is a good choice.