Are 2 GTX690's necessary to run 3 monitor setup (want to keep high fps)

[kingthomas_23]

Pardon my ignorance but im trying to get this right the first time. I want to run a 3 monitor setup using 3 ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz 1ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD 3D Monitors.

My parts have arrived and my build consists of the following:
1 - GTX690 4GB GDDR5
Asus Rampage Black Edition Mobo
Corsair Pro Series Gold 1200W PS
Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition
64GB Corsair Vengeance DDR 1600
Coolmaster Cosmos 2 Ultra Tower Case
Samsung 840 EVO 1TB SSD
3 - Western Digital RE 3TB Enterprise HDD's
Corsair Hydro Series H100i
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

Should I add another GTX690 in order to support the 3 monitor setup?

 

[JokerSlunt]

690's are not ideal for a triple monitor setup. When you are talking about that you need to consider the video memory aspect. Running triple monitors would be advisable only if you have a minimum of 3-4 GB of USABLE VRAM.

A GTX 690, or two of them for that matter only have 2GB of video memory. It says 4GB, but that is because the two 680's chips each have 2GB, for a total of 4GB, but SLI doesn't add them together, the chips are mirrored in an SLI configuration. A 690 is merely 680's in SLI in an easier platform of a single card.

So your real issue there in lies with VRAM. My suggestion would be return the 690 and get two 780's or even 2 4GB 770's. Another option is the Titan which is really more suited to your GPU needs and at the same price of the 690. Best of luck.

 

[aevm]

One card is enough.
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/3dvision-surround/system-requirements

 

[JokerSlunt]

One card is enough.
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/3dvision-surround/system-requirements

Not if he wants to be gaming at 60FPS on ultra, which I imagine a person spending $3000 on a PC has the expectation of top notch performance. 2GB of VRAM is not enough for this. I have a friend who just invested in two 780 Ti's for triple monitor and he is averaging 40-60 FPS on triple monitor. That is terrible for what is $1400 worth of cards.

I run two 780's on a 144Hz display and comfortable play BF4 at between 150-200 FPS, consistently. For triple monitor's though I would really advise dual 4GB cards or a Titan.

 

[RobCrezz]

In your position I would sell the 690 and get 2x GTX 780/780Ti for the higher memory bandwidth and more power for gaming at ultra on 3x 1080p.

 

[cst1992]

Should he wait for the Titan Black Edition?
I'd say I think so. Even the 790 is what I'm thinking.

 

[JokerSlunt]

Should he wait for the Titan Black Edition?
I'd say I think so. Even the 790 is what I'm thinking.

790 I think would be ideal since it is meant to feature 5GB of usable video memory with the power of two 780's behind it. The best option if he can be a little patient and return the 690 now. He did just buy it after all so returning it shouldn't be difficult.

Good call on the 790 or Titan black, hadn't thought about those.

 

[cst1992]

One card is enough.
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/3dvision-surround/system-requirements

Not if he wants to be gaming at 60FPS on ultra, which I imagine a person spending $3000 on a PC has the expectation of top notch performance. 2GB of VRAM is not enough for this. I have a friend who just invested in two 780 Ti's for triple monitor and he is averaging 40-60 FPS on triple monitor. That is terrible for what is $1400 worth of cards.

I run two 780's on a 144Hz display and comfortable play BF4 at between 150-200 FPS, consistently. For triple monitor's though I would really advise dual 4GB cards or a Titan.

What's this craze about triple 1080p monitors anyway? I'd imagine if I were building a high end rig I'd go for a top notch 4K 30" monitor which supports 120Hz/60Hz.

 

[JokerSlunt]

One card is enough.
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/3dvision-surround/system-requirements

Not if he wants to be gaming at 60FPS on ultra, which I imagine a person spending $3000 on a PC has the expectation of top notch performance. 2GB of VRAM is not enough for this. I have a friend who just invested in two 780 Ti's for triple monitor and he is averaging 40-60 FPS on triple monitor. That is terrible for what is $1400 worth of cards.

I run two 780's on a 144Hz display and comfortable play BF4 at between 150-200 FPS, consistently. For triple monitor's though I would really advise dual 4GB cards or a Titan.

What's this craze about triple 1080p monitors anyway? I'd imagine if I were building a high end rig I'd go for a top notch 4K 30" monitor which supports 120Hz/60Hz.

I am in agreement with that. I would not use triple monitor. I like playing on my 1080p 144Hz display. 1080 is crystal clear and i want to be able to play my games maxed out at over 100 FPS, minimum. I would consider it in a few years once cards with high VRAM aren't so pricey and gaming at ultra HD is feasible at 120Hz+

 

[cst1992]

Wouldn't the 790 already deliver enough juice to run any game at 4K at ultra? dual 780ti's with 5GB of RAM is a hell of a lot of power.

 

[JokerSlunt]

Wouldn't the 790 already deliver enough juice to run any game at 4K at ultra? dual 780ti's with 5GB of RAM is a hell of a lot of power.

The 790 is two 780's, not 780 Ti's. It doesn't have the fully unlocked CUDA of the 780 Ti.

 

[RobCrezz]

Wouldn't the 790 already deliver enough juice to run any game at 4K at ultra? dual 780ti's with 5GB of RAM is a hell of a lot of power.

Not at highest settings. proper 4k is way more pixels than 3x 1080p