How many gigs of VRAM needed for triple monitor gaming?

[GlumMrSpartan]

by the end of the year i want to have a triple monitor setup for gaming. however i know you need more VRAM to run these. So I've found a card i like: The MSI R9 270X 4GB Edition. I don't need 60 FPS on BF4 because i honestly can't tell the difference between 30 and 60. However I'm wondering:

Do i need 2 of these cards?

I ask because i know i need a good amount of VRAM to run triple monitor gaming, however I'm not sure how much i'll need for it. And if one card can run all 3 monitors, will it decrease performance? If it does, should i get a second one and throw it in Crossfire?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[Supernova1138]

What resolution are the monitors going to be? If you're running 3 1080p displays, then you probably need a faster GPU than the 270x unless you want to play at low settings. Getting a second 270x in Crossfire would help, though I would recommend getting a faster single card if you don't have a GPU yet, that way you don't have to worry about running into Crossfire problems. Generally speaking, the 270x isn't fast enough to benefit from more than 2GB of VRAM, though the 4GB version might help if you were running 2 of them in Crossfire for a multimonitor setup.

For a single GPU, you'd probably want at least a 280x for triple monitor gaming, with the 290 and 290x being better options if you can afford them. For Nvidia a GTX 770 would be the minimum, and you would want to get one with more than 2GB of VRAM if you went that route. The 780 would be better if you can afford it. None of those options would offer quite as much raw performance as 2 270xs in Crossfire, but do have the advantage of using less power, and not having microstuttering issues and driver problems that tend to show up with multiple GPUs.

 

[GlumMrSpartan]

What resolution are the monitors going to be? If you're running 3 1080p displays, then you probably need a faster GPU than the 270x unless you want to play at low settings. Getting a second 270x in Crossfire would help, though I would recommend getting a faster single card if you don't have a GPU yet, that way you don't have to worry about running into Crossfire problems. Generally speaking, the 270x isn't fast enough to benefit from more than 2GB of VRAM, though the 4GB version might help if you were running 2 of them in Crossfire for a multimonitor setup.

For a single GPU, you'd probably want at least a 280x for triple monitor gaming, with the 290 and 290x being better options if you can afford them. For Nvidia a GTX 770 would be the minimum, and you would want to get one with more than 2GB of VRAM if you went that route. The 780 would be better if you can afford it. None of those options would offer quite as much raw performance as 2 270xs in Crossfire, but do have the advantage of using less power, and not having microstuttering issues and driver problems that tend to show up with multiple GPUs.

They would be 3 1080p monitors. I just figure i'd buy 2 270x's because they help with both performance together and have enough VRAM to run all 3 monitors, plus they arent as expensive as the other cards. Unless one 780 or one 280x could pull off all 3 monitors, could they? I cant exactly afford 2 780's

 

[hawkins23]

A gtx 780 will run 3 1080s. And next year you can grab another for half the price....

 

[Supernova1138]

A single 780 or an R9 290 would do decently on a triple monitor setup for Battlefield 4. You wouldn't get 60 FPS on ultra, but you should get playable framerates at high settings with either one of those cards. The 280x is a bit slow for 3 1080p monitors, you would be able to play, but you would probably have to put your settings down to medium to get good framerates. The higher end cards also have the advantage of having a higher amount of VRAM as a standard feature, so you don't need to pay a $30-40 premium on each card just to get more than 2GB of VRAM.

 

[GlumMrSpartan]

A single 780 or an R9 290 would do decently on a triple monitor setup for Battlefield 4. You wouldn't get 60 FPS on ultra, but you should get playable framerates at high settings with either one of those cards. The 280x is a bit slow for 3 1080p monitors, you would be able to play, but you would probably have to put your settings down to medium to get good framerates. The higher end cards also have the advantage of having a higher amount of VRAM as a standard feature, so you don't need to pay a $30-40 premium on each card just to get more than 2GB of VRAM.

Then at that rate, should i wait until Maxwell to see the performance on that, and (if i dont get anything from Maxwell) wait for the 780 to get a price drop when that comes out this summer? since it'll take me some time to buy a 500 dollar 780 anyway

 

[Supernova1138]

We don't know if Maxwell is coming this summer, or if it will possibly be even later than that. Whether you want to wait will also depend on which GPU you have now. If you don't have a graphics card right now, then you probably should get one now unless you want to wait a few months before you're able to play any games. Alternatively, you could get something like a 280x right now, play on a single monitor or accept reduced settings on all three monitors and grab another 280x for Crossfire later on.

 

[GlumMrSpartan]

We don't know if Maxwell is coming this summer, or if it will possibly be even later than that. Whether you want to wait will also depend on which GPU you have now. If you don't have a graphics card right now, then you probably should get one now unless you want to wait a few months before you're able to play any games. Alternatively, you could get something like a 280x right now, play on a single monitor or accept reduced settings on all three monitors and grab another 280x for Crossfire later on.

I have am HD 7850 and it runs everything at max settings with my 8320. I know it wouldnt do well with triple monitor gaming so thats why im asking now so i can plan out my upgrades for the year

 

[Supernova1138]

Yeah, I'd say wait until you can afford a 780 or R9 290 or something else in that performance range, most of the options cheaper than those cards aren't really a worthwhile upgrade over a 7850 anyway.

 

[GlumMrSpartan]

Yeah, I'd say wait until you can afford a 780 or R9 290 or something else in that performance range, most of the options cheaper than those cards aren't really a worthwhile upgrade over a 7850 anyway.

Okay sounds good, thanks a ton!

 

[leeb2013]

3GB min. I use 3 monitors (1680x1050, so about 5MP instead of 6MP) and had 7950 crossfire (3GB). BF4 used 2.7GB.

I now have a single R9-290 (4GB) and Titanfall utilises 3.7GB. I doubt it needs that much considering the graphics are rubbish, but it clearly uses as much as is available.

Although I like Nvidia's efficiency, compared to AMD, I was a bit hesitant to limit myself to 3GB. As the 290 was also cheaper, with generally better performance in several games than the 780, I opted for that. I'm very pleased with it, particularly the Sapphire Tri-x cooler. Heat is not an issue.