Getting 3 3D vision monitors with a GTX 680 + 2-way SLI GTX 970

[kcinkcinkcinnick]

Hy,

I was wondering if it is possible to get the following working:


I now have an alienware OptX™ AW2310 (3D vision ready), a GTX680 and an asus P9x79 deluxe motherboard.

What I have found by searching different forums and sites is: (please correct me if I'm wrong)

-2-way SLI (and 3-way SLI) only works for max 2 monitors.
-You can add the GTX 680 to run the PhysX.

So if I would purchase 2 different extra 3D ready monitors (not alienware because they're not made anymore, I was thinking about the asus 24" VG248QE.) and 2 GTX 970 (for 2-way SLI).
Can I connect 2 monitors to the 2-way SLI GTX970 and a 3rd monitor to the GTX 680?
And will they all work with 3D vision in game?

I've read that a single GTX nvidia cart can run 3 of the same monitors in 3D, but my one GTX680 has already troubles running Battlefield 4 on ultra so i'm doubting that...

So would it be possible?

-2-way SLI GTX 970 -> monitor 1 (asus)
GTX970 -> monitor 2 (asus)
- GTX 680 -> monitor 3 (alienware)

Thanks!

-Kcinkcinkcinnick

 

[bystander]

Where did you hear you needed 3 GPU's for 3D surround? You don't. It can even be done on 1 card, but your FPS would suffer. 3D Vision doesn't work with 3-way SLI anyways, only 2 cards would be used to generate the frames. I believe you may have been reading about G-sync, which would require 3 cards if your cards only have 1 displayport on each.

Here is a guide to how to setup the monitors directly from Nvidia. Just setup your configuration and it gives you a layout and notes: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/surround/system-requirements

 

[kcinkcinkcinnick]

I do know you can run 3 monitors with 1 GTX 680, but this requires 3 of the same monitors. Since they don't make my screen anymore I would need to buy 3 new screens so I thought it would be possible to get a 2-way SLI to power up 2 new / the same Monitors. And use my GTX 680 to run the physX and connect my alienware monitor to.

On the following link you can see:

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/sli/faq#s1

1)Can I add a 3rd graphics card in my 2-way SLI enabled PC to connect more monitors?
Yes, you can add an additional graphics card to your PC to connect two additional monitors. The additional graphics card must have a GPU that is different from your SLI GPUs and must be NVIDIA PhysX capable (GeForce 8 series and higher with at least 256MB of memory). For example, two GeForce GTX 2XX GPUs in SLI and a GeForce 9XXX GT is a supported configuration.

So this should work with 2-SLI GTX 970 connected to 2 of the same asus monitors + 1 GTX680 to my alienware monitor? :s

 

[bystander]

I'm lost on what you want to do. If you are trying for 3D surround, you need 3 of the same monitor. What they are saying is you can add another card for more monitors, but you do not have to. You can do that with 2 970's, or even 1 970. If you want the 680 as a physX card, then you can do that, but it might not be worth it for you, as having 3 cards sandwiched in your system is going to cause heating and noise issues unless you go with water cooling.

Go back to the link I gave, and fill out 980 2-way SLI and 3D surround. It explains all of this.

Btw, starting with the 600 series, you can have 3 monitors hooked up to 1 card for 2D surround and extended desktops.

Now can you explain what you mean by "3D Surround". You may be misusing the term.

- 3D Surround is actually short for 3D Vision Surround. That means wearing the 3D glasses and seeing things with depth perception across all 3 screens at once. This will require a 3D Vision 2 kit, and that all 3 monitors are identical.

- 2D Surround is for playing games across 3 monitors at once, but without depth perception, glasses or 3D Vision in any way. This just requires that all monitors are digital.

- 3 monitor extended desktop is for having a large desktop that you can work from, but you will only game on a single monitor.

 

[bystander]

I hope you reread what I edited. I gave better info on the edit after rereading what you linked more carefully.

 

[kcinkcinkcinnick]

hmm, So 3D surround isn't possible if I connect 2 of the same monitors with the 2-SLI GTX970 and the 3rd monitor with the GTX680? But I can use this to connect 3 monitors just for 2D?

I only have watercooling for my CPU but my case has lot's of fans and is mostly 23°.

What I want to do is get 3 monitors for gaming with 3D surround (3D vision2 glasses).

I tried your link but I don't understand it. I tried GTX 970 + 2-way SLI + 3D surround + landscape.

I get 7 options with pictures with circles and x's etc.

To get 3D vision working on my alienware monitor I needed to use a DVI cable because HDMI could not give 120Hz. But for this I can use hdmi or is this different for every monitor?

I really don't know a lot of these things...

 

[bystander]

The green circles are required spots to hook up the monitors, the orange circles are optional for the additional monitors. The squares are for extended +1 monitors, that will not be used in 3D Surround and the X's are not to be used. They used to have a key to explain that. It apparently is not being displayed.

Also, play special note to these special requirements:

Special Instructions:
> Center (primary) Display of the Surround group should be connected to the left most card.
> Accessory Display must be connected to the card with most number of displays. You can hook up additional displays for your desktop use if you want, use the ports marked with a square.
> You can use any connector to enable the Accessory Display
> 3D Vision Surround requires using three DVI or three DisplayPort connectors Adapters may be needed.
> All monitors must be the same make and model for 3D Vision Surround You will need 3 of those Asus monitors to work.
> Using DisplayPort connectors may require the use of DisplayPort to Dual-link DVI adapters. Please consult your monitor's manual for supported 3D connectors

 

[kcinkcinkcinnick]

Ok, so with 2 GTX 970 in SLI I will be able to get 3D surround (with the 3D vision 2 glasses) on 3 of the same monitors

also : ' Center (primary) Display of the Surround group should be connected to the left most card.' The left most card? Aren't most gpu's stacked up in a vertical way? so does this mean the top card?

If the GTX 970 only as a single DVI connector each, will a dvi splitter work to give signal to 2 monitors?

Thanks for helping!

 

[bystander]

It's hard to say, but in most cases, it would be the top most card, some cases are flipped upside down, making it the bottom. Mine is actually 90 degrees tilted, so it's the one to the far back. Anyways, it's the left most card, if you look at your case as if the motherboard is horizontal and at the bottom of the case. Or in general, it is the primary card.

Oh, and you'll need to use displayport to dual link DVI-D adapters for that monitor, unless you add the G-sync module, which don't seem to be available anymore. That is, you'll need 2 adapters, and one normal dual link dvi-d cable. The adapters are probably going to be expensive, as it has to be active and support 120hz.

Using DisplayPort connectors may require the use of DisplayPort to Dual-link DVI adapters. Please consult your monitor's manual for supported 3D connectors

 

[kcinkcinkcinnick]

This would be the monitors I would use: 3x http://www.asus.com/Monitors_Projectors/VG248QE/
Each monitor has 1 HDMI, 1 Dual link DVI-D and 1 displayport.

And the msi GTX970 Gaming 4G has 1 HDMI, 1 Dual link DVI-D, 1 Dual link DVI-I and 1 displayport. ( The pictures from the surround configuration tool show 5 ports...)


So just to be sure:

If I want 3 monitors with 3D surround (3D vision 2 glasses) I should work with just 2 GTX970 in 2-way SLI (remove the GTX680 competely)
and then connect the gpu's with the monitors.

So I should connect 2 monitors with a DVI cable from DVI-D to DVI-D and get a displayport to dual link DVI-D active adapter for the last monitor to connect it the DVI-D port?

I did found this adaptar : http://www.alternate.co.uk/Club-3D/DisplayPort-to-DVI-D-Dual-Link-Active-Adapter-Cable/html/product/980335?

This should do the trick?

 

[kcinkcinkcinnick]

Maybe it's even better to just get 3-way SLI GTX 970 and connect a monitor / GPU?

Or would it be possible to get a dual link DVI-I to dual link DVI-D splitter? Or should this be active aswell to get 120 Hz?

 

[bystander]

Well, if it has a displayport, you just need to confirm that it supports 3D Vision through displayport. If it does, then you can use a mix of displayport and Dual Link DVI-D to solve your issue, which is kind of a relief, as converters can be unreliable, especially with 120hz and above.

 

[bystander]

Ok, that makes things easy:
http://www.asus.com/us/Monitors_Projectors/VG248QE/

The VG248QE is compatible with the NVIDIA 3D Vision® 2 kit** through DisplayPort and dual-link DVI, providing support across three Full HD displays for an immersive multi-display 3D gaming experience.

You won't need any adapters. Just make sure to follow the Nvidia guide and use both DisplayPort and DVI-D as required.

 

[bystander]

Maybe it's even better to just get 3-way SLI GTX 970 and connect a monitor / GPU?

Or would it be possible to get a dual link DVI-I to dual link DVI-D splitter? Or should this be active aswell to get 120 Hz?

Given that 3D Vision does not support 3-way SLI, that would not be a great idea.

 

[kcinkcinkcinnick]

Ok thank you very very much !!