Specifications

JUL 2011MAXIMUMPC
48
maximumpc.com
multiscreen madness
GAMING ON THREE or more monitors is no easy feat. Pushing that
many pixels is hugely demanding on a GPU. So if you want to get
the most from your multiscreen setup, you’ll need to pair it with
adequate graphics power. Using our challenge scenarios as ex-
amples, we examine what kind of GPU/s you will need to achieve
adequate frame rates and quality settings.
The Wall of Six
AMD likes to tout the ability of its GPUs to handle up to six LCD
panels simultaneously. You’ll need a special Eyefinity Edition card,
complete with six Mini DisplayPort connectors, if you want to drive
six panels with one card, based on the previous-generation Radeon
HD 5870.
The problem is that the HD 5870 doesn’t really have enough
gas to drive six 1080p panels with decent frame rates in many
games. You’ll either have to significantly dial down the eye candy
or reduce resolution—which defeats the purpose of having six
panels. You’ll see better performance if you pair up two Radeon
HD 6970s. Even then, you’ll need to sacrifice some high-end
features.
If you want to go all out and drop in a pair of Radeon HD 6990
dual-GPU cards (assuming you can actually find them), then you
can get pretty decent frame rates.
You can theoretically drive six panels with Nvidia-based cards,
but you’d need either three cards in triple-SLI mode or two GTX
590 dual-GPU cards. It’s unclear, however, whether driver sup-
port is really there to deliver the same level of experience.
Triple HD Desktop Monitors
For more practical gaming, three 1080p LCD monitors is probably
the sweet spot right now. You can drive three 1080p monitors with
a single high-end, single-GPU card like the Radeon HD 6970 and
get decent frame rates at the full 5760x1080 resolution. You will
need to sacrifice some detail settings in some games. And there
will be a few titles, like Metro 2033, that won’t be playable at
these resolutions with a single card.
If you’re willing to go with two cards or a dual-GPU card, the
field opens up. Either Nvidia or AMD can run a triple HD desk-
top display with either dual-GPU cards or two discrete cards. If
you’re willing to go with the high midrange—Radeon HD 6950s for
WHAT VIDEOCARD DO I NEED?
one was complaining that the display felt too squat. Unfortunately, the
aspect ratio and field of view issues that arose in Call of Duty with the
other 5760x1080 setup remained.
Need for Speed was the biggest hit on this setup. Nathan’s initial
impression in the game summed it up nicely: “This is madness.” Alan
felt similarly, declaring that the peripheral view of the road rushing
past made the game feel faster. Gordon, actually preferred Need for
Speed on the TVs to the 30-inch screens, saying it felt like he was
really driving and that the horizon appeared as large as in life.
World of Warcraft produced some complaints about the extensive
screen real estate: “Turning my head to view data on the side screens
destroyed the feeling of immersion and also took my eyes off my
character,” said Nathan. Gordon wasn’t bothered by that so much, but
did find WoW’s relatively low-res textures to be unusually noticeable
on the all-encompassing displays. During Alan’s testing of World of
Warcraft, Nathan declared it “more impressive looking” from further
back. In fact, one of the drawbacks to using such large screens is that
it’s difficult to find a position that’s close enough to feel immersed but
not visually overwhelmed; Call of Duty caused dizziness during one
portion of our testing.
Three 46-inch TVs
TIME TO GO BIG OR GO HOME!
Configuration 4
NECs E461s
offer a
standard
1920x1080
resolution
with a 120Hz
refresh rate.
SO FAR, SO GOOD. So… what else? Three big HDTVs! The idea started as
almost a joke by Gordon, but then germinated into a why-the-hell-not propo-
sition. After all, if we want to be immersed in gameplay, what better way than
by planting ourselves within a fortress of three giant 46-inch LCD screens.
We turned to NEC’s E461s, and we got busy. After some (pretty extensive)
troubleshooting, we were ready to press Play.
The E461s obviously eat up huge amounts of space, and while this was eas-
ily the most unrealistic of the configs we tested, we had to see how it would
play out. Like the three 23-inch panels, the HDTVs, which are 1920x1080 each,
had a combined resolution of 5760x1080. But unlike the 23-inch panels, no
A MULTISCREEN SETUP CALLS FOR ROBUST
GRAPHICS. HERE'S A QUICK GUIDE