Official ATI Eyefinity/nVidia Surround Discussion Thread

[Arinoth]

Your power supply shouldn't have issues running it as that is the exact power supply i was using until i moved to a 850W XFX power supply so i could have a bit more head room for higher end cards as well as a modular power supply. I'm also updating the main page to reflect my results found in Dragon Age 2.

[SnoSalmon]

Hey guys,

I'm brand new to multi monitor gaming, and I'm having an issue with AA settings and performance in eyefinity.
My Rig:
I7-920 @ 3.6Ghz, (under h2o)
6GB Corsair Dominator RAM,
300GB Velociraptor drive,
2 x Asus HD5870 V2's
Enermax Revolution 85+ 850W PSU.
(All in a Corsair Obsidian 800d)

3 x HP ZR24w's running at 5760x1200.

Specifically, I'm struggling with Metro 2033.
This worked absolutely perfectly at max settings on a single screen.

On the new setup, it simply drops from smooth to a slideshow, to the point the mouse doesn't even get to the cancel option in the "confirm your settings" box before it times out.

At 2400x600 it's still really good, the next setting 5040x1050 drops it totally on it's knees, even in low detail let alone 5760x1200.

I see in the list it's stated it's supported, but is this expected behaviour at this res with the above rig?

Others that I've got and are perfect (some with hacks) include BF:BC2 (had to turn AA down to 2x), Sacred 2 (with camera hack), Borderlands (with FOV hack) and DOW II retribution. Retribution had a similar stutter like Metro, however that was fixed by switching AA off. Shift still runs like it did when it was only one screen, as does the now older UT3. All settings maxed out really.

I'm hoping theres a fix or is a known issue rather than performance of the rig tbh ;)

TIA

[Arinoth]

You have to realize how much more work a graphics card (or a pair of cards) must work at much higher resolutions (eyefinity/surround). A setting that may work in single monitor mode such as all settings cranked high, will bring a multi-monitor system a lot of the times to its knees. I am running Dragon Age 2 for example in medium settings with AA cranked up, otherwise i have to leave it completely off in high settings.

To summarize, its a known issue, the higher the resolution the harder a graphics card has to work to display all those pixels on screen.

[SnoSalmon]

Thanks mate - Unfortunately I'm loving the three screen setup too much to go back, so must look into better graphics cards. One of my supplier is bringing in a couple of 6990's, I'm going to try to work it so they end up on my bench if I can get away with it ;)

I can add that Sacred 2 (with the blood & ice expansion) works perfectly but requires a custom camera hack.
I'm also playing Dawn of War II - retribution (had to switch off AA) on the screens.
Unreal Tournament III is sweet as, patched with latest update. (haven't tested it naked)

[Arinoth]

Did they patch/fix DoW2 Retribution, when i tired to run it in nvidia surround the main menu was unviewable and hence unplayable.

[SnoSalmon]

Apologies - I had to adjust a setting.
you need to Set horizontalmonitorcount to number of monitors

C:\users\<USER>\Documents\My Games\Dawn of War II - Retribution\Settings
configuration.lua

setting = "horizontalmonitorcount",
value = 3

Fixed the zoomed in menu at the start right away.

-edit-
Bulletstorm - Works but has FOV issues. Solution is in the bottom post of the first page.

[SnoSalmon]

Should get this thread stickied, and the list updated on the first post from everyone's input ;)

DARK VOID - works, however at 5760x1200 it is full height, but not full width, only using a quarter of the side screens. This is a known issue.

[Arinoth]

The thread is already stickied

[draemn]

What are your thoughts on monitor angles and heights?

I like the idea of having your monitors closer to eye level so you don't have to tilt them (and then the bezels/screens line up better, like with a mounting bracket), but it feels like it would be a bit more strain on your neck if you're not good with your posture to begin with.

Also, I say that it only makes sense to have the two sides angled towards you, but any comments on angling your side monitors? Sadly I can't set up my surround for a couple weeks (have to RMA my GPU and maybe the one that's still in the mail), but even then I'd like to know other people's thoughts on these set-ups so I can find my optimal setup faster.

[SnoSalmon]

With most games the further out to the sides I'm finding the further the image is stretched, as if it is out from the corner of your eye. I have the top of the screens at eye level, and have a decent chair so posture is taken care off.
The sides are angled because of the above comment, and because my desk isn't big enough to fit my 3 ZR24w's side by side without a slight angle.
At a guess the two side screens are at 20 degrees from the middle screen, so only a slight angle. The only game that IMO needs more of an angle on the screens is NFS shift other than that going by the seat of my pants it's pretty sweet.