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Dreaming of ultrawide: need some input / info VS: triple screen setup

2K views 47 replies 7 participants last post by  XanderTheGoober 
#1 ·
So for starters, I will say that I have been running triple screen setups for gaming since the days of the AMD 6850 cards being new.
Currently I have two triple monitor setups, both runnong off of nvidia cards, gtx 970 in primary rig and 770 in the second.
I have been toying around with the idea of switching one of the setups for an ultra wide display for quite a while but cannot justify the cost quite yet. I will also add that this is NOT going to be purchased in the next few months unless i can find a steal of a deal. Both my setups are triple 1080P, 60Hz.

I have a few complaints about running triple screens, primarily on my primary setup as the second setup only gets used a couple times a month.
1: while in windows my start button is on the center screen where i want it, but when i press my start/flag key on the keyboard the start menu opens way off to the left screen of the main 3 monitors. But then as soon as i start typing the entire start menu jumps to the center screen where it belongs. just a bit of a pain looking way left to see what button or menu i have to click only to have it jump away from me like a dog that just did number 1 on an electric fence.

2. keyboard shortcuts for moving windows to half of the screen. As most of us should now, holding the flag/start key down and clicking one of the arrow keys will make a window go to half of the screen, I have been doing this since windows 7 came out. in windows 10 i do this and the browser window or what ever window i am snapping to the side takes up 1 and a half monitors, as in the entire left monitor and the left half of the center monitor. I assume this is just an issue with nvidia surround and can somehow be remedied but it seems like every time i install a new driver, change OS, or even look at my display settings, something goes wonky.

3. very minor complaint here and i haven't really even noticed while gaming... Bezels. The big advantage to an ultrawide vs triple screen would be the lack of bezels in the way of the gaming window.

With all that said I know i might have some complaints about a single ultra wide monitor as well, I couldn't easily have 3 browser windows open in front of me at the same time on 1 display, but if i am only using the ultrawide for gaming then i could have auxiliary monitors to the side of that that are not running the game. but I know for a fact that I wouldn't have to chase my start menu all over the place, and I could easily snap 2 browser windows side by side on the main display and just have it simply work.

So another point i would like to make, if i did go with an ultra wide, i would not want the display height to be smaller. I dont have all the measurements in front of me right now but lets just say my 24 inch monitors i am currently using are 16 inches high, I would not want the ultrawide monitor to be 15 inches or smaller vertically for the image that is displayed. i am thinking a 34inch ultrawide would be close but i can't say for sure.

EDIT: as long as i am on the topic of potentially switching, would it be worth the cost difference to go with 120+Hz in ultrawide?

Any advice from people who have experience in both triple displays and ultrawide monitors is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
Hi, I'm running a similar setup, triple monitor from 780Ti SLI.

1. I have seen this issue occasionally, maybe once or twice in 12 months. Restart and it goes away for months, I'd forgotten it happens till you mentioned it. Can't give you a fix, but can tell you it shouldn't be like that.

2. Nvidia surround combines your monitors into a single monitor (the OS doesn't see 3x1080p screens, it see one screen: 5860x1080), so of course you can expect that when you snap a screen to the left or right borders of this screen, it will take up one and a half monitors. If it did anything else it would be strange behaviour.

3. Bezels, it depends how you use the triple screens. If you sit back and take them in as one massive monitor, yes maybe bezels can be annoying.
Personally i sit very close to the central monitor, and play games as if I am playing on a single 1080p monitor. The side monitors are purely for peripheral vision and effect / immersion. I don't look at them directly and therefor bezels make no difference at all....bezels are ever present, even on a single monitor setup
biggrin.gif


I've been thinking about ultra wides a little, mainly because my gaming setup is 1.5meters wide, takes up the entire desk etc. and it's not easy to move stuff around with a triple monitor stand bolted to the desk etc. but the cost combined with the lack of 21:9 support in some games is a worry, at least on triple monitor it's all good to drop back to standard 1080p gaming and use the peripheral monitors for somethin else
tongue.gif


edit: didnt see the bit about 120+ Hz. Do it. I'm on 144Hz and won't go back to 60hz if i can avoid
tongue.gif
 
#3 ·
Ok peoples. So I have decided that if i do go ultrawide I will need to go 34 inches to be similar size of my center 24 inch monitor + the first half or so of the outside monitors.
Now the question is, how cheap can i get a 2560X1080 @ 120+Hz monitor or a 3440X1440 100+hz that can also do 2560X1080 @ 120+Hz? Leaning more towards the 2560X1080 @ 120+hz option due to cost and the ability to drive higher frames with my 970 if i don't have to push a higher res on top of it.
Throw me some suggestions. Thanks!
 
#4 ·
I completely understand the frustration of the Windows button jumping around. With this newest build, a simple click anywhere on the center Surround monitor and immediately it returns the bar to center where it is supposed to be and its been nowhere near as annoying. Honestly, I dont know why this build is handling that particular issue better than several previous surround builds. The only difference is Broadwell-e/X99 base but that should make no difference on that.

After my first set of screens I used for surround I started making sure the monitors i bought in the future had the thinnest bezels I can find for my price range. 2mm is about average without spending a bunch of money and I honestly do not notice them at all when gaming. Bezels and whether or not they drive you nuts is an entirely individual thing. On the front side you logically say you would not want bezels interfering with your line of site. Its kind of like the A-pillar in your vehicle, its permanently accounted for and blended into your view to make things nice and smooth as only our brain can do. But clearly the blind spot is still there. If you happen to be one of those whose brain doesnt do this for you. Then they will not only be noticeable but will drive you nuts.

Ive found over the years that most have no issue with them and barely notice them while playing them. however a few find it unbearable. I get it. For me, I love it and I will run them until it is no longer supported. I would however love to try one of those new ultra wide screens.
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultisym View Post

I completely understand the frustration of the Windows button jumping around. With this newest build, a simple click anywhere on the center Surround monitor and immediately it returns the bar to center where it is supposed to be and its been nowhere near as annoying. Honestly, I dont know why this build is handling that particular issue better than several previous surround builds. The only difference is Broadwell-e/X99 base but that should make no difference on that.

After my first set of screens I used for surround I started making sure the monitors i bought in the future had the thinnest bezels I can find for my price range. 2mm is about average without spending a bunch of money and I honestly do not notice them at all when gaming. Bezels and whether or not they drive you nuts is an entirely individual thing. On the front side you logically say you would not want bezels interfering with your line of site. Its kind of like the A-pillar in your vehicle, its permanently accounted for and blended into your view to make things nice and smooth as only our brain can do. But clearly the blind spot is still there. If you happen to be one of those whose brain doesnt do this for you. Then they will not only be noticeable but will drive you nuts.

Ive found over the years that most have no issue with them and barely notice them while playing them. however a few find it unbearable. I get it. For me, I love it and I will run them until it is no longer supported. I would however love to try one of those new ultra wide screens.
I can completely live with the bezels, but mostly just curious about ultrawide in general and i figure if i am changing up monitors i should be able to go to 120HZ or higher as i have been running 60hz since i started gaming.
Also have been running triple screen setups since before 2012 so i can more than deal with the bezels, even on the less than thin bezels on my dell and acer monitors currently.

A friend of mine maybe selling his 29 inch ultrawide that has a 75hz refresh rate, not quite 120 but still may be a little noticeable as well as just to see how an ultrawide feels. granted this would probably temporarily replace my woman's triple screen setup to see how i like it.
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by XanderTheGoober View Post

I can completely live with the bezels, but mostly just curious about ultrawide in general and i figure if i am changing up monitors i should be able to go to 120HZ or higher as i have been running 60hz since i started gaming.
Also have been running triple screen setups since before 2012 so i can more than deal with the bezels, even on the less than thin bezels on my dell and acer monitors currently.

A friend of mine maybe selling his 29 inch ultrawide that has a 75hz refresh rate, not quite 120 but still may be a little noticeable as well as just to see how an ultrawide feels. granted this would probably temporarily replace my woman's triple screen setup to see how i like it.
I like the way you think, do all testing on HER rig.
thumb.gif


In all seriousness, ive been looking at some widescreens to put on my wifes rig to see what I think. She loves the surround setup but isnt prepared to deal with the little nuances that come with it. I think a nice curved widescreen would be the ticket for her rig. She kinda gave me the stink eye when i swapped all the 24s on my surround to 27s and she didnt get anything. Shes been leaving little hints like no beer and instead of food when I get home, there has just been ingredients.

Edit... Let me know what you think of the 75HZ thing. Ive noticed the last two sets ive purchased went up that high but i never got around to playing with it to see if it was worth fooling with.
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultisym View Post

I like the way you think, do all testing on HER rig.
thumb.gif


In all seriousness, ive been looking at some widescreens to put on my wifes rig to see what I think. She loves the surround setup but isnt prepared to deal with the little nuances that come with it. I think a nice curved widescreen would be the ticket for her rig. She kinda gave me the stink eye when i swapped all the 24s on my surround to 27s and she didnt get anything. Shes been leaving little hints like no beer and instead of food when I get home, there has just been ingredients.

Edit... Let me know what you think of the 75HZ thing. Ive noticed the last two sets ive purchased went up that high but i never got around to playing with it to see if it was worth fooling with.
Well she uses her rig maybe twice a month for gaming as she goes to school and works a part time job. her game titles she actually plays is also limited. I haven't decided on if i will buy the monitor off of him but knowing my friend he will make it tempting enough to not be able to refuse. got my triple 24 inch setup from him for $200 so i can't complain.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by XanderTheGoober View Post

Well she uses her rig maybe twice a month for gaming as she goes to school and works a part time job. her game titles she actually plays is also limited. I haven't decided on if i will buy the monitor off of him but knowing my friend he will make it tempting enough to not be able to refuse. got my triple 24 inch setup from him for $200 so i can't complain.
Heck no you cant complain for 3 24" screens for. $200

What kind of frame rates are you seeing in surround with your GTX 970? Im just wondering. I actually got pretty good frame rates with a single GTX 770 when I was first trying to decide if Surround gaming was for me. Then I went SLI 770s, then SLI 970s and finally SLI 980s. Decided to skip Pascal.
 
#9 ·
I would go for the smaller resolution if you're trying to find a cheaper/faster refresh monitor. I currently use 3440x1440 but I'm ok with 60hz, and I have SLI.

As for the taskbar issue, I know in windows you can move the taskbar wherever you want independent of what monitor is considered the "main" monitor. If you right-click empty space on the desktop and go to Screen Resolution you can set which monitor you want to be your main monitor, which in your case you want to be the middle one.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultisym View Post

Heck no you cant complain for 3 24" screens for. $200

What kind of frame rates are you seeing in surround with your GTX 970? Im just wondering. I actually got pretty good frame rates with a single GTX 770 when I was first trying to decide if Surround gaming was for me. Then I went SLI 770s, then SLI 970s and finally SLI 980s. Decided to skip Pascal.
i upgraded from 2gb gtx 770 sli in 5760x1080 when far cry 4 wouldn't play past 35fps. single 970 does 55-60fps on high for far cry 4. roughly 45-50 fps in rainbow six siege on all high. My main fear of going higher framerate is that I will need a better gpu, and don't really have the money to do that for a while.
Quote:
Originally Posted by baalbelphegor View Post

I would go for the smaller resolution if you're trying to find a cheaper/faster refresh monitor. I currently use 3440x1440 but I'm ok with 60hz, and I have SLI.

As for the taskbar issue, I know in windows you can move the taskbar wherever you want independent of what monitor is considered the "main" monitor. If you right-click empty space on the desktop and go to Screen Resolution you can set which monitor you want to be your main monitor, which in your case you want to be the middle one.
unfortunately regarding the task bar, as others have said, windows sees all 3 screens as 1 monitor which is the main monitor, so trying to center it will not work in this manner.
completely agree with you on lower res higher refresh rate though.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by XanderTheGoober View Post

i upgraded from 2gb gtx 770 sli in 5760x1080 when far cry 4 wouldn't play past 35fps. single 970 does 55-60fps on high for far cry 4. roughly 45-50 fps in rainbow six siege on all high. My main fear of going higher framerate is that I will need a better gpu, and don't really have the money to do that for a while.
.
Catch a 980ti cheap after Christmas.

My frame rates are typically twice what i need.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultisym View Post

Catch a 980ti cheap after Christmas.

My frame rates are typically twice what i need.
980ti and cheap dont really go together considering i would need a new waterblock for it as well.

EDIT: then again I have toyed around with the thought of switching from custom loop to all air to save some money down the road. The $800 loop was a fun investment but I don't overclock much if at all anymore and just want to game most of the time. Also it can become a bit of a headache swapping coolant out annually or every 9 months as some recommend. So there's that idea...
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by XanderTheGoober View Post

unfortunately regarding the task bar, as others have said, windows sees all 3 screens as 1 monitor which is the main monitor, so trying to center it will not work in this manner.
completely agree with you on lower res higher refresh rate though.
I must have misread as I thought you were running 3 monitors, each which had 1080p resolution specified, as opposed to displaying 5760x1080 by the 3 monitors.

Your first two points were the main reason I switched to ultrawide as well. Windows honestly just sucks. Something to consider is that Windows won't let you snap 3 windows side by side on an ultrawide which is fairly annoying but you'll live.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by baalbelphegor View Post

I must have misread as I thought you were running 3 monitors, each which had 1080p resolution specified, as opposed to displaying 5760x1080 by the 3 monitors.

Your first two points were the main reason I switched to ultrawide as well. Windows honestly just sucks. Something to consider is that Windows won't let you snap 3 windows side by side on an ultrawide which is fairly annoying but you'll live.
easy thing to miss. I thought i had stated that they were in a surround config but I may have missed it somewhere. Yes I have been living with it but just annoying having to look that far left for whatever i am looking for in the start menu.
 
#15 ·
if you are going to run mixed monitors with an ultrawide and game on all 3, you will need AMD graphics as nvidia doesnt support mixed mode

with that said if you are concerned about monitor height, a 29" ultrawide is exactly as tall as a 23.5" monitor which is essentially what they market 24" as anyway unless you are talking about 16:10. a 34" ultrawide would be exactly as tall as a 27". both cases the pixels would match perfectly with its height so there is no weird scaling between screens

the new 38" ultrawide i believe matches with 30"

nvidia i believe with surround lets you select which screen as primary for your taskbar, AMD you dont get that choice if you eyefinity them and it would be treated as 1 giant monitor so full screen would blank out all the monitors that doesnt fit the content but you can break group when not gaming to resolve your taskbar issues.

for snapping 3 docu side by side, if you get a LG monitor there is a bundled software that does it for you but honestly on an ultradewide 2 side by side is best. you dont get that narrow feel as you would on a 16:9. essentially gets you 2x 4:3 ratio screens which is very comfortable to work side by side with.

FYI i currently run 16:9 + 21:9 + 16:9 with a total of 6400x1080
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by akromatic View Post

if you are going to run mixed monitors with an ultrawide and game on all 3, you will need AMD graphics as nvidia doesnt support mixed mode

with that said if you are concerned about monitor height, a 29" ultrawide is exactly as tall as a 23.5" monitor which is essentially what they market 24" as anyway unless you are talking about 16:10. a 34" ultrawide would be exactly as tall as a 27". both cases the pixels would match perfectly with its height so there is no weird scaling between screens

the new 38" ultrawide i believe matches with 30"

nvidia i believe with surround lets you select which screen as primary for your taskbar, AMD you dont get that choice if you eyefinity them and it would be treated as 1 giant monitor so full screen would blank out all the monitors that doesnt fit the content but you can break group when not gaming to resolve your taskbar issues.

for snapping 3 docu side by side, if you get a LG monitor there is a bundled software that does it for you but honestly on an ultradewide 2 side by side is best. you dont get that narrow feel as you would on a 16:9. essentially gets you 2x 4:3 ratio screens which is very comfortable to work side by side with.

FYI i currently run 16:9 + 21:9 + 16:9 with a total of 6400x1080
The thought is i only am going to be gaming on the ultrawide. I am not going back to AMD graphics if i can avoid it.
the idea behind gaming on 1 ultrawide being slightly lower res but wider than 16:9, and higher fps with same hardware (gpu)
in any case if a 34 inch ultrawide is taller than a 24inch monitor and is on par with a 27, i wouldn't complain about the extra visible space. downside is any 34 inch ultrawide with over 60hz refresh rate is over $500, a lot of money for a now casual gamer such as myself.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by akromatic View Post

well if you are only gaming on the ultrawide you dont have to worry about surround and taskbar issues. just select primary screen for taskbar
One of many reasons I am considering the ultra wide in the first place.
smile.gif
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by akromatic View Post

fair enough, i mostly just use my ultrawide but surround with ultrawide is a whole new level of glorious
I have been experiencing glorious surround for years, now i want to experience a little less surround but a little more smooth fps like 75+
thumb.gif
 
#22 ·
ah, fellow Triple screen brothers

I'm not sure, perhaps it's just me, but I've not see the Start Menu jumping around issue.

However I have my Start Menu always vertically on the right side of the screen, instead of the bottom / top as some people likes to have it.

Since we had so much extra width screen real state, I tried to shuffle most stuff to either the left or right side of the screen,
and leave the center of the 3 monitors for more top down vertical space, specially handy when it comes to forums, or reading news / blogs, etc.

another alternative is this neat little app check out Display Fusion, it made a huge differences on what I was able to do with the triple screens.

Now one minor annoyance of using Display Fusion is the increased delay on some Windows responses, it doesn't affect games, only regular windows desktop activities, as it technically creates another virtual screen on top of the nvidia virtual desktop, so it's basically a double layer of virtual screens, that's what creates the extra lag on response, but it's worth it for peace of mind.

Games and Apps are not affected by this, only Windows stuff.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by AllGamer View Post

However I have my Start Menu always vertically on the right side of the screen, instead of the bottom / top as some people likes to have it.
.
Makes me wonder, will it let you put the menu/task bar on the accessory monitor if it is not set as the primary? I dont have a real issue with it as system response is so fast now i just click once and it pops back where it is supposed to, but ima see just for kicks what it will let me do.

Anyway, for non surround users who may be reading this, its really no big deal, I would classify this anomaly as an very minor annoyance.

Another piece of software other multi screen gamers should have on hand is flawless widescreen. It is a useful program with a very small footprint that helps fix some things on certain games like HUDs being located in a poor spot etc. And its free. https://www.flawlesswidescreen.org/
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultisym View Post

Makes me wonder, will it let you put the menu/task bar on the accessory monitor if it is not set as the primary? I dont have a real issue with it as system response is so fast now i just click once and it pops back where it is supposed to, but ima see just for kicks what it will let me do.

Anyway, for non surround users who may be reading this, its really no big deal, I would classify this anomaly as an very minor annoyance.

Another piece of software other multi screen gamers should have on hand is flawless widescreen. It is a useful program with a very small footprint that helps fix some things on certain games like HUDs being located in a poor spot etc. And its free. https://www.flawlesswidescreen.org/
That depends heavily on the version of Nvidia Drivers used.

With ATI / AMD I never had trouble with the Star Menu / Task Bar anywhere on the screen,

but with Nvidia, older drivers will always reset back to the Primary Monitor after you turn off the PC.

Newer Nvidia drivers are now actually remembering where you last put the Task bar / Star Menu, however....
every now and then it stills reset if there was some Resolution Glitch (with some Games or Apps), and caused the video card to auto-recover.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by AllGamer View Post

That depends heavily on the version of Nvidia Drivers used.

With ATI / AMD I never had trouble with the Star Menu / Task Bar anywhere on the screen,

but with Nvidia, older drivers will always reset back to the Primary Monitor after you turn off the PC.

Newer Nvidia drivers are now actually remembering where you last put the Task bar / Star Menu, however....
every now and then it stills reset if there was some Resolution Glitch (with some Games or Apps), and caused the video card to auto-recover.
this has happened to me a couple times where nvidia drivers will recover, in fact i think that's when this whole taskbar fiasco started. After the win 10 upgrade the start menu was staying where it was supposed to for a month or so.
Also another gripe i had which maybe solved by one of those pieces of software, in Borderlands 2 the menus are always getting cut off on the center screen, the gameplay itself is just fine and glorious in triple screen but the menus make it difficult to chat if you're in a public session or select characters if you have to scroll through the list like me, yes i have that many characters and play throughs.

EDIT: another possible benefit of gaming at a slightly lower res... I might actually be able to use nvidia shadowplay for those holy crap type moments.
I notice a performance hit whenever i enable shadowplay and surround so i stopped trying it quite a while ago. if i go from 5760x1080 to 2560x1080 that will be significantly less realestate to drive with my 970 and could record smoother.
smile.gif
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by XanderTheGoober View Post

Also another gripe i had which maybe solved by one of those pieces of software, in Borderlands 2 the menus are always getting cut off on the center screen, the gameplay itself is just fine and glorious in triple screen but the menus make it difficult to chat if you're in a public session or select characters if you have to scroll through the list like me, yes i have that many characters and play throughs.
This is exactly what Flawless widescreen does is move things around for you on games where something like the hud or chat windows etc may fall over a bezel or something. Unfortunately Borderlands 2 is not one of the titles supported currently but there are 75+ titles that let you customize these things in FWS. There forums, well the entire site is pretty much a web forum, may have a thread where Borderlands 2 is being worked on. Its worth a look should you remain in surround.
Quote:
Originally Posted by XanderTheGoober View Post

EDIT: another possible benefit of gaming at a slightly lower res... I might actually be able to use nvidia shadowplay for those holy crap type moments.
I notice a performance hit whenever i enable shadowplay and surround so i stopped trying it quite a while ago. if i go from 5760x1080 to 2560x1080 that will be significantly less realestate to drive with my 970 and could record smoother.
smile.gif
Sounds reasonable.
 
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