Widescreen Gaming Forum

Another conversation/debate topic :P I am just full of them right now.

Im currently trying to stack up how a single very large display like what I have now (Westinghouse LVM37-W3) stacks up against the normal triple wide setup.

I have seen people argue in favor of both setups, but I do not think any of those people have had both to really fairly compare. So there were a couple of us with the 37" Westy, maybe one of us has moved onto triple wide and give there opinion?


Off the top of my head.

Single Large Display
Pros:
> Less Hardware Demand
> More Vertical Size/Res
> Better for any non TH2GO supported things
> Better for Movies
> Less Cost (Both on the monitor & the hardware)
> More inputs in my case since its a HDTV it works with my consoles
> No Bezels

Cons:
> Less total pixels (think desktop, video editing, photoshop)
> Probably less immersive but this I do not know for sure as my entire perifial vision is taken currently by sitting about 4' away from the 37"

Triple Wide Display
Pros:
> Increased FOV in games that support it
> Probably more immersive
> More pixels
> Loss of a single monitor is less damage than loss of a single large display

Cons:
> Cost
> Desk Space Demand
> Compatibility with games & setting it up
> Hardware Demand
> Bezel between screens


My list seems to be in favor of the single larger display but I only have a once sided opinion, and thus take it with a grain of salt.

Also most important of all is the use of the screen. For me currently a single large display is much better because its my everything screen. My Wii is hooked up to it, my Cable is hooked up to it, and it sits right next to my bed. So it does double duty as my computer monitor & TV.

Later in life I would probably use my HTPC as the everything computer hooked to the big screen and then have my own computer room for the big rig. For this setup I would have to buy a new monitor and thats when this discussion comes into play. I could buy another ultra big display or then go triple wide. I wont be watching movies anymore on that setup probably or playing console games on it and thus the playing field goes back to even.

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ViciousXUSMC on the Web - YouTube :: FaceBook :: Website

Actually, as far as the resolution (IMHO this is the only true measure of screen space) is concerned a TH2G setup is about the same as a 30" monitor. On that basis it's still better cost wise.

With the hassles I've had with my 6 screen setup there are days I wish I'd just bought a 30". - Still - when the TH2G setup works it's great . 8)

Here is the evolution of my gaming rig display setup

~2006 1 17" Samsung 172X
Later that year 3 Samsung 17" + analog TH2G
~2008 Switched to 1 24" Samsung 245BW
May added a second 245BW
August added the 3rd
December added 4th
Currently back to 3 245BW

:lol:

Also have the 3 720p projector setup in the works too, but that a whole other can o' worms.

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

Yes thats actually a can of worms I was talking about opening too, a 3x projector setup.

Thats a different thing all together though. Plan was to use 720p projectors so pixel wise not a lot there.

Hoping by the time I do that if ever that ultra short throw 1080p projectors are cheap.

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ViciousXUSMC on the Web - YouTube :: FaceBook :: Website

Yes thats actually a can of worms I was talking about opening too, a 3x projector setup.

Thats a different thing all together though. Plan was to use 720p projectors so pixel wise not a lot there.

Hoping by the time I do that if ever that ultra short throw 1080p projectors are cheap.

I currently use one of my 720p projectors for wall size throw. If you concentrate on it, the screen door effect is apparent, but with fluid action you're not exactly concentrating on any of that. It gets tuned out and you never realize it's there. Sorta like tuning out triplehead bezels over time. Honestly, I don't think many people would even realize the screen door issue unless you told them about it.

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

How about this:

Keep your fabulous Westy hooked up to your computer, and add a triplehead setup to it. Use the Westy for stuff that TH isn't good for like movies and games that don't support triplehead. But use the TH for things that you would rather use on TH.

Especially in the case of video editing, you could put the preview window on the Westy!

I've been wanting to do this for a while; I still have a free port on the main video card.

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EVGA GeForce GTX 970 SC ACX 2.0 3.5GB | 3 X LG Flatron 24EA53VQ in Nvidia Surround | Optoma HD20

So 3 + 1 monitor? or use the Westy as the center monitor?

I would never do a triple wide setup without 3 identical size monitors personally.

I would need one heck of a desk to hold the Westy & 3 monitors :P

I see the idea is to have both, but it wont work for me. My computer right now is stuffed in the corner of my room on a little desk. There is so little room in here that I use my bed as my computer chair (works out nice, I can lay down and play lol) and the wife uses the computer too and loves the big screen. Also makes stuff so much easier to read.

Its going to be very awkward moving to a smaller more dense screen for awhile when I do make the change.

The wife already told me my monitor has to become the main TV in our house when we move... so I am going to have to get something new for the computer one way or another when that time comes.

I just need to decide if I want to stay with what I have now or move onto triple wide.

Single normal monitor is not an option :P once you go big you cant go back.

_________________
ViciousXUSMC on the Web - YouTube :: FaceBook :: Website

I had asked this opinion before I bought my three displays to use instead of my 30"

I was worried about not having the vertical resolution that I get on the 30".

For racing games I would say it is an improvement. I use 3x24" monitors though so I would guess some of this depends on what your 3x displays would be. I probably wouldnt be so impressed by 3x20".

For IL2 flight simming I think I would prefer the single large screen with track ir. Triple wide just doesnt seem to perform so well when you are panning both vertically and horizontally with trackir. I consider trackir a must with flight sims but not so much with racing and th2go.

I fixed up the desk space issue so it can be done with money or tools.

Not sure about more inputs for a single screen being a pro. I now have 3xcomponent, 3x hdmi and 3x dsub so I could use my left monitor for a ps3/xbox by just changing the input selector on one monitor and selecting a resolution on the computer to span the other two.

I consider a 30" still a normal monitor.

When I say big I mean 37"+ or so where it can take up your entire view like a triple wide does when your infront of it.

Of course the 30" monitors have a much higher res than my HDLCD, but that only matters for realestate matters like photoshop. Infact I have become accustom to the pixel density of the larger display and find it to be an advantage because I can see what I am doing in photoshop at the pixel level easier.

I have no screen door effect so the only really bad thing about lower res on a big screen is when it gets so big that you can pick out individual pixels or see that screen door effect. I do not have this so its just right. However moving about 8" closer to the screen and I can start to see this.

Surround Gaming as they call it is 2 part, One part vision, taking up your entire field of view with a screen.

The second part is the FOV increase.

I guess if you try to logically break down my comparison to the component level, they are equal in the vision part nearly, but you do not have the FOV increase aspect. So it becomes a question of just how important is that 2nd part?

I guess that question depends on the game mostly.

_________________
ViciousXUSMC on the Web - YouTube :: FaceBook :: Website

I went from a 42" WEsty 1080p to a 3x24" triplehead setup a few months ago

here's my input:

go with the Westy if:
- want alot of hookkups for like consoles/dvd players etc..
- u watch alot of movies
- don't have that much money
- don't have as fast hardware
- do alot of entertainment stuff

go with triplehead if:
- play alot of FPS, Driving,Flying type 3D games.
- do alot of productivity stuff/work
- are prepare to put in $$$ for the entrance fee to the juicy, immersive, awesome world of triplehead gaming.

in your case it seems u are better off sticking to your westy. since u want console hookups and movies.