Widescreen Gaming Forum

I've recently purchased a GTX 680 and was thinking about trying a single 3d monitor with new side panels so that I could switch between 3d Vision and 2d Surround. I'm looking at the ASUS VG278HE for the center screen perhaps with a couple standard panels like the ASUS VK278Q for the sides.

Is this doable? Would the combination of the VG278HE and 2 VK278Q's be decent for 2d surround as well? What problems am I liable to run into with this? Would anyone have a better monitor combination to recommend for this? Are there any additional suggestions that come to mind? Would I be better off just tossing the idea of 3d Vision and sticking with 2d Surround?

Thank you, any help greatly appreciated.

-Edit- Also thinking that perhaps the ASUS is a bit large at 27" with only 1080p as a resolution. Another option I am kicking around is one BenQ XL2420TX with 2 XL2420T on either side. These are 24" TN panels that are much cheaper and if I was so inclined I could grab another 680 GTX and go SLI at a later date for 3d Surround.

-FrostByghte

It is doable....but you're going to regret not getting all three monitors 3D capable....why not? Budget? If so, I'd keep saving and do it right the first time.

Ya the 3 27" monitors are a stretch...but the BenQ's fall in line more with what I can spend. I could splurge for the 27's though lol. Any recommendation size? 1080p at 24" vs 27"? I just think I might be too close to the screens...I also need to be able to do some system admin work, word processing etc.

I'll read up a bit more on the 27" monitors. Sadly, I'm located in the middle of nowhere and I can't just walk in and take a look at these options.

I was in a similar position as you seem to be. I ended up going with 24", and got two XL2420T's from BenQ's store on sale for $280 each, and a single XL2420TX.

For work (I do system engineer work for multiple server clusters) I'm glad I didn't go with 27". 24" already is pushing on size as far as a normal desktop sitting position goes for those kinds of things. Especially since you're still looking at only 1920x1080 res. More arguement with 27" higher res panels, but also more cost.

It is possible to "mix and match" a 3d monitor in the middle with two non-3d monitors on the side, but note you'll only be able to game in 3d on the middle monitor. 2d surround will work fine however.

With an XL2420T x2 and XL2420TX setup, 3d vision works.....with some issues. It appears to be on the driver side, or gpu manufacturer changed something just enough to cause compatibility issues. Haven't gotten around to testing an SLI setup with it yet, as I'm waiting until the project with work finishes to buy a second GPU.

Let me know if you want me to go into more detail there or not. If it's something you're seriously considering, I'd suggest doing SLI right now, or a lot of patience.

Edit: Disregard the issues I was having. Managed to come across a surprise error event that led to the solution for all the strange problems.

Thank you for the post. I went ahead and went with 3 XL2420T's. I was kicking around the middle as a TX but kept seeing posts about possible issues but that they were taken care of with recent drivers.

I figure...why chance it, so just went with 3 of the same and ordered the glasses separately. Now I just have the 1 GTX 680 4gb model so I'm certain it won't drive all 3 of these in 3d surround...plus I wasn't sure if Displayport would deliver on this or I would need one of those $100 adapters. So...I'll patiently wait another 680 for SLI or perhaps the next gen cards when they come out. At least I have the matching monitors and hopefully I can do 2d surround with 3d on a single monitor.

Now if this all works out, I need one of those wsg stands! ;) I've been tossing this idea around for a long time now....

Oh and on the 27 vs 24...after reading for about 4 hours on the net, I came to the conclusion that 27" isn't worth it at 1080p. Just doesn't make any sense when I am 2 feet away from the screens.

I do 3d surround on a single GTX 680 4GB. Framerate can get bad if you refuse to turn down visual settings, but otherwise works well enough.

A regular displayport cable will work with those monitors by the way.. Got one from monoprice for around $12 after shipping I believe. Was part of the reason I decided on the XL2420 rather than the ASUS. 3d was more of a bonus for me, as I really just wanted the multiple monitors for work. On the hardware level, the XL2420TX and XL2420T are the exact same. Same sync polarity, same refresh, etc. The only difference is the TX adds an emitter built-in and supports 3d over HDMI.

Though, having an emitter that is not connected to any one monitor means easier troubleshooting should you ever need to.

2x 680's 2gb version cards work great also, my system runs great....

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HAF_X rc942 case | Corsair AX1200 psu | Asus Rampage III Black Ed. | I7 980 3.4GHZ w/corsair h100 water cooler(push/pull) | CORSAIR DOMINATOR GT 24GB DDR3 2006 | (2) EVGA GTX680 SC (backplates/high flow brackets) in sli | (2) Corsair Force Series GT SSD-

Bf3? What grfx settings? Fps and res?.

Well I have all 3 monitors hooked up now. 2d Surround works great, 3d surround...WOW. I don't understand why this hasn't caught on more, but obviously price to push the frames is an obstacle. I have just the 1 GTX 680 and appear to get around 30fps on average in Skyrim. Batman Arkham Asylum is where it really shines though. Probably need a bit more horsepower to drive games at 5760x1080. Not sure if I want to grab another GTX 680 or get a GTX 690 and give this card to my wife. She really think the 2d surround is nice. :)

Will the GTX 690 suffer from the 2gb limit per gpu? I'll have to read up some...but my purchasing power is starting to dwindle.

You will get slightly more gains out of a second 680 than a 690 from what I've seen with benchmarks. You can run Nvidia 2d surround with a 660 Ti if you wanted, and still get decent fps. Not sure if the 500 series supports surround without SLI or not, but I'd just as soon get one of the 600s and call it a day.