Building a 3 Screen setup from scratch (nearly)

  • Thread starter Thread starter slybynight
  • 46 comments
  • 2,280 views
Yup - I hear you! but imagine having a t500 gathering dust and not so much as a pong console to connect it to! I'd settle for a copy of Pole Position on a spectrum right now!
Anyone know what old TV's meet these criteria?...
Decent Quality (not top of the range but not teknika from tescos either)!
1080p
HDMI
32" +
Smallish bezel?
I'm guessing about 4 yrs old +
 
Last edited:
TheORDL
Oh yes this is by no means a cheap hobby. I dont even tell my mrs what I spend anymore, its just not worth it. Bit of advice, arrange deliveries when you know for sure the mrs will be out, saved me loads of headaches!

The rift, well I have never used one but I hear good things, its just a shame Facebook took over but this may turn out to be ok if they keep their noses out and let them get on with things.
Click to expand...

LOL YES arrange deliveries when the Mrs is working lol
 
TheORDL
Oh yes this is by no means a cheap hobby. I dont even tell my mrs what I spend anymore, its just not worth it. Bit of advice, arrange deliveries when you know for sure the mrs will be out, saved me loads of headaches!

The rift, well I have never used one but I hear good things, its just a shame Facebook took over but this may turn out to be ok if they keep their noses out and let them get on with things.
Click to expand...

I Allways have everything delivered on my business adress.

The wife has really no idea how much i have spend on my rig.

Let's keep it like that :D
 
So, would it be a tv just to tide you over? Are you settling on having one screen only? Or are you planning on adding two more of the same screen later?

- If it's just to tide you over 'til a permanent set up, I'd seriously look at finding a cheap widescreen hd crt on ebay. Whatever the equivalent to Australia's KV-HR36M31 / KV-HR32m31 with Super Fine Pitch Tube is perhaps. There's one sitting on ebay.uk for 0.06 pounds that looks like the same sort of beast. Toshiba and Panasonic also did similar but slightly less regarded models in the same era. 1080i resolution via component cable. You'd love the zero lag.

- If settling on one screen only, maybe get something bigger and better.

- If planning on adding two later, be very careful to make sure that you don't end up not being able to find the same model.

Most important is to have clear intentions.
 
LeMansAid
So, would it be a tv just to tide you over? Are you settling on having one screen only? Or are you planning on adding two more of the same screen later?

- If it's just to tide you over 'til a permanent set up, I'd seriously look at finding a cheap widescreen hd crt on ebay. Whatever the equivalent to Australia's KV-HR36M31 / KV-HR32m31 with Super Fine Pitch Tube is perhaps. There's one sitting on ebay.uk for 0.06 pounds that looks like the same sort of beast. Toshiba and Panasonic also did similar but slightly less regarded models in the same era. 1080i resolution via component cable. You'd love the zero lag.

- If settling on one screen only, maybe get something bigger and better.

- If planning on adding two later, be very careful to make sure that you don't end up not being able to find the same model.

Most important is to have clear intentions.
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this about finding 2 more to match should you then go to triples. With new monitor models coming out quicker than I can change my underwear, you will soon find the model "outdated" and struggle to maybe find 2 more the same. Mine are around 6 months old and already been replaced by newer models.

Personally, I went with Packard Bell Viseo 243D, 3x24". When ordered it was advertised as an Acer as they build the monitors for Packard Bell. Im really happy with these, using 2xDVI and 1x HDMI on the center screen. Bezels are small enough and the side bezels are hidden behind the center screen. Includes VESA 100 for ease of mounting too.

8YSH_2D7B90BB-935D-47D1-AD54-FECA77C6E9AD_large.jpg

Found them at Amazon, £30 cheaper than what I paid each.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Packard-Viseo243Dbd-
Widescreen-Professional-Monitor/dp/B00DN3PVSW



20140618_084107.jpg


24"s are more than enough for triples and when positioned right can give very close to 180 deg surround.
 
Last edited:
Indeed - the plan is to get a decent screen to tide me over and then buy 2 further identical as funds allow. - Sooner rather than later, I wan to get to 3 screens ASAP. I'm kind of counting on the fast turnaround of new models to allow more of what I am after to appear on the 2nd hand market. In an Ideal world I'd spend a little over £100 on a screen now and then a whole load of the same model will appear on Gumtree in a few months for much less. - I suppose what I need to know is...

"What was the decent 1080p, smallish-bezel, hdmi, tv that everybody and their sister bought about 3 years ago? " - I'm guessing samsung?

That said - how bad would it really be with 3 different TVs?

Gotta admit though ORDL, - that monitor route is DAMN tempting!!! £300 and I'm up and running with 3 NEW screens!! but 24" though - I'll have to take your word for it that it is OK, but I'm sat in front of a 23" monitor now and its tiny! I was kinda looking for the "Wow" factor - remember, space is not a problem for me - loft installation. Speaking of which, that makes the CRT route a non starter - everything has to go through the loft hatch!!! Actually, thinking about it, a quick measure has just revealed that its a bloody good job I havent bought any 42" TV's yet! I will check again, but I think I'm limited to 32" (Diagonal of loft hatch).

Thanks for all your help guys
 
Last edited:
slybynight
Indeed - the plan is to get a decent screen to tide me over and then buy 2 further identical as funds allow. - Sooner rather than later, I wan to get to 3 screens ASAP. I'm kind of counting on the fast turnaround of new models to allow more of what I am after to appear on the 2nd hand market. In an Ideal world I'd spend a little over £100 on a screen now and then a whole load of the same model will appear on Gumtree in a few months for much less. - I suppose what I need to know is...

"What was the decent 1080p, smallish-bezel, hdmi, tv that everybody and their sister bought about 3 years ago? " - I'm guessing samsung?

That said - how bad would it really be with 3 different TVs?

Gotta admit though ORDL, - that monitor route is DAMN tempting!!! £300 and I'm up and running with 3 NEW screens!! but 24" though - I'll have to take your word for it that it is OK, but I'm sat in front of a 23" monitor now and its tiny! I was kinda looking for the "Wow" factor - remember, space is not a problem for me - loft installation. Speaking of which, that makes the CRT route a non starter - everything has to go through the loft hatch!!! Actually, thinking about it, a quick measure has just revealed that its a bloody good job I havent bought any 42" TV's yet! I will check again, but I think I'm limited to 32" (Diagonal of loft hatch).

Thanks for all your help guys
Click to expand...

23" may look small on a single screen, but once you add the other 2 screens its a whole different experience. I run 3 23" screens and don't at all think I should of went bigger. Now maybe if the screens needed to be 3 or 4 feet away you may want to go bigger, but my monitors are about 20" from my face at a 65 degree angle witch gives me the largest FOV in Iracing of 179. At that distance and angle all I see in my peripheral vision are the screens. Plus there is the heat that comes with using a TV instead of a monitor. Get yourself surrounded by 3 42" TV's and its gonna get hot real fast.
 
I race in a 10'x15' room and needed to add a 5000 btu window AC to help the central air keep the room at a decent temp. When running 3 screens the PC tends to kick out a lot of heat.
 
My monitor actual width is 56cm, drag a tape measure out and see what 168cm looks like! Its bigger than you think and like others have said, with the right set up and FOV you never look past the monitor edge.
Mine are around, hold on, tape measure here somewhere I just measured the damn monitor......45cm from eye to screen.

I would also go monitor over TV any day, did a lot of reading and there was basically no contest. Im no expert and a lot of the big words confused me but hey, that isnt hard!

Seriously though, £300 for 3 screens and no messing with display port adapters etc, no brainer. My monitors dont get too warm and I have 2 Cosrsair AF 120 installed, along with the fan in the T500 its generating some air movement around my rig.

Failing the 24" or even the brand, try Viewsonic, I had one on my old GTX rig: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/vxr-gamepod-gtx.211443/

Under my old account name, Kris8583.
 
slybynight
That said - how bad would it really be with 3 different TVs?
Click to expand...

You don't want to go there. Have you ever looked at two paint swatches separately and thought that they are virtually the same colour, only to put them side by side and find that they actually totally different? Same thing, and even if you were to use pro calibration gear and go in service menus it might still never be quite right.

Since you are going to be building your rig from the ground up, I'd say make sure that you will be nice and close to the screens and get three 24 inch monitors right now, as the others have advised. The wrap around effect will be great.

That might mean that for now you will steal the PS3 and play on only one screen, but at least it's something.
 
Get the 3 monitors. I've been where you are. I had 2 lg 32" tv's in the house in different room's so all I needed was a third I found on ebay, oh and a replacement for the one I was taking from the living room :lol: Good excuse to get something bigger I thought!
Thing was the bloody bezels are massive and now I'm looking at monitors, I wish I'd just gotten three 28" monitors with a small bezel.
 
Yeah 24 or 27s if you are insisting to go bigger. Pair them with a ASUS GTX 770 and a 3570K and good to go!
 
As I get older, I have more and more problems with my close-up sight. 45cm just seems way too close for me, I'm sure I'd get headaches.- I was thinking about 75cm at least. I have heard the eyes ignore the bezels after a while - I'm the type of person that adapts very easily to things like that. Surely by tucking the edge of one screen behind the edge of another, you only have 1 bezel width to cope with? Ideally, I think I would be looking at 3X28" monitors, but I'm currently looking at about £225 in total for my 3 X 32" tv's - I'm guessing I'd be looking at 1 X 28" monitor for that sort of money?
 

Latest Posts

Back