Good drivers are worth more than games that you'll be able to pick up for very little sooner or later, free games is always an absolutely awful reason to choose a particular card. However as he then goes on to say he wants a triple monitor setup, the 7970's 3GB RAM makes it the better choice anyway, even though the drivers still suck.
I agree, though it seems like AMD has largely gotten a handle on the driver situation. I'd be comfortable getting a Radeon now. Also keep in mind that both the GTX 670 and GTX 680 come in 4GB models, though the added cost doesn't make them the best buy.
Which shooters? Not all games work well on three monitors, I have a GTX 680 with three 22" 1680x1050 monitors and I can tell you the only games that really work are simulators (driving, flying, X3 and Arma II/III) and that's about it. Most console ports' GUIs (menus, HUDs, etc.) get all messed up by the extreme aspect ratio, if not that then they have some bizarre field of view issues where the horizontal FOV is way out of proportion with the vertical FOV, and in almost all cases the edges of the side monitors have huge fisheye distortion and look weird.
Basically unless you primarily want it for simming, be prepared to have two monitors off 90% of the time. The size of the monitor depends on how much space you have but the higher the resolution, the more VRAM you'll need to maintain decent frame rates. Don't go above 1080p because I'm pretty sure you'd have to spend a whole lot of cash to get good frame rates on anything higher, oh and they should all be the same resolution and refresh rate because most triple monitor solutions will use the lowest value across all three monitors.
If you want to do it with a single card, get the one with the most RAM; the 7970 has more than the 680 has so out of the current hardware that would be my choice... However if it were me in your position I'd wait for the 780 (3GB) or get two 760Tis (aka two 670s in the 660Ti price bracket). As I have a 680 already I'm waiting to see if I can SLI it with a 770 (same hardware, different name) before I actually make a decision.
A lot of good advice there regarding setting up multiple monitors. It takes tweaking, and it's certainly not one size fits all. It's a good idea to look at which games will be played the most, research their triple monitor compatibility, and see if they're worth the investment.
Regarding VRAM keep in mind that the rumored 760 ti (supposedly a reflashed 670) will likely have the same amount of VRAM as the 670. So They'll probably be 2GB, with maybe a couple of vendors selling 4GB variants. And don't forget that in SLI having two 2GB cards still only equals a 2GB frame buffer since the data is stored redundantly in both cards. So we'd have to wait for official release info before seeing if 670 4GB (possible price drop?) or 760 ti 4GB cards will be worth the cash.
Yeah, I'd recommend one large high resolution monitor, a high end card of some kind and TrackIR/FreeTrack/FaceTrackNoIR (so you can look around the cockpit in racing sims without buttons), then wait and see if the Oculus Rift is any good and maybe pick one up for Project CARS. I'm umming and ahhing between doing that or upgrading all three of my monitors to 1080p ones and getting another 680/a 770 and running them in SLI, I think the former would be cheaper as the 680 should be capable of running a 1440p monitor. I think.
I think starting with one monitor is definitely the way to go. Hopefully it's a good IPS panel. If you get a TN panel with its limited viewing angles then take the time to adjust its positioning so that the colors don't shift. Then take measurements and move it where it would be as a 2nd or 3rd monitor and see if you can position it so that the colors don't shift there either. It's also a good opportunity to discover if you even have the space for three monitors. When you're ready to take the plunge, really make an effort to make sure all three models are the same model. You can mix and match, but then it'll take careful calibration to make sure color response is even across all three displays.
Another option is a single, nice
21:9 monitor. Not necessarily for everyone, but at 29" and about a third more width than 1080p it could give you a nice FOV without bezels, at a resolution that any mid-high range card should be able handle easily. It would also be quite nice for widescreen movie use.
The Oculus Rift looks truly awesome, and a buddy is getting his dev kit in August. I can't wait to try it. It's still a work in progress. It's probably going to be at least another year before we see the final consumer model.
Well I'm looking to spend no more then $1500 on the pc not including the monitor and keyboard. Would that be enough to play games in ultra? Also how much will a high end monitor around 27 inch cost? Thanks for the help mate.
You could definitely do that in US dollars, but I don't much about Australian pricing, so I just can't say.
👍
