3 Monitor Set-Up

[whatty]

Hey all

Want to run three monitors mainly for software development but some gaming. I may dust off my OGA hat for the casual team.

Main PC is
Intel Core i7 3770 Ivy Bridge 3.40Ghz 8MB 95W LGA1155
Asus P8Z77-V Pro Intel Z77 DDR3 SLiCrossfire Wi-Fi PCI-E3.0
Corsair 16GB (4x4GB) CMZ16GX3m4x1866C9 1866Mhz CL9
Corsair 240GB Neutron SSD GTX LM87800 Processor 19NM
FSPAurum Series 750W Modular PSU, 80PLUS Gold, 120mm

So the main question is around what GFX card set up to run three monitors. (3x AOC 27")

The advice i have is to run two cards NOT in Xfire mode....

a Asus GF GTX660 DirectCU II OC Edition PCI-E 3.0, 2GB 192-bit (runs two of the monitors)
and a
Asus GT 640 2GB GDDR3 PCI-E HDTV VGA 2x DVI HDMI VGA (To run the third monitor)

Those two cards total around $350 plus $150 so call it say $500 budget for a GFX card.

Would prefer a single card option.
Or what other options do I have or suggestions please.

Cheers

[camy205]

You probably want GDDR5 memory broski.

[toofast]

Just get a gtx660TI. Thats what I use. Support 4 screens. I think you can get one for $400ish, possibly less.

[O-L-W-A-G]

Get the Asus 7850 for $320 it overclocks to over a GHz normally (most people between 1.1-1.3), it supports the triple monitor setup and it will rival the 660ti in terms of performance when it is OCed. It depends on which games you want to play though, some play nicer with camp green such as BF3. The 660tis are normally around $470, but could be worth it if you only play BF3 and don't want to wait for AMD to finish fixing their stuttering issues which to their credit they have been working on and should be finished with by end of Julyish.

The 660 is also capable of running three monitors but is outperformed by the 7850, costs about $30 more and AMD is just all round better at surround setups because they did it before nVidia.

[whatty]

Not a big fan of OC anymore. Prefer the stability than an extra 5%.
As I run a lot of adobe creative cloud apps and if I do play games it is BF it looks like the 660ti is the winner.
Cheers to those that replied.

[Xenolightning]

Anything above the GTX650 or HD7750 can run 3 monitors off one card.

GTX660Ti, is bawse, and nVidia is generally the better choice for Adobe products. If you can, have a look at the GTX670, it puts out really good performance, and won't hinder you in anyway.

Either are a solid buy though.

[Dr. Acula]

For that kind of coin, you'd be able to pick up a second-hand 7970, and that will run 3 monitors no sweat. Plus having the added benefit of being 3GB and not 2GB like most other cards will definitely help in the kind of set up you have.

[O-L-W-A-G]

Not a big fan of OC anymore. Prefer the stability than an extra 5%.
As I run a lot of adobe creative cloud apps and if I do play games it is BF it looks like the 660ti is the winner.
Cheers to those that replied.

5% maybe with nVidia cards but with the 7850 I've been getting an extra 40%ish performance increase.

The 670 is probably what you're after but you have to go over your budget and the GHz edition of the 7950 does rival it. Spend based on budget, the differences aren't huge and you  won't notice any difference until you start gaming.

EDIT:The best card for $500 http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=757/ID=19003/SID=272154741/productdetails.html

[whatty]

Went with the 660ti mainly based on adobe/nvidia and bang for buck against the opposition.
Anyone got a good supplier of three way mounts. Looks like I may be stuck with 24" stack very little for 27"mounts.

Also need/want to match a dell 2407wfp anyone know of one, please shout.
Cheers for the replies guys.