Widescreen Gaming Forum

If I went with ATI, Flight Simulator ran like a dog.

Then something else was wrong with your system. FS is CPU heavy and relatively simple in terms of GPU demands - I used to run FSX fine without issue on a Radeon 9800pro before putting an 8800gtx in my next system.

My point wasn't "a rediculous statement". Nvidia requiring two cards to get three combined outputs is obviously not much more than a quick hobble together of drivers. If they were serious about more than two outputs then enable it on a single card, make the changes required there - how long have we been able to run four outputs from two cards? All they've done is brew their own version of softTH, why is this new?. Two cards gets you a single span of 3 and possibly an extra single screen. Two Eyefinity cards give you at least 2 spans of 3.

Investing in a TH2Go when it was the only option was totally different from buying a second card since it could be used on the next and the next build. I intend to build an Eyefinity setup, I will still be using the TH2Go with it to run a set of three small monitors. A second nVidia card wouldn't have had the same longevity.

[quote]So the nVidia solution requires two cards for three monitors and someone here is far happier to spend that amount on gpus that will be superceeded in six months/a year rather than the single card option and spend the difference on monitors that will last far longer?

That's kind of a rediculous statement, in my opinion. I've never gone SLI in the first place, because my "gaming" consists of the Flight Simulator series and various other "racing" simulators that really don't benefit from an SLI configuration in the first place. But I was totally willing to buy a TH2G years ago (the price of a second "high-end" video card) for the Surround Gaming experience it provides in both flying and racing sims.

So yes...if a 3-monitor wide capability is achievable with a second nVidia card in SLI, I see the purchase as no different than buying a TH2G.

Your comment is like saying someone was crazy for purchasing a second video card for SLI in the first place.

And the fact that ATI may already have a single GPU that can do it most certainly isn't a benefit to everybody. It has been documented numerous times ATI cards do not perform as well as nVidia cards for certain "gaming" situations. MS Flight Simulator is one of them. I have nothing inherently against ATI GPUs, but I won't buy one for Flight Simulator until they can perform to at least the same level as an nVidia card for FS.

Respectfully submitted, and no animosity intended towards any ATI afficiados or reps here.

Rick

I hope you realize that those 2 cards you mentioned have to be the cards that aren't out yet? GF100 or GF200 as the old architecture cannot be used.

[quote][quote]So the nVidia solution requires two cards for three monitors and someone here is far happier to spend that amount on gpus that will be superceeded in six months/a year rather than the single card option and spend the difference on monitors that will last far longer?

That's kind of a rediculous statement, in my opinion. I've never gone SLI in the first place, because my "gaming" consists of the Flight Simulator series and various other "racing" simulators that really don't benefit from an SLI configuration in the first place. But I was totally willing to buy a TH2G years ago (the price of a second "high-end" video card) for the Surround Gaming experience it provides in both flying and racing sims.

So yes...if a 3-monitor wide capability is achievable with a second nVidia card in SLI, I see the purchase as no different than buying a TH2G.

Your comment is like saying someone was crazy for purchasing a second video card for SLI in the first place.

And the fact that ATI may already have a single GPU that can do it most certainly isn't a benefit to everybody. It has been documented numerous times ATI cards do not perform as well as nVidia cards for certain "gaming" situations. MS Flight Simulator is one of them. I have nothing inherently against ATI GPUs, but I won't buy one for Flight Simulator until they can perform to at least the same level as an nVidia card for FS.

Respectfully submitted, and no animosity intended towards any ATI afficiados or reps here.

Rick

I hope you realize that those 2 cards you mentioned have to be the cards that aren't out yet? GF100 or GF200 as the old architecture cannot be used.

Do you have a source for that because as far as I know 200 series cards in SLI will work for surround gaming.

I think any confusion may well be down to ambiguous wording on some news articles.

Unfortunately, I think we're gonna need the cards (and drivers) released to really know for sure.:(

http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTI2MzYwODIxNHh4VHN0ekRuc2RfMl8yOV9sLmdpZg==

Is it time for ATI to show a little more leg (5870 Six) :wink: :nudgenudge

Never fear, its coming...

http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTI2MzYwODIxNHh4VHN0ekRuc2RfMl8yOV9sLmdpZg==

Thanks for the link Dave, but it still fails to completely address the exact details of it on GT200. :(

Man, SLI GF100's are gonna hurt the wallet...

...

One thing on that slide has me a bit worried: it says 3DVS @ "up to" 3x1920x1080. Makes no mention of WUXGA or higher.

[quote]http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTI2MzYwODIxNHh4VHN0ekRuc2RfMl8yOV9sLmdpZg==

Thanks for the link Dave, but it still fails to completely address the exact details of it on GT200. :(

Man, SLI GF100's are gonna hurt the wallet...

...

One thing on that slide has me a bit worried: it says 3DVS @ "up to" 3x1920x1080. Makes no mention of WUXGA or higher.

I'm betting that only applies to the 3D 120Hz option and not the actual surround gaming. It seems like that would be true because bumping to 120Hz creates a bandwidth issue for Dual-Link DVI. It,more or less, cuts your maximum possible resolution in half.

I'm betting that only applies to the 3D 120Hz option and not the actual surround gaming. It seems like that would be true because bumping to 120Hz creates a bandwidth issue for Dual-Link DVI. It,more or less, cuts your maximum possible resolution in half.

This is very true.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

...is it weird that I now think 1920x1080 is a "low" resolution? :mrgreen: There are lots of people out there still gaming at 1280x1024!

Pcper had mentioned that it needs the newer GPU's in order to run in surround.

Pcper had mentioned that it needs the newer GPU's in order to run in surround.

That's not good.

We need to wait for the actual drivers and cards to know what is true and what is false at the minute. :(

Slap me down if this has been mentioned before, but from nvidia's own blog they state surround will be available for GT200 cards

http://blogs.nvidia.com/ntersect/2010/01/surround-yourself-with-nvidia-3d-vision-technology.html

And while 3D Vision Surround will be officially launched with our GF100 GPUs later in Q1, the good news for everyone is that 3D Vision Surround will also be supported on our GT200 family too!

Has something been reported reported recently to counter this statement?

Pcper had mentioned that it needs the newer GPU's in order to run in surround.

There are reports of people that have seen it first hand at the shows. they were running SLI gtx285's on one machine.


Look it up

Ah, fair enough. Still far too much FUD and rumour around to do with this.

Never fear, its coming...

Dave,

To be fair to you and the community, based on a previous reply from you I did some research (more) on the ATI vs nVidia GPU issue as it relates to the Flight Simming community (for FS9 and FSX mainly). I did see where there are reports now that the 5800 series ATI GPU (EyeFinity) can perform at the same level as nVidia GPUs in all categories...except one. It appears (from what I've read) that the ATI GPU still will not allow the manual setting of VSYNC for the display. While this may not be a major issue in RPG, FPS, or other "shoot-em up" gaming, it is a major issue in Flight Simming as it can cause "tearing" of distant terrain and/or textures like clouds, mountain terrain, etc as FSX is loading the terrain and/or textures. The popping in and out of these items while flight simming is very annoying, and most serious flight simmers run VSYNC with their nVidia cards to prevent it. The lack of it on an ATI card would still be a show-stopper for me purchasing one, as I don't play RPGs, FPSs, or other "games" in those genres.

Just in case I missed something in my research, is the lack of being able to set VSYNC on an EyeFinity series card still applicable? If not, or if it will be a settable feature in the near future, then I WOULD seriously consider an ATI EyeFinity card for surround gaming for my flight simming instead of a new TH2G or an nVidia SLI configuration.

Thanks for any clarification.

Rick

Here is a guide to Catalyst (relatively recent), read the top part of the page below:

http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_8.html

In the Catalyst 9.12 driver with a 4870X2, I can find Vsync in the 'Graphics' panel, under 'All', then "Wait for vertical refresh". It has four settings: Always Off, Off unless Application specifies, On unless application specifies, and Always On. I run it with 'Always On', and I've never noticed any tearing in games. Forcing it to 'Always On' is one of the first things I do on a new install, as otherwise I almost always see tearing and it drives me nuts.