Widescreen Gaming Forum

Here's my quandry. I plan on adding a 5870 Eyefinity6 when and if it ships to run a 5x1 portrait.

If I were only going for 3x monitors the 24" HP would be my ideal setup with it's 1920x1200 resolution and natural displayport.

However, price quickly starts to become a concern when looking at 5x.

I then stumbled across the NEC. Everything I've read says it's a great monitor even if it is only E-IPS. I'm not too keen about the 1920x1080 resolution and I've also read that the top bezel is slightly bigger than the bottom which might create a minor issue with a portrait setup.

At the bottom of the scale is the Dell. 1680x1050, no display port. This however is the only option that will see 5x ips displays at near 1k prices and retains the 16x10. I've seen photos up and running here on WSG of a 3x1 portrait and it looks, well great.


I guess the question is this, are the higher resolutions worth it, and will the lack of display port (and having to resort to what seems to be flakey at best adapters) be a major drawback.

At this point I'm leaning towards the NEC's. The pricepoint will be 500-600 more than the Dells when considering 5x, but I'll get natural dp support. The only concern I have is the 16x9. Some say it's a huge deal, others not so much. I personally have never used a 16x9 monitor so it's tough to say.

So a rundown:

HP : 5x : $2500(est) : Ideal lcd for eyefinity imo. If I cut the watercooling out of my build I can afford this setup. Watercooling is something I could add down the road. It's still a hell of a lot of cash to drop on monitors though.

NEC: 5x : $1600(est) : Resolution Issues (16x9) concern me, unbalanced bezels. With this setup I have to trim a few options off my build but can still WC.

Dell: 5x : $1150(est /w dvi>vga adapters) : No Displayport, having to depend on adapters. At this range
my build stays fully intact.

It should be noted that I'm only going to buy 3 up front and then add the 5870(6) + 2 monitors after that card hits shelves. I had also considered the u2410 but tint issues lead me to HP. The 2408wfp is another consideration but at prices that come so close to the HP I'm leaning towards the newer (and ips vs s-pva).

So, if it were your money how would you spend it?

IMHO having the DP connection should be paramount. Also, not sure which display technology you're really wanting. If you're willing to go with TN there are a number of options. I'm in the process of updating the MML (link to the left). The Dell P2310H is a 1920x1080 monitor with a DP connection. It runs $249 but is currently on sale for $209. Other Dell options are the P2210 (1680x1050, $239), P2010H (1600x900, $179) and E2210H (1920x1080, $199). This last one is only a 21.5" monitor and has a tight pixel pitch of .248, making for a very crisp picture.

The HP w2238h 1920x1080 and a DP connection. It runs $299 but is currently on sale for $225. HP also has the LA2205wq which is 1680x1050 for $245. They also have the LA2405wq for $379, but I think that takes you out of your price range. And HP has the LP2275, which is a PVA panel, for $349. These last three are part of their commercial line.

I'm working to update the MML, and so far I've done Dell, Gateway and HP.

What I can say is that I have a single hp lp2475w and it is a fantastic display. Wonderful colours (once calibrated), great viewing angles (which I guess should be helpful for Eyefinity), and pretty decent black levels. I've just been persuaded (via another thread) to add another two to make my first triple monitor setup. As you point out, it's going to cost a lot, but I can hardly look at my previous Samsung TN panel as it looks so horrific in comparison, so I reckon it'll be worth the outlay over and above a trio of cheap screens.

People seem to have massive problems with DVI > DP adaptors, so I would run native DP screens.

I bought three of the NEC's, ans sent them back. I didnt like the 16x9 aspect ratio.

I'd like to stay away from the TN panels. It's my understanding that the image quality goes right out the window in portrait mode.

I am interested in the LP2275 however. This is the first mention I've seen of it, of course I have been looking for ips but pva should give just as good angles.

Let me ask this, would running 3x lp2275w and 2x 2209wa be viable.

They're both 22" 1650x1050, my concern however would be mixing the ips vs pva screens and having different input and video lags between them. This would however give me the 3x native dp screens required, and save roughly 300$ total.

3x lp2275 = 1050
2x 2209wa = 420

It puts me square into the price range of the 5x NEC's but gives me the 16x10 resolution that I'd prefer. The only concern I have regarding the lp2275 is this:

(img taken from http://www.prad.de)

It appears, although I admit it's tough to tell, that the base extends a few mm's past the sides of the screen in portrait mode. That would mean either dropping more cash for mounts, or having alignment issues.

That does appear to be the case, but if you put that monitor in the 1, 3 and 5 positions and the monitors in the 2 and 4 have narrower bases, it should work.

Last weekend to figure this out, ordering starts Monday.

This is what I've got...

1x Dell 2408wfp (main displayport center screen)
2x HP lp2465 (DVI only, two flanking screens)

Both are Samsung SPVA, 24" 1920x1200

Response: Dell (16ms) HP(13ms)
Brightness: Dell(400 cd/qm) HP(500 cd/qm)
Contrast Dell(1300:1) HP(1000:1)

Now, the question I ask is this. Considering the differences in these 2 screens will mating them together create any type of motion sickness, or eye fatigue, or general issues?

Last weekend to figure this out, ordering starts Monday.

This is what I've got...

1x Dell 2408wfp (main displayport center screen)
2x HP lp2465 (DVI only, two flanking screens)

Both are Samsung SPVA, 24" 1920x1200

Response: Dell (16ms) HP(13ms)
Brightness: Dell(400 cd/qm) HP(500 cd/qm)
Contrast Dell(1300:1) HP(1000:1)

Now, the question I ask is this. Considering the differences in these 2 screens will mating them together create any type of motion sickness, or eye fatigue, or general issues?

Those are super slow response times and overall completely different in specs. For me that would be a concern.