Widescreen Gaming Forum

Mod edit: Split from post in Hello for better response. :)
Thanks for the welcome notes guys. I appreciate it.

OK...heres my first question re: my 3 screen game-plan. Keep in mind that this is for a dedicated racing simulator.

I currently have a projector setup in a media room downstairs with 110" screen. I was going to go with 3 23" 3D monitors to run Nvidia 3D vision. After seeing a triple screen setup with those screens, it was WAY too small. So I started looking at 1080P 120Hz 37-42" screens and they were proving to be somewhat costly - 550-1000 bucks. Thats too much...

NOW, Im set on using my existing 110" screen, and adding the same size L & R screens for my peripheral vision, since I found Nvidia compatible projectors for under $600 (Optoma-GT700)!

Here are some specific questions I have:
- Does having a larger projection display require any more processing HP for a quality, non ghosted 3D image?
- are there specific angles (how many degrees?) for the L and R screens to be placed?
- even though Nvidia lists the projector as compatible, is this REALLY going to give me a quality vision in 2D and/or 3D? I cant see myself going 3D all the time (some races are hours long), so a good 2D image is necessary as well.
- is there anything I need to do to the computer (partitioning drives, etc.) that I should do to run this?
- will the Nvidia software be able to be used to set this all up, or do I need warpalizer, triple head 2 go, etc.?

heres what Im building:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vuOiSv2Tec&feature=player_embedded

Here are the specs of the machine I have coming from ibuypower:
Intel® Core™ i7 950 Processor (4x 3.06GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
motherboard - [SLI] MSI X58 PRO-E
soundcard - 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
2x - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 - 1GB

I told you I was going to be a pain in the ass ;-)

Should get you better response here :)

We use projectors here at work for the Army Apache and Chinook Flight simulators The Apache uses 5 flat screens and 5 projectors in a semi circle. Three projectors like your doing should be simpler as they don't need mirrors and such to work.

Your fine with two GTX460 cards and Nvidia surround for the output to the projectors.

Just let the Left mounted projector point across to the Right Hand screen and the Right mounted projector to the LH screen. Once you have the distances and angle to each screen EQUAL to each other for image size matching, it should be just a matter of setting up the Nvidia surround settings.

Should be pretty darn cool! :cheers

Mod edit: Split from post in Hello for better response. :)
...I found Nvidia compatible projectors for under $600 (Optoma-GT700)!

Here are some specific questions I have:
1. Does having a larger projection display require any more processing HP for a quality, non ghosted 3D image?
2. are there specific angles (how many degrees?) for the L and R screens to be placed?
3. even though Nvidia lists the projector as compatible, is this REALLY going to give me a quality vision in 2D and/or 3D? 4. I cant see myself going 3D all the time (some races are hours long), so a good 2D image is necessary as well.
5. is there anything I need to do to the computer (partitioning drives, etc.) that I should do to run this?
6. will the Nvidia software be able to be used to set this all up, or do I need warpalizer, triple head 2 go, etc.?

heres what Im building:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vuOiSv2Tec&feature=player_embedded

Here are the specs of the machine I have coming from ibuypower:
Intel® Core™ i7 950 Processor (4x 3.06GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
motherboard - [SLI] MSI X58 PRO-E
soundcard - 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
2x - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 - 1GB

I told you I was going to be a pain in the ass ;-)

1. No, actual screen size doesn't matter, only resolution.
2. If you are going to use an existing mounted 110" screen, don't tilt anything at an angle, it will look distorted. Mount the projectors so that each is shooting straight forward. If you really want to reuse your existing screen (110") for 3 projectors, they will be mounted very short throw. That will be awkward with a table mount so you'd need a ceiling mount - actually 3 ceiling mounts. Factor that into the cost - mounts are not cheap, unless you have some good DIY skills, which will also come in handy to run the cables etc for a ceiling mount. Most DLP projectors dont have lens shift, so you will have to mount at a certain height, assuming your screen is fixed and can't be moved. Think long term while trying to stay within a budget, a clean / non-ghetto looking projection setup takes work. Also you will have MAJOR "black bars" on your existing screen. you are shooting a 48:9 image onto a 16:9 screen, 2/3rd of it will be unused. Adjust your seating accordingly.
3,4. Wait for a review of the actual projector (also keep an eye out for real input lag measurements). But assuming they are not lying, technically, yes, it should work well. I bet most of the time you will be in 2D mode, but based on my experience with non-3D projectors of this sort, they are pretty good in terms of visual quality in the right setup.
5. No partitioning or PC prep needed.
6. Nvidia software should handle it fine. Your GPU setup is a little light for triple screen 1080p 3D but should be OK for triple screen 720p, maybe consider dual GTX 570 instead, if you can stretch the budget. Warpalizer might help if you go curved, but I recommend keeping it as simple as possible (it's complicated enough as it is).

Thanks for the input guys...Im probably going to take your advice and upgrade the cards, as well as overclock as well.

I decided to go with the 42" monitors/hdtv instead of projectors. It would be forced in my existing space and youre right about the costs...there are many hidden ones that I didnt consider at the time.

I like the "if you dont want a ghetto image" comment...it made me laugh...

The GT700/GT720 is a good consumer level 120hz projector that is DLP 3D Ready. I have access to four of them and can answer any questions you might have on them. The ones I use are GT720.