Hello folks,
It looks like I am going for a poor man's eyefinity. I have a couple of 1680x1050 monitors that I use now, but I also have an even older 1280x1024 monitor. I figure I'll put the 4:3 monitor in the middle and a 16x10 on either side. From what I understand, in eyefinity each monitor has to be the resolution of the poorest monitor in the league. In my case, that's the 1280x1024 monitor. That equates to a total resolution of 3840x1024, or just over the pixel count of a 1440p monitor.
The peripheral monitors will get stretched by about 25%, which I honestly don't think I'm going to notice as I'll be paying more attention to the central screen as it is. And from what I hear, the peripheral monitors often get naturally stretched by the game anyway, so I'm not really sacrificing a perfect experience. I'm most interested in playing Bioshock Infinite in this resolution. Yes, I've already beaten the game, but it's the first single-player game I've played that I am actually enjoying more the second time around. You just notice more things, especially when you know how it ends.
Performance-wise, the 7850 2GB is supposed to be able to dip into 1440p territory (which is about the pixel count I'm going to have) while dropping down a few settings depending on the situation. Obviously less demanding games can be pushed beyond what I'm targeting here, which may prove to be entertaining as well.
The only investment I need to make now is to buy the StarTech Active DisplayPort->DVI adapter. For me this accessory is frustratingly overpriced ($30), and scratches at the price of a new monitor. So I have looked into monitors that come with DisplayPort, but there seldom are low-end monitors with that connection. NewEgg had a 1080p for about $100 but they discontinued it the day after I wish-listed it (no money right now). That sucked. Are there other web sites that let you browse monitors by what connections they have? Ebay and Amazon are lacking. Even better would be if you guys know of a cheaper way to get ahold of the DisplayPort->DVI adapter.
My final question is, what are your thoughts on mixing and matching aspect ratios in eyefinity? I read that the screen just stretches. But I don't think a 25% stretch on side-view monitors is going to matter. I get worse an experience from my side view mirrors on my car.
