Triple monitor setup advice/questions

Paulus-NL · May 9, 2020

Thinking of buying a triple screen setup. But now looking for monitors and which to choose. There are so many options to get in count.

27 inch or 32 inch?
Curved or non curved?
1080P or 1440?
144hz?

It will be mounted on the sim-lab triple mount (also need to buy that one)
With this i can get the screen close and just above/in front of the wheel base.
So i guess 27" monitor would be a nice format.

But there is also the resolution question. Also with the future in my mind regarding PC upgrades (currently not in the planning because its a lot of money

) Should i go for 1080p or 1440p.........
For example: If i got the 1440p 144hz version but the gpu can't put out the 144hz on 1440p but only 100fps etc will that be waste of money and would 1080p be better for the monitor? Or is it fine to get lower but keep the 1440p just in case of possible future updates?

Currently i am using my 21:9 tv for all my gaming on 2560x1080 resolution.
But no idea if the current GPU will do the 1440p fine with high settings (for lower settings/graphics i can switch to my VR).

Some options i found which looks nice:

AOC C27G1 (1080p 27")
AOC CQ32G1 (1440p 32")

Current played games:

rFactor 2
Assetto Corsa Competizione

Current pc specs:

CPU: i7-7700K
GPU: MSI GTX 1080 TI GAMING X 11G (https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/geforce-gtx-1080-ti-gaming-x-11g.html)

Other tips and experiences are more than welcome cause it's pretty difficult to choose without ever seen/experienced a triple monitor setup.

Beef36 · May 10, 2020

Andrea Cerisara · May 10, 2020

Hi

I have 3x 27'' 75Hz 1080p running on a i5-9600k @ 5Ghz, 32GB, 5700XT.

I don't think my system would be able to run decently 1440p or even 1080p 144Hz without turning off details (it depends on the game, of course).

* rFactor2 runs perfectly, 80-100fps everything maxed out
* AC runs perfectly as well, 100+fps everything maxed out
* ACC runs decently, hitting 40-50fps high settings

Regarding the size, I think you should based your decision also on how far you're going to sit from the center monitor and the angles you'll have on the side monitors. The goal is to have 180fov and in case of 27'' is around 53-55cm from the main monitor with side angles of 60deg. There are calculators online and I'd suggest to do some testing before choosing between 27'' and 32''.

Sounds stupid, but you should also check if the outputs of your card match the inputs of the monitors (dp, hdmi). The less adapters you use, the better

Regarding curved/not curved I don't think there's much difference. Be ready to spend quite some time to setup everything correctly

Emery · May 10, 2020

Your 1080Ti running triple 1440p will be doing about 60 fps during the first lap.

Mock up 27" and 32" monitors to see how close you can get them to your wheel before there's any interference. In my case, 27" at 1080p and 32" at 1440p end up having the same FOV because I have to slide a 32" monitor behind the wheel's housing instead of letting it hover above the housing, so no gain for FOV, which is the number one reason for the bigger screen.

RubberStig · May 13, 2020

I run ACC, rFactor 2, Project Cars 2, AMS2, Dirt Rally 2, RaceRoom and AC with

3x MSI 32" Curved 1080p 144Hz monitors with a MSI GTX1080 and old i7 4770

Runs everything no problem. ACC at the start of an event slows to about 60fps, but once we're off and racing I get a solid 100fps easily.

I run an AccuForce Pro V2 DD wheel, and I have to keep the power supply well away from the monitors due to interference, but otherwise, the centre monitor is right above the wheel base without issue.

Paulus-NL · May 13, 2020

Thanks all for the tips and experience with current setups

For now i'll go for 27" 1080p monitors and the simlab triple monitor mount (light version) to mount everything.

Only issue now are the shipping times

turen009 · May 19, 2020

Paulus-NL said:
Thanks all for the tips and experience with current setups
For now i'll go for 27" 1080p monitors and the simlab triple monitor mount (light version) to mount everything.

Only issue now are the shipping times

Which monitors are you going with finally?

2020 Supraman · May 20, 2020

RubberStig said:
I run ACC, rFactor 2, Project Cars 2, AMS2, Dirt Rally 2, RaceRoom and AC with

3x MSI 32" Curved 1080p 144Hz monitors with a MSI GTX1080 and old i7 4770

Runs everything no problem. ACC at the start of an event slows to about 60fps, but once we're off and racing I get a solid 100fps easily.

I run an AccuForce Pro V2 DD wheel, and I have to keep the power supply well away from the monitors due to interference, but otherwise, the centre monitor is right above the wheel base without issue.

So... if you had the exact same setup, but the monitors were 1440p instead of 1080p, how would that affect your graphics? Feel free to break it down for me as if I know nothing lol

Astro11 · May 20, 2020

New graphic card coming soon .. rtx 3080 ( not much detail when and spec )

jpindustrie · May 21, 2020

main thing I would add to look for and evaluate when looking at monitors is also its display panel type:

There are 3 main kinds, TN, VA and IPS.

Plenty of info out there in the internet but general IPS has the best picture quality but traditionally slowest refresh rates and response time GTG (even that is changing as companies LG are improving every year) Generally the highest refresh rates (read 180 - 240 even 280 Hz) and the monitors that most esports players use are TN panel monitors which trade the picture quality for speed. These are generally being replaced by IPS panels but are still pretty viable in 2020.

OLED seems to be relegated to slower refresh rate applications due to its high cost, mostly sticking to the creative market for desktop panels.

I evaluated all 3 types with my rig and ended up choosing 3 x 27" Acer Nitro 1080p 144hz IPS w/ Freesync to pair with my 2080Ti. I do not regret it one bit and love the picture quality of IPS along with a decent refresh rate. I could have spent more per monitor for faster response panels but when buying 3 everything starts to add up.

idealtarget · May 22, 2020

It's not an easy choise between 27" and 32". For 180° fov, you have to put the center 27" monitor 52cm from your eyes and the 32" 61cm. Τhe second case is much easier. In the fisrt case you have to use an extender for the wheel to put the monitor just behind the wheel rim and in the front of the wheel base. This way you would be able to set the height of the monitors 100 % corectly and see the dashboard through your wheel too. It's a must for me, regardless the screens set up. I prefer my monitors not to be so close (50cm), it's not so practical. Of course it's not a big deal to lose some degrees of fov, going from 180 to 170 degrees you would be still able to see your right mirror too. I have triples 32" 1440p and triples 27" 1080p and I prefer the 32" because I can put them a litle farther.

BillyBobSenna · May 22, 2020

idealtarget said:
It's not an easy choise between 27" and 32". For 180° fov, you have to put the center 27" monitor 52cm from your eyes and the 32" 61cm. Τhe second case is much easier. In the fisrt case you have to use an extender for the wheel to put the monitor just behind the wheel rim and in the front of the wheel base. This way you would be able to set the height of the monitors 100 % corectly and see the dashboard through your wheel too. It's a must for me, regardless the screens set up. I prefer my monitors not to be so close (50cm), it's not so practical. Of course it's not a big deal to lose some degrees of fov, going from 180 to 170 degrees you would be still able to see your right mirror too. I have triples 32" 1440p and triples 27" 1080p and I prefer the 32" because I can put them a litle farther.

Thanks for the information. Do you have any photos of your setup with the 32" monitors? Do you place the 32" monitor between the wheelbase and rim? I have 32" monitors being delivered and I am using a DD2 wheelbase. I was not sure where to place the monitors. I am open to recommendations. Thanks for the help.

diablo2112 · May 22, 2020

Here's my 32" triple setup. MSI 4K monitors (60 Hz) on a custom 8020 rig of my own design. Monitor support was adapted from the Simlab HD triple monitor stand. Works great. Solid as a rock, nothing moves on the motion system. The monitor supports are sturdy enough to support keyboard/mouse stands.

Center monitor is mounted low to the DD wheel (small MIGE OSW), and with enough clearance for my hands not to touch the screen but otherwise relatively close to the wheel rim.

32" is almost too big, honestly. The view from the seat is all-monitor, from edge to edge covering my complete perpherial vision. Quite immersive, and loads better than my prior 49" ultrawide.

idealtarget · May 22, 2020

BillyBobSenna

I have put the monitor between the wheelbase and the wheel rim .

2020 Supraman · May 22, 2020

diablo2112 said:
Here's my 32" triple setup. MSI 4K monitors (60 Hz) on a custom 8020 rig of my own design. Monitor support was adapted from the Simlab HD triple monitor stand. Works great. Solid as a rock, nothing moves on the motion system. The monitor supports are sturdy enough to support keyboard/mouse stands.

Center monitor is mounted low to the DD wheel (small MIGE OSW), and with enough clearance for my hands not to touch the screen but otherwise relatively close to the wheel rim.

32" is almost too big, honestly. The view from the seat is all-monitor, from edge to edge covering my complete perpherial vision. Quite immersive, and loads better than my prior 49" ultrawide.

Wow that set up is awesome. Triple 32" does look really big... maybe I'll go 27" instead (haven't ordered yet). Can you use the technology of 4k monitors with current graphics cards? I read somewhere advising against 4k monitors because GPUs aren't good enough, especially with triples.

5teveC457 · May 22, 2020

Today's current graphic cards definitely would not be able to handle triple 4k monitors, at least not at a decent frame rate. The new Nvidia 30x series cards are supposedly going to be faster, but even then triple 4k is a lot of pixels to be moving around.

diablo2112 · May 22, 2020

My 1080 Ti does struggle with triple 4k, for sure. I get mid-30 to low 50 fps in PC2 at moderate settings. I do other gaming on this rig, and for that reason, decided to go 4k. mid-30 isn't great; low-50s works ok; overall it's playable and I'll upgrade this fall when the next-gen (3080) cards are released. 3080 is rumored to dramatically improve 4k fps, reports of 40-50% over the 2080 ti can be found. I went for the future with my 4K monitors. Some games are just glorious at this res, such as DOTA Underlords (which is a solid 60 fps on my center monitor during play).

2020 Supraman · May 22, 2020

diablo2112 said:
My 1080 Ti does struggle with triple 4k, for sure. I get mid-30 to low 50 fps in PC2 at moderate settings. I do other gaming on this rig, and for that reason, decided to go 4k. mid-30 isn't great; low-50s works ok; overall it's playable and I'll upgrade this fall when the next-gen (3080) cards are released. 3080 is rumored to dramatically improve 4k fps, reports of 40-50% over the 2080 ti can be found. I went for the future with my 4K monitors. Some games are just glorious at this res, such as DOTA Underlords (which is a solid 60 fps on my center monitor during play).

I gotchya.. interesting. Obviously if I'm going to buy 3 monitors I'd want the best technology. I can't buy a sim-lab rig right now anyway, so I guess I have time to see how the 3080s pan out.

BillyBobSenna · May 23, 2020

diablo2112 said:
Here's my 32" triple setup. MSI 4K monitors (60 Hz) on a custom 8020 rig of my own design. Monitor support was adapted from the Simlab HD triple monitor stand. Works great. Solid as a rock, nothing moves on the motion system. The monitor supports are sturdy enough to support keyboard/mouse stands.

Center monitor is mounted low to the DD wheel (small MIGE OSW), and with enough clearance for my hands not to touch the screen but otherwise relatively close to the wheel rim.

32" is almost too big, honestly. The view from the seat is all-monitor, from edge to edge covering my complete perpherial vision. Quite immersive, and loads better than my prior 49" ultrawide.

Thank you. These images are very helpful and give me direction for the new displays I will be receiving.