Triple monitor setup: curved or not curved?

[badash199]

Hi guys,

I am about to pull the trigger on a monitor that I could use in a triple monitor setup in the future. I am pretty much set on all the specs I want my monitor(s) to have but I have one open question that I can't seem to be able to answer: curved or not curved?... Good question, huh?

My main question to poeple who run curved screens is: how are curved monitors handled in sim racing games, specifically AC, Automobilista and iRacing? Is there any additional step required in the configuration compared to flat screens? Does the curve really enhance the immersion?

Thanks

 

[Jeremy Ford]

I only run a single screen 35" curved monitor from sim racing. Short answer, it's just preference over function. You'll set it up the same way as non-curved in triples as and the immersion factor difference.... Well there isn't one you'll notice. For me the monitor at this 'size/resolution/gsync/high refresh rate' was only available as a curved option. I'd be perfectly happy if the same screen was flat.

My advice, ignore the curve element, look for monitor specs that match your requirements. Eg. size, panel type, resolution, and refresh rate. That's the important stuff.

 

[Emery]

For race sims, curved screens are curved nowhere near enough to create a circle at the close distance we put monitors for racing. Thus a curved screen is not the right answer, but, as Jeremy notes, you may find that you can't get a flat screen with the specs you want, so you end up with curved screens. If you work in graphics, you don't want a curved screen because of the distortion.

As for configuration, no, there is nothing different about configuring curved screens in a sim compared to flat screens.

One final note: stick to 16:9 aspect ratio as triple 21:9 (widescreen) is going to have more pixels than your card can handle. And 1920x1080 is pretty much the limit; triple 2560x1440 is nice, but cards aren't quite powerful enough to use that resolution in all sims without sacrificing something.

 

[Beef36]

.

 

[badash199]

Thanks guys for your answers. I was actually looking at the Samsung C27FG73 as it seems to have a pretty good VA panel and it seems to be at the same price as any good 144hz 27" 1080p TN monitor.
It's true that probably the refresh rate is the most important thing...

 

[PicoBp]

VA isn't great for fast motion and high refresh rates, it tends to perform a little under IPS panels. TN is still the best option for high Hz, but IPS is getting close recently, and the latter has much better color reproduction and viewing angles.

 

[Jeremy Ford]

My Predator 35" monitor is a VA panel upto 200mhz. I can see a small amount of ghosting on the edge of Windows when you move them around the desktop quickly. I can occasionally see the same while racing at the edge of tracks, but not in all sims. I wouldn't say this is terrible problem, and I never notice this in fast paced shooters.

It all comes down to cost, TN is cheap, fast but has terrible viewing angles with washed out colours. IPS is the most expensive with the best colour reproduction. VA a decent all rounder for cost versus performance. And then there's OLED, which would best them all but just too cost prohibitive.

 

[badash199]

Thanks guys for your comments. It's true that VA panels have a bad reputation when it comes to responsivness and refresh rate but we start to see more and more gaming oriented VA monitors on the marker, like Jeremy's Predator or the Samsung CFG73, which is why it got my attention. I finally decided on a flat monitor as I think the curve would have bothered me more than anything else... I am the kind of guy that likes straight lines to be straight

I just ordered the Iiyama G2730HSU (https://iiyama.com/gb_en/products/g-master-g2730hsu-b1/) mainly because it is cheap enough, has a 75Hz refresh rate (will see if it makes any difference from 60Hz) and is flicker-free for sensitive little princess eyes

 

[softslider]

I would say flat monitors are good choice. You may heard about using beam projectors for curved screen. For this, additional processing should be done by commerical application, for the rounded screen as game's displaying data is for plat screen. I mean although monior is curvy, it's not that meaningful unless image data is converted for the curved.

 

[Pär Öqvist]

I like the sense of depth my 35"2500cr curvee screen gives me. Draw back is distortion of course but I don't notice it outsid the desktop. For triple dunno curved in the middle and flat on the sides would be interesting.

 

[2stains]

So whats the consensus now ? Curved or flat ? If curved is 1500R too much for 27 " ?

 

[BenKay]

If you want very good monitors, high refresh, g-sync (or free sync 2 etc)...then I found it a struggle to find any that weren't curved nowadays....so I ended up with curved....no distortion that I notice in sim use that particularly bothers me.

 

[5teveC457]

I just came across this thread as I'm looking to purchase 3 x 32" monitors for my setup, and most these days are curved in that size. I was worried about distortion, but it seems that is likely not a problem. Also graphics cards should be able to push 3 x 1440p monitors without issues now I assume (ie: RTX 2070 or 2080 super)?

 

[BenKay]

I just came across this thread as I'm looking to purchase 3 x 32" monitors for my setup, and most these days are curved in that size. I was worried about distortion, but it seems that is likely not a problem. Also graphics cards should be able to push 3 x 1440p monitors without issues now I assume (ie: RTX 2070 or 2080 super)?

Distortion isn't an issue really, alignment is marginally trickier I think than flat panels...just take your angle measurements from the supporting monitor frame-work for your in-game settings...this will give you the angle to the mid-point of the monitor.

Don't assume GPU's can cope "no issue" pushing 3x1440p monitors. I run a 9900k and 2080ti overclocked and still daren't run rf2 online with all graphics cranked up...FPS drops to below 60fps with a full grid of 40+ cars.
AMS and AC more or less run OK at full settings, same for iRacing.
AMS2/PC2 need careful management.
Also, ACC settings need carefully managing to keep FPS sensible.

If you're thinking 2070/2080 supers as a GPU then you'll likely have to tone things down just that bit more.

7680x1440 pixels is still a shed-load to ask of any current GPU...it's significantly more taxing than full 4k gameplay (especially when you consider games with proper triples support have to render 3 separate viewports simultaneously)

8,294,400 - 4k pixel count
11,059,200 - Triple 2560x1440 pixel count!!

 

[5teveC457]

Yep, totally get the total pixel count. I just assumed todays graphics cards were plenty powerful, but after doing a bit more research realized that I will likely need a 2080ti and a fast i9 processor, just as you state. I may try to hold out on purchasing a new PC until later this year once Nvidia releases the new line of Ampere GPUs (if I could hold out that long).

 

[SeriousSani]

Sorry for just answering here and not making my own thread but i am at the same way and not sure which way to go.

Currently i use a Dell S3220 32" 1440p 165Hz screen OR a Oculus Quest with tweaked decoder settings and x1.4 resolution increase for better visuals but non of them is really fun for me. The VR headsets are nice ( i tried Quest and Rift S ) but non of them is at a current state i like ( resolution, hz, fov ). A single monitor is ok but i really would like to play with a triple setup - 3x 1440o is def. killing my 1080Ti but on the other hand ... i don't mind turning some settings down.

AHHH ...

 

[mgh24]

I had the same question, so this reply is mainly for anyone like me that may come across this thread.

I went with curved, but only because I already had one curved, so bought two more of the same.

I cannot see that the curved screen is hurting anything. Of course I cannot compare it to 3 flat screens, but it seems to work fine with the 3 curved.

 

[MagikSam]

Flat 200%.

I've tried curved G7 32" and the perspective was wrong whatever the angle you choose.

Also other issues with curved :

1/ You can't use Asus bezel free kit with curved (you can try but de result is not what you expect).
2/ Perfer ips panel to get an uniform luminosity on tilted screens.

I'm very happy using 3 MSI Optix MPG321QRF QD ips with Asus 27" bezel free kit.