Eyefinity Experience and Performance Review.

Today I'll be going through a more in-depth review of Eyefinity. Well take a quick look on what Eyefinity is and how to set it up. Then we'll look at how Eyefinity will affect your gaming. As this is a performance review I'll be going over benchmarks with Eyefinity versus a single display.
Most people have heard of Eyefinity by now know and the basics of how it works. If you have not seen the Eyefinity PDF I highly recommend checking it out here It explains more information about how its setup then I'll be going over in this review.


What is Eyefinity?

Eyefinity is a feature on ATI 5xxx series video cards that allows the use of multiple monitors to be recognized as one big display. Which most games will utilize and render the game at triple the resolution of a single display. For example if your single display is 1920x1080, and you add two more monitors for 3 total displays your game can be played at 5760x1080 resolution. This is not to be confused with stretching the image. The games will actually render at 5760x1080.


How its setup!

To run Eyefinity first you must realized that your rendering 3x the normal image you would see. This requires a pretty powerful gaming machine depending on the games your playing. Depending on your budget, 57xx cards will run eyefinity well at resolutions around 720p while the 58xx and 59xx series will handle 1080p and above.

Eyefinity current line of cards supports up to 3 monitors which I and others agree is the sweet spot for games. ATI will soon be releasing a 5870 series card with support for 6 displays. These cards can be cross-fired together allowing anywhere from 2 to 24 monitors in eyefinity. However game support may vary.
Eyefinity takes advantage of displayports high bandwidth to allow multiple monitors to work. So to setup eyefinity with 3 monitors or more you must have at least one monitor with display port. If one of your monitors doesn't support displayport you must use a active display port to DVI adapter. The adapter must be Active, passive adapters will not work. You can expect to pay $100 or more for such an adapter.
You can use any 3 monitors as long as they all 3 support the same resolution.



My setup


I decided to use Asus 24" VW246H with my build and bought 3 of the same displays to run Eyefinity at 5760x1080. These monitors do not support displayport so I had to buy a Active displayport to DVI adapter which I bought from dells website.


This is the adapter I used Dell.com


The test setup I used for this consist of:
Intel QX9650 @ 3.0Ghz (Stock)
Asus Rampage Extreme x48
4GB G.skill DDR3 1333 Memory
Raptor X 150
And I use a single ATI Radeon 5870 by HIS for these test and a 8800 GTS 320MB for Physx in Batman.
I used Catalyst 9.11 Drivers for this review.

The card



Eyefinity for workplace use.

Before I get into the games I wanted to start off with what other uses eyefinity has. We all game but even all us gamers have many things we work on at the computer. $600+ is a big investment in monitors alone to be used for just gaming. This investment is quite flexible with your work environment as well, other than the room it will take up. For me being able to have Photoshop on the right monitor, MS word in left monitor, and still have a free desktop to build this review makes things much easier.
I've read on forums some people are worried that because eyefinity makes your monitors show up as a single monitor it takes away the functionality of what normal 3 standalone displays would give.
But if you go into CCC you will find the options to setup profiles and assign them to hot keys. I have a profile setup so when I want to use my desktop as 3 separate displays I hold ctrl+Alt+Shit+D and my monitors switch from a 5760x1080 single display to 3 separate 1920x1080 displays.



Game Experience with Eyefinity.

Here I made a quick video to give you a better idea of what eyefinity is like in motion. None of this does this experience justice you really just need to try it yourself to believe



Dirt 2
I think racing games played over eyefinity offer a better sense of speed being able to see more of the side road and what's around the hairpin as you come to it. Getting a better sense of speed lets me better judge my accelerating and breaking.
With a single 5870 in dirt 2 I find I can run all settings Max with 2xAA and get around 38FPS in the benchmark at 5760x1080. Which in this game feels quite smooth and very enjoyable. being able to play this game with all the eye candy at 5760x1080 is quite a treat. This game has native support for Eyefinity
Below you can see the difference you would see with a single 1920x1080 monitor and three 1920x1080 (5760x1080) monitors using eyefinity.



Need for speed: Shift

Need for Speed: Shift much like Dirt 2 and other racing games you get a better feel for how fast your going. In NFSS I play using the cockpit view, and you can better see your surroundings. I first played NFS:Shift when it was released and only played for a few hours before I put it down. But eyefinity made the game such an enjoyable experience I played through to the NFS tour.
I was able to enjoy NFS:Shift with Max settings 5760x1080 2xAA with a 40-60+ frame rate on average. This game has native support for Eyefinity



Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of duty games have always been an immersive experience that try to pull you into the game as some of the best war stories are told. Call of duty: MW2 is no exception. Eyefinity really adds to the immersive experience. Having the extra peripheral vision gives you the edge in multiplayer when someone trying to sneak from the side to get that knife in. Being able to see more on screen is always useful.
Call of Duty: MW2 ran very smooth at 5760x1080 using Max settings and 4xAA. I had to use the Widescreen Fixer tool to get the FOV in this game to display properly.



Devil May Cry 4

Capcom has been delivering some of the best ports from console to PC. Devil May Cry 4 has great PC support and also native support for 5760x1080. While Eyefinity may not give you an edge in this game it does help to show you some very stunning visuals. DMC4 was great to play over Eyefinity.
Devil May cry 4 played at a solid 60+ FPS using 5760x1080, Max settings, and 4xAA in DX10 mode.



Prince of Persia

One of the best POP games. Adding new art game play elements and art style POP is a pretty fun game. Eyefinity doesn't give a big edge in this game but like every game it fits all that pretty art on the screen you would otherwise be missing. Making the game even more enjoyable then the developers intended.
This game required and very easy to do Registry fix to play at 5760x1080 but once done it plays quite well. I play at a smooth 50+ FPS with everything maxed out and 4xAA.




Batman Arkham Asylum

Putting all Gotham's villains back behind bars is quite fun on eyefinity. You might find using detective mode with eyefinity to be a bit more easy when looking for clues as well as some later parts in the game. Giving you a slight edge and again showing off the nice visuals. Batman provides a great Eyefinity experience.
Yes you might lose out on Physx support which is pretty impressive in this game but I think Eyefinity slightly out weights it. Not to mention running a dedicated Physx card and using Eyefinity with Physx. I ran the benchmark for this game getting 100FPS with everything Max no Physx and No AA. However I can turn Physx on with my 8800GTS as a dedicated Physx card and have the best of both worlds still getting a very smooth frame rate.
Batman: AA has native support for 5760x1080 res but requires a config file edit to adjust the FOV.



Team Fortress 2

In TF2 with eyefinity you will be picking guys out from the sides before they see you. if you're the camper type you'll now be able to watch all the doorways without moving. See the turret before it sees you. And catch that spy acting quite unusual before he kills you.
TF2 like other source based games plays 5760x1080 with no tweaks needed.



Torchlight

Much like Diablo 2 this game brings back memories. The one memory it didn't bring back from Diablo 2 was what 800x600 resolution looks like. In fact it plays natively in 5760x1080 quite well.



Grand Theft Auto 4

One of my favorite games Eyefinity enhances. One thing I always hated about GTA4 is having to turn my camera into the corner in turning into while driving to make sure I don't hit anything. With eyefinity I don't even have to touch the camera. It makes driving in this game much more fun. and I hardly ever hit a car. Another example, Doing a drive by no longer requires you to look to the side to see what your shooting. because you can already see what's at the sides of you. Eyefinity made GTA4 much more fun.
I was able to enjoy this game with all settings at high 27,35,30 2xAA at 5760x1080 which is natively supported. Edit: No AA (Forgot even forced AA doesn't work with GTA4)



Gaming Benchmarks with Eyefinity

The gaming benchmarks were done to show the performance difference with 3 monitors and a single display. I tried to use the best playable settings for most games. One thing I would like to add is to best enjoy this setup I find I sit back 3 1/2 to 4 feet. A bit further then I would a single display. And to be honest I cannot see the difference between 4xAA and 8xAA at this distance. And can hardly tell the difference between 2xAA and 4xAA. In other words you don't need High AA modes to enjoy the benefit of this setup. That said I can still run 4xAA and 8xAA in most games. Keep in mind your rendering the game 3x the normal resolution so a high performance loss is expected.




Batman: Arkham Asylum Benchmark

I ran the built in benchmark in the retail version of the game. I had all settings Maxed out, No AA, and Physx turned off for the test.



As funny as it is I actually scored exactly 200FPS at 1920x1080 and exactly 100FPS at 5760x1080. This makes for a 50% performance loss.


Call of Duty: 5 Benchmark

I used fraps to record a pre-rendered cut scene on the level you take the boats up to one of the beaches of Japan. It was a very intense part of the game. I ran with everything Maxed out and 4xAA 16xAF.



Only a 38% performance loss is quite good considering how much immersion eyefinity adds to the COD series of games.


Counter-Strike: Source Benchmark

I ran the built in test that most HL2 based games run. I ran with all settings maxed and 8xAA 16xAF



Only a 14.1% FPS loss. But that's kind of expected as this game is more CPU bound then GPU.


Devil May Cry 4 Benchmark

The in game benchmark tool was used for this test, all settings maxed and 2xAA in DX10 mode.



A 51% loss in performance but lots of FPS to go around.


Half-Life 2: EP 2 benchmark

In this game I used fraps to record the part in the beginning with the bridge falling down. Test was ran with all settings maxed and 8xAA 16xAF.



45% performance loss never looked so good. all jokes aside still great numbers keeping over 60FPS.


Left for Dead Benchmark

In this game I used fraps to record half standing still with no zombies and the last 30 seconds running into the room. I tried to repeat the same senario for both tests. Tests were ran all Max 4xAA



Still keeping over 60FPS.


Modern warfare 2 Benchmark

I used Fraps to record another cut-scene with max settings and 4xAA



Again over 60FPS.


Torchlight benchmark

I used fraps to record me walking around the town. All settings maxed 4xAA


Overview

Here's a small overview of most of the games I have personally tested. Most games work some require tweaks. I highly recommend going over to widescreengamingforums as this website was very helping for finding what I needed to get games working with eyefinity.



Conclusion

Being able to play your favorite games at triple high definition resolutions is a very big deal. It is truly more a game changer then upping a visual setting. When playing games again in Eyefinity it made the experience feel new and fresh. I was able to see things I previously was not. Eyefinity gives you an edge in multiplayer games some more than others.

Can a single card really push that many pixels and play smooth? The answer is yes. When you're getting 200FPS in a game most of it is all wasted. Eyefinity puts all that power to good use. Showing you more of the games you love to play. I did turn the settings down slightly for Grand Theft Auto 4 to high levels and Crysis to gamer levels. But both games still looked amazing and the experience over Eyefinity makes it well worth it.

Eyefinity does have some setbacks. Not all games have support for "Surround gaming". Most games I have tested do support Eyefinity quite well. Or fixes are available. But you might run into some that won't work. With Eyefinity being widely available, developers have been catching on. For a better idea of what games support Eyefinity or "surround gaming". Check out this list on Widescreen Gaming Forums

I know the number one thing people are worried about is bezels. When I first used it I notice them. They didn't destruct my view or experience but they were there. After about a week or two I can honestly say I don't even notice them at all. It's a very fluent gaming experience and it will change the way you play forever. I don't think I could ever play on a single display again.

pretty sweet review thanks

This is an absolutely fantastic overview of how Eyefinity works, and the best part is being able to see the frame differences between standard 1920x1080 res (which I run) and the Eyefinity resolution.

I see you're using an Asus 24" VW246H monitor for your three displays, do you find the bars in between the screens annoying at times? Because I know there's some monitors being released lately that are seamless between the edges and would work much better in this type of application.

The Asus 24" VW246H has some of the thinnest bezels I was able to find under $300 each. The space between screens is 1 1/2 inches. And It's something you have to sit down and try. They don't take anything away from the experience. Everyone that tried my setup has loved it and thought it was cool. no one ever once questioned the bezels.

Do you plan on upgrading in the future when the bezels get smaller?

Honestly I was thinking of picking up two more of the same monitors for a 5x1 setup. The bezels dont bother me as it is. But I might take a second look at the Samsung 3x1 setup designed for multi monitor gaming.

This will be very exciting. Thinking about hanging the monitors on wall then?

180 degrees effects? 360 degrees even eventually....? wow.

cheers ...

Great review, answered the majority of my questions with Eyefinity. Can't wait to get my 3 monitors tomorrow!

Wow. Would like to see your set up. Share some pics with us?

cheers ...

I will definately post pictures and info when I get it all set up!

That would be sweet. Thanks.

cheers ...

What monitors are you buying?

Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition has been spotted offering 2GB Memory and the presence of 6 (mini) Display Ports!

cheers ...

I purchased 3 Acer P244W's. Refurbished from Compusa.com @ $160 each. So far they are working great!

holy shet!!!