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PostPosted: 11 Jun 2015, 21:03 
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Joined: 13 Jun 2014, 17:26
Posts: 9
This is my experience with a cheap mixed-res eyefinity setup.
tl;dr?
Spoiler:
Save up and buy a 21:9


It's been an interesting year or so for me, having never used multi before then.
It is incredible, and mostly worth all the trouble, but not always.

I played with SoftTH on an spare monitor and again when mixed res eyefinity beta's arrived.
I experimented with fit/expand modes combined with CRU settings as per this thread.
http://www.wsgf.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=25372
Image


So I picked up a pair of cheap 5:4 Dells to play with.
1280x1024 19" - 1920x1080 27" - 1280x1024 19"
Didn't work well without some SofTH or CRU tweaks.
Image


As you are all most likely aware, both SoftTH and Eyefinity have their advantages.
Eyefinity PLP was released only for new cards so that killed that idea.
However, old TN panels beside an IPS in PLP with SoftTH isn't exactly ideal either.
This left me with rare occasions where I would have to run a 940p res to avoid UI
elements being cut off in some titles.
Image


I could get over these issues, the performance increase and ease of use of eyefinity were (mostly) worth it.
I tried multiple configurations but what worked best for me was the Dells run at 1175x940 so that I
maintained an aspect ratio that worked on the desktop also. The slight blur was much preferred to stretched windows.
SoftTH seems to deal with this issue much better by simply allowing rendered and displayed res.
Image


Now it might seem harsh on AMD to complain about PLP being only for the R9 285
but it goes deeper than that. Random problems with CCC also caused me grief.
Bezel correction being the biggest offender. It just can't cope with mixed res.
If I set it once, it's about 100 pixels out. Try again? It ADDS another 100 pixels. o_O
A complete un and re-install of the driver being the only fix.
Then as of latest beta driver, eyefinity setup (stock, no bezel correction) is missing
2 pixels. Try to fix with bezel correction? ADDS 100 pixels.....
Any newer games that actually utilize multi head gaming like Assetto Corsa
for example simply don't account for mixed res either, leaving camera joins
that do not line up with bezels. (Yuck.)
I gave up and simply overlap my monitors instead, at least the bezels are smaller.
Image


Cheapfinity is a great idea if you really, really, REALLY want to try multi/ultra wide but simply don't
have the budget for a 21:9 or two more matching size/DPI monitors. But like everything in life
you get what you pay for and this is a headache best avoided by saving your money, working
overtime or selling your car/bike/sister.

But when it's good (and boy is it good) and you realize it cost you the same as a couple of pizzas
to put together, it feels pretty special.
*make your kids day
*turn that simracing session into something special
*frag that guy hiding in your peripheral
*god forbid actually find a use for it on the desktop
Image


Would I do it again? No, I would have waited and saved up for a 21:9 but in my defense
they weren't really released and/or affordable back when this all started.


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PostPosted: 11 Jun 2015, 22:55 
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Joined: 13 Oct 2003, 05:00
Posts: 7358
Very interesting read. Thanks for sharing your experiences.


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PostPosted: 11 Jun 2015, 23:52 
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Joined: 06 Mar 2008, 17:20
Posts: 3424
Ahh, 56K and 5:4 monitors... Simpler times. Yeah, maybe not.
Great post !


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