triple portrait monitor GPU seuggestions

looking for help with GPU selection. I am setting up 3 Dell U2412M monitors in portrait mode and would like surround/eyefinity for gaming and will also use them for work and photo editing as individual monitors.

I generally play FPS (all the new ones) and MMO RPGs.

don't need the best, but would like to future proof without breaking the bank.

what card or cards would ppl suggest?

Running 3 x 1920*1080 monitors for the current crop of demanding FPS games which really need decent frame rate to be playable will require a stout video card or two decent ones in crossfire. Dual 7970's would be a very nice setup for the money but you might run into some games that aren't so friendly with crossfire. As far a single card goes from ATI you're looking at the king, 7990... and prepare to spend at least $800 as compared to $575 for dual 7970's.

ok...i think i have narrowed it down.

Sapphire Vapor-X 6gb vs. dual 7970 vs 290

what would you guys suggest? need 3 monitor gaming capabilities and very good photo/video editing.

pros/cons of each?

looking to spend around 400-600 depending on the pros vs cons...would also like the set up to be a little future proof. say about 5 years? or am I asking too much?

thanks in advance for all your help

5 years? or am I asking too much?

Click to expand...

Depends how much you want to ask of the cards. Even if you get the most expensive thing you can get now, you'll only be able to play on low settings in 5 years.

2-3 years is more reasonable if you want to play in medium to high settings.

so what card or cards would you recommend? 280x toxic is a cheaper alternative?

One of the biggest limitations of multi-monitor gaming is the massive amount of video ram used at 5760x1080. The R9 290X has 4GB of video RAM and scales really well in crossfire. Although the 7990 has 6GB of RAM its still like having two cards of 3GB each and because of the way cross fire renders frames it can not take advantage of the sum of RAM between the two cards and is limited to the amount on each individual card. So.... two R9 290x's would be very capable in gaming @ 5760x1080 but will run you about $800. Dual 7970's will not be far behind performance wise compared to the 290x's and cost closer to $575. At this point the amount of performance is tied to your wallet. If it were me, I'd get one 290X and game on one monitor until I had the money to get a second and more monitors... If you got to have it now and have to stay under $600 then the 7970's is probably your best bet.

instead of 2x 7970s, wouldn't it be better to get 2x 280x? they are roughly the same price and there are some tweaks to the 280x off of the 7970 platform?

i could go with 2 gigabyte windforce 280x's @ $300/ea (newegg)

The real difference between a 7970 and a 280X is price.... You will save 15-35 bucks on a 7970 so when buying two cards it might make more sense.

http://www.techpowerup.com/191440/radeon-r9-280x-is-rebranded-hd-7970-ghz-edition.html

the nonreference cards on newegg show the 7970 as more expensive.

7970 Vapor = $390
Gigabyte 280x = $299

so it would appear that the newer cards would be cheaper?

forgive me for being so indecisive/confused with all of the options out there. I am just trying to get to a decision that will work very well for 3 or so years and won't break the bank...i need money for new gpu's in 3 years!

Wow, WTF!? At the time that I priced them out they were about $288 each and they jumped up a lot since then... I guess its for the holiday season. The vapor-x models are nice and cool but the models just below them overclock just as well. This one is only $350 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

But since they flopped the prices I would go with this 280X for $299 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202046