ATI Eyefinity review - Now you can run six monitors in HD from a single graphics card

Tech Radar ^ | Sept 9, 2009 | Patrick Goss

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Gaming News

Hands on: ATI Eyefinity review

Now you can run six monitors in HD from a single graphics card

Six monitors enough for you?

AMD is looking to expand your horizons with its Eyefinity technology, allowing you to run up to six monitors in HD from a single graphics card – and TechRadar has had the chance to play with the latest in graphics tech.

Although you'll have to wait and see how ATI is bringing the technology to our homes, Eyefinity is close to release and looking rather stunning.

Essentially, the technology allows you to run multiple monitors in high definition from your graphics card – and TechRadar was at the top-secret launch event to test out whether it's merely a gimmick, or if it's really a game changer for the company.

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fyi

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Also reviewed at HardOCP:

AMD Next Generation ATI Radeon Eyefinity Technology

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Just a few snapshots to show you some of the capabilities of AMD's next generation Radeon Eyefinity graphics card doing what it looks like it will do best. Muti-monitor gaming is back from the dead...with a vengeance!

AMD Next-Gen GPU in Action

We spent a few hours with AMD today out in Sunnyvale, California looking at its next generation GPU. We can't tell you a lot about the video card since we are still bound by our Non-Disclosure Agreement until the product's launch date in a few weeks. However, AMD is allowing us to show you what is likely the most impressive feature this video card has to offer, besides the monster performance increase over current top end AMD GPU hardware. The demo system shown is utilizing ATI Radeon multi-monitor gaming technology.

What you are seeing below is a single air cooled AMD next-gen video card in a consumer ATX case powering six LCD displays. No tricks, no switches. Six 30" LCD panels with DisplayPort, and one "Evergreen" video card. This card is a future product that will likely be for sale around the holidays, but on launch day every card will support no less than 3 displays.

ATI Eyefinity Gaming

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Images at the Web Site.

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Location of the Demo:

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And:

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And:

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[Yossarian]

All this is for naught if the resolution on the textures on objects in the games isn’t very detailed. Otherwise you might just as well play on a projector system.

(With the obvious exception of 3-monitor “wrap-around” setups for racing and flying games....)

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So you don’t buy the demos?

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More detail...spearate thread:

Beginnings of the Holodeck: AMD's DX11 GPU, Eyefinity and 6 Display Outputs

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the HDTV list..

HDTV pings!

[Yossarian]

I'm sure the demos are really cool. And as someone who plays GranTurismo 5 on my PS3 (for a whopping two hours every three months), I _love_ the idea of wrap-around. BUT From a basic standpoint of graphic information, we're talking about:

• the resolution of the display area, which impacts how "jaggy" your vector-lines are, and
• the resolution of the textures, which, when put in the context in the 3-D environment, may have greater pixel density or lesser pixel density than the number of screen pixels it has to render itself into.

Multiple screens (and thus very high pixel counts) give you less jaggy lines, but I'm not sure how critical that is when rendering at 1080p or better anyways. If the textures are the same resolution as before - i.e. appear kind-of smeared-out and manufactured when the 3-D rendering puts the object close to you - then the more cost effective solution is to go with one high-res monitor that spreads the display over a large area. (For example, a projector or a big-screen HDTV. I use the latter on my PS3 for GranTurismo 5.)

However, once the game publishers crack the whip on their artists, and come out with games needing Blu-Ray or even multiple Blu-Ray to distribute the graphics textures, then Katy, bar the door! THEN we start to enter a new phase of gaming, and head deep into Virtual Reality.

[DoughtyOne]

We used a projection television a while back, shooting the video on to the wall. Even at the 720p resolution, it was an amazing experience. I liked the way it handled HD and the old full screen so well. It got me to thinking about split screen technology. That’s why I’m glad to see something like this, even if I wouldn’t take advantage of it in the short term.

It does give you pause to reflect on what six feeds to different HD projectors could put out. You would come up with a massive HD screen probably as good or better than the old drive in screens.

Oh baby... ;-)

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See the link at #9....resolution gets some discussion there...

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I always tried to get up close to those old drivin screens...unless I wanted some privacy with ...well you know.

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See link at #9 for more detail..

[Moonman62]

The horizontal and vertical lines where the monitors meet are eyecatching. Does it play Tic-Tac-Toe?

[BreezyDog]

Yes...that’s what i have a problem with, the lines. Why not just get a big fat monitor? I’m typing on a 26” 1080p right now and its kind of huge. And when I want to fire up the XBOX or the PS3 on the 40” I just put this lil ole 26” source on TV and watch whatever in HD...God knows I have some mega watts pumping through this house...

[Squantos]

Run 2 tall monitors an 1 wide now on my work desktop. Love that configuration.

At home I use 1 wide screen leaving multiple windows open so information overload is the norm.......:o)

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Using compiz yet?

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More:

New AMD Graphics Card Drives Six Displays - coming....