Triple monitor Eyefinity setup, what's the best affordable setup

[CalcProgrammer1]

I'm looking to get an Eyefinity setup for my 5870. I'm contemplating buying two more of the monitor I have now or buying 3 new ones. Either way I'll have to buy a DisplayPort adapter (either VGA or active Dual-Link DVI). I want to buy fairly cheap monitors (under $150 if possible) and I'm looking around 20-22".

The monitor I have now:

HP w2007 20" LCD
1680x1050
DVI, VGA, onboard speakers
Glossy screen with 1000:1 contrast ratio

Overall I really think this is a good monitor, but it's a few years old and getting more would likely mean buying refurbished ones. I love the glossy screen on mine, it really enhances the color and gives a very nice picture, but the 1680x1050 resolution is a bit low for today's standards.

Today I found these Dell monitors and it was mentioned that they will be $139.99 later this week. They are 21.5", 1920x1080, have DVI, VGA, and HDMI inputs, have audio in and out (no speakers), and look pretty nice. The only problem for me is that they are anti-glare screens and not glossy screens. Does anyone have any experience with these or monitors like these, or have a similarly priced alternative?

Dell ST2210 21.5? Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

As far as integrated speakers, I would like to have them but they aren't a necessity. I have a 2.1 speaker system that I use for gaming, though I do hook up the internal ones on my current monitor for listening to YouTube clips if I don't need big sound.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Ended up getting the Dell monitors. They came today and the setup looks incredible, only problem is I don't have a DisplayPort adapter so I can't use 3 at once yet, though with the onboard VGA the picture seems to be very clear, no noticeable difference between DVI and VGA surprisingly, so I will probably just go with a DP to VGA adapter for $20.

The only issue is one of the monitors has a dark wavy line pattern if you look at it from the top, I think it is a defective layer behind the LCD panel (probably the diffuser or polarizing layers behind the panel) and will see if Dell will replace the affected monitor. The other 2 look perfect.

 

[Akubane]

Hey cool! post a pic or two if you can ^_^
I'm looking to set up eyefinity when i get my new gear (eventually ; and choosing monitors is the hardest part lol.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I can't run games on it yet since I don't have all 3 screens running, but I will post pictures after I charge my camera batteries. I hooked up the third screen to another PC so I could put an image on it and the setup looks very good.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Pictures!



I don't have my DisplayPort to VGA adapter yet so I can't enable the third monitor (I can enable 2 at a time, all 3 are detected but trying to enable all 3 gives an error). I ordered my adapter today so later this week I'll be running a full setup. In the first picture the left monitor is hooked to another PC.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

I just got my DisplayPort adapter:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Active DisplayPort to VGA Adaper 100916 DisplayPort Interface

It works great, all 3 monitors run at 1920x1080 just fine and there really isn't a noticeable difference between the VGA and DVI monitors other than I think the color looks a little deeper on the VGA connection. I used the color settings in the ATi drivers to balance them out and it looks great. Eyefinity gaming works smoothly on all the games I've tested except Crysis, but when I turned down some of the settings it was definitely playable.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the side monitors are distorted quite a bit, I wonder if there's a setting to change the distortion, it would be good for wrap-around style display setup (angling the side monitors toward the center a bit).

 

[S0ULphIRE]

lol, nice old school rig in the corner
Looks like a great setup

 

[Akubane]

Aw i love pictures! haha That's looking sweet man! 'grats on gettin' it all set up. Can't wait to get some screens to try it out ^_^ wont be for a long time though lol

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Finally got my replacement monitor and DisplayPort cable, whole setup is up and running. Left and center are on DVI, right is on DP-VGA adapter.

ATi can use profiles, so I set up a 3 individual monitors profile for normal use (can put 3 Firefox windows up at once)


And the Eyefinity profile, I was testing Oblivion with the setup.

 

[S0ULphIRE]

Indeed, and you were at the Waterfront by the looks