Widescreen Gaming Forum

So basically I've been very happy with my U2711 for quite some time now, must have had it for at least a year but like all things once you learn how to use it properly you start to get restrained. And now I find myself needing more real estate than even 2560x1440 can offer. Upgrading to 2560x1600 on a 30" panel doesn't seem worth the money and the obvious answer is more is better. My first thought was to add 17" wings, but after a quick call to Dell it seems they have discontinued the e1709 which would have been my best choice (given that it ran 1440x900) once rotated. I'm sure I could still find some but before I go through that hassle, I have to ask...

Is it currently possible, or will it be possible, to run eyefinity using mixed resolutions like this. Could I run a 17" on the left, 27" center, and 17" right for a total of 4360x1440 in eyefinity? If not then thats okay as really the only game I am playing right now is SWTOR which supports doing such madness anyway and the desktop workloads would still benefit from the added space as I could drag and drop documents and windows on each of the wings easily.

My alternative would be to buy 2 additional U2711s and run 3x1 eyefinity but due to cramped workspace I would have to run them all in portrait mode. This would be ideal for gaming as it wouldn't stretch my picture as much as having them all in the standard configuration, but I would be somewhat hesitant as it would take away from my ability to work with large photos on my center panel. That is not a large part of my daily duties but does anyone who has a setup with 3x1 portrait panels mind chiming in on that? Is it something you have been able to easily adjust to? Does the bezel really make it that annoying? The U2711 has an easy inch thick bezel, but they would all be wall mounted and I sit between 2-3 feet away (depending how far back my chair is reclined lol)

So what do you guys think? Assuming I could get the e1709 panels would that be a better route than portrait u2711s? Or would the lack of mixed resolution eyefinity support just make gaming a nightmare for a while? Would my other games be limited to just running windowed on my u2711 and using my other screens for chat windows or web browsers? Is there another alternative that I am missing?

Thanks for reading, hoping for some help :D

3x1 Portrait gives you a massive work space. And with a new stand you'd be able to quickly pull the middle monitor forward and turn it to landscape to do things that benefit landscape mode. It's something I have done often.

As well, adding 17"rs would be problematic. 17"rs are too tall in portrait mode and they use TN panels which will add an awful gamma shift. Though you can get them cheaply and as long as you're in the sweet spot, you should be okay. You can run games with a mixed resolution / mixed orientation setup with SoftTH, except at this point and time, it's restricted to DirectX9. There is a donation drive to get kegeys to update SoftTH to DX10 / 11, but on his end it's more of time constraints.

_________________
System Core: | Intel Core i5-2500K + ASUS P8Z68-V + 16GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333 MHz | Win7 x64 | MSI R7970 Lightning 3GB [1105/1400] |
Display: | 3 x Dell Ultrasharp 3007WFP-HC @ 7680x1600 | Dell u3011 |