More then 2 monitors

[SlayerX]

I'm looking for any update on this, any search i found is about 2yrs old (unless i missed one). I want to know how I can do about having 3 monitor setup and not take any performance hits. I 3-5box and would like more flexabilty on what I can see while playing. For example if I were to 3 box each char would have its own screen. Or if i 5 box one screen is full, the other is 4 split and the 3rd is internet.

Do i just use the two dvi ports and an hdmi port or do I need a 2nd card?
Sorry the last computer i built just before wrath came out so I'm behind on info. I know back then ppl were talking about performance hits with more then two screens and SLi/crossfire were just starting to come-out.


Also, random other question. Are i-7 still better off for 5 boxing or are i5's good enough nowadays?

Thanks in advance.

[confusedtx5]

Or if i 5 box one screen is full, the other is 4 split and the 3rd is internet.

This is what I do.
3-box, not sure since I haven't done it, but you might find with 1 monitor per toon, you'll get a sore neck depending on the size of your monitors.
When I 6-box, 2 screens are fullscreen, and 3rd screen is 4-split.

Do i just use the two dvi ports and an hdmi port or do I need a 2nd card?

Nvidia? You'll need a 2nd card. I think the 600 series allow for 3 monitors, but apart from that....ATI 5000 series and up allow for 3 or more monitors with the use of an active (mini)displayport adapter or 2.
Matrox triplehead2go is an option, but unlikely to be financially worth it, especially if you want a new graphics card anyway.
If you want the option of tri-screen (or surround) fps style gaming, then I would definitely say go with an ATI card. They're still way ahead of Nvidia's surround support.

I run 5 windows @ 2560x1600 with a single GTX580 1.5GB. Alts all turned to lowest settings, and main with view distance at max. Any more than that and I max out the graphics ram.
Don't go SLI/Xfire. wow barely benefits from it at all (sometimes getting worse).

i5's work, i7's work much better. Last I checked, the way to go was an i7 2600k (?). Extra ~$100 for the i7? worth it.

[Alge]

http://isboxer.com/wiki/GPU_Management

[SlayerX]

Ahh thank you both for the info. So ATi with display port if I want one card. Nvidia if I want to get two cards. Ok going to look into some cards at newegg and microcenter today. see what i can find. Thanks