2560x1440? How much GPU horsepower?

[Skippman]

So I'm looking to get a new monitor and thing I'm finally going to get that new Dell 27" U2713. I'm just curious how much GPU horsepower you guys think I'll need to drive it's massive 2560x1440 resolution at playable frame rates? I'm currently running a Superclocked GTX 570 from eVGA. Would adding another card be sufficent or will I need a new card all together?

[vbironchef]

May I suggest that you try the video card you have and then make your decision from there. No need to buy something unless you really need it, right?

[Skippman]

True. I'm just wanting to make sure I can actually use the monitor once I get it. I'm going to wait for it to go on sale either way as $800 isn't cheap for a monitor.

[DragonFury]

if you are going to be using a mid range video card for get playing it at the resolution with playable frame rates. but does not mean it renders that video card useless, remember that our video cards and games looks at the ratio more then the resolution. a 16:10 game will have the same exact view whether you are at 1440 x 900 or the bigger 2560 x 1600, same applies to 4:3 and 16:9 ratio based monitors, if you stay within that ratio of any given monitor the view remains the same just the resolution changes.

[Skippman]

That's an acedemically correct but misleading statement. As you scale the picture up the resolution increases as does GPU demands. While maintaining the aspect ratio will keep the picture from stretching or skewing LCD monitors only have one native resolution. Running the display below this resolution causes image quality reduction. At best, I could optimize for a 2:1 pixel ratio as opposed to the 1:1 I'm using right now. That should help reduce GPU overhead but it won't change the fact that the image as displayed on the monitor will suffer because of running at a non native resolution.

[DragonFury]

Nevermind you didn't get the idea behind my post. I am currently running a 3 24" 5760 x 1080 resolution desktop and trust me I do know quite a bit about resolutions and how it impacts performance of our gpu's.

[Skippman]

Nevermind you didn't get the idea behind my post. I am currently running a 3 24" 5760 x 1080 resolution desktop and trust me I do know quite a bit about resolutions and how it impacts performance of our gpu's.

Then I must have misunderstood what you're trying to say. Please explain it as I'm genunily curious what you're trying to tell me and didn't mean to come across as a jerk. I was refering to loss of image quality by running at less than native resolutions on a monitor. You're talking performance which was my original question.

[egloeckle]

I know I am a bit late here, but I was out of town for a few weeks.

I run dual 2560x1600 screens, which is even more pixels than what you are looking for. Currently I am still on 2x 6950's which is working well. One drives each screen though I can (almost never do) enable crossfire if needed. I run almost every game I currently play at pretty much max settings and dont have any framerate issues. About the only issue I have is getting scooted up too close and missing things on the edges of the screen (its a real problem that has gotten me killed more than a few times...).

I believe from another thread you are running a 570 which should be just fine for that resolution. Just remember, you can only drive one dual link monitor per card (for most cards, something silly like a 690 can do 2), so if you plan on running a second screen I believe you will need a second card. I could be wrong, I havent tried to connect anything but my 30's to my machine in a couple of years.

The ratio comment by the other poster is correct, misleading at first glance, though I do see the point behind it. You can always drop down to a lower resolution keeping the aspect ratio correct and have a decent experience. However, coming from someone who has used high res monitors for years, you really wont want to. It sounds good in concept, but when you sit at a large screen while dropping the res (keeping the aspect) it just doesnt feel right.

After all that, my only other suggestion is if you are going to drop that kind of cash on a monitor anyway make sure you are getting the largest one you will want for quite some time. 27's are nice, but the price difference between them and a 30 is not that much (if you are in a position to drop that much on a screen anyway) and the 30's are slightly higher res yet. It really depends on your situation though, a 27 may fit your needs perfectly.