Samsung and ATI team on SyncMaster MD230 mega-displays for wide-eyed gamers
When it comes to gaming, it's hard to overdo it on the display front. Sure, Samsung and ATI have given it their best shot with the new SyncMaster MD230 displays powered by ATI's updated Eyefinity6 tech, but somehow we'll still be hungry for more by the time next year rolls around. Still, the MD230 is pretty wild, with six-screen or three-screen configurations retailing for $3,099 and $1,899 respectively, with each screen running at 2560 x 1600 for a total of 12x the resolution of 1080p across the six displays in total. It obviously takes a brand new ATI card to accomplish this (and a little help from that beefy DisplayPort plug), but we're sure if you're willing to drop $3,099 on your display, you can scrounge up the cash for the GPU. The displays should start shipping early this year.





























I.......must...... resist......
@Sarcasme
looks damn sexy but the bezels are sure to be in the way
@Gi
The bezel is actually really slim compared to most though
@Sarcasme i resist easily since im building a 120hz 3set monitors rig and this doesnt have 120hz! or does it?
@doutorpiranha I was resisting the "first" comment urge
@Peytral
It is actually quite simple: Those bezels will have to go before this actually looks good. :)
@Sarcasme All I've got to say is get a TV or a Projector. And then get a room!
Now it only needs a rear-view mirror
I don't understand how people don't find the gaps between the screens really annoying...
@E71 I think the problem here is that they used an even number of displays. If you use an odd number of displays, then you have a center view and then periphery monitors. So if your playing a first person shooter on this thing, your aim cursor is going to be split between two monitors with a giant black bar separating the two. Personally, I think it isn't wise to buy these systems if they use more than 3 monitors. 3 is really all you need.
@ddhboy ^^ This.
3 displays is heaven. 2 or 6 or any even number suffer from UI issues as the displays bezels chop the information.
@E71
It's okay when you have a central display. I'm running 3 19" LCDs at work because I can't get anything bigger. I've got a 24" at home which is nicer in some ways, but in other ways I like the 3 better. Just don't spread stuff across them. I do entourage in the right screen, most web stuff on the left, and terminals and text editors and such in the middle.
@E71
If you're immersed in the game, the bezels just sort of fade away.
But we do need thinner bezels.
is the altimeter split in two because of the bezels? :\
@indeed
Yes, it's broken because 6 displays causes a break at the center, as 2 displays would on the vertical.
As ddhboy said above, you need an odd-number of displays to avoid this problem. So, yeah, 6 is worthless for any game that displays an unmovable UI.
needs to be 3 high so the center reticle/text isn't broken by bezel. lame. (because I could so afford it in the first place)
7680x3200.. I take it there was a Rolls-Royce Trent 900 jet engine from an Airbus A380 sitting out back to cool the damn thing running at that resolution.
*Crysis comment incoming*
holy cow... what bank I need to rob to get this???
THIS is a case of bad bezels.
Why not get a 60 inc hdtv and use it as a monitor?
@Spoony
I don't know, maybe because you'd have 1920x1080 resolution instead of 7680x3000?
@Dreamwell good luck finding a game that runs Nativity at that resolution
@swarley178
itll take all of 10 seconds to edit the files necessary to get the vast majority of games running at any res you want.
@fel im guessing they think console gaming rules apply to pc gaming :/
Even vs odd nr of displays??? Hmm.. I kinda agree...
How about just 1 big screen instead of 6 smaller ones?
@Iswede
It's about the pixels, not the size. :)
3x 22" displays give a resolution of 5040x1050.
You can't possibly get that resolution from one big display.
What game would that be?
@trumper Nevermind. Looks like HAWX.
so ok you spend 3 grand for 6 monitors... minus the fact you need s a new GFX card
OR
2.5 grand for a 52 inch Samsung and get the same results with out bezels?
Hum...
@DeFlanko and then you have a fraction of the screen resolution for non-gaming tasks. I'm just thinking how great programming would be on this.
@DeFlanko
A 52in samsung is 1920x1080 = 2MP
These 6 screens together are 7680x3200 = 24.5MP
They are not even in the same league, one of those screens has twice the resolution as the TV.
Why don't they offer a version using three 1920x1200 monitors that normal people can afford? I already use three 1920x1200 monitors but the three stands take up desk space and the bezels are too thick. I think there's a fairly big market for this sort of thing but not at these prices.
I would like to see them try 6 projectors...
@Murkurie O.O yes please!
I guess after all of the money you spend on the monitors, it's understandable that he couldn't afford a keyboard made in this century.
@LAY
Hey, the Model M is the best keyboard!
The pricing for this setup is actually pretty great. 6 - 30" displays for $3099 = $516.66 each.
Even 3 @ $1900 = $633.33 each.
A single 30" Samsung monitor at Amazon runs ~$1200.
That is, assuming these are 30" monitors, as I don't believe the article mentions the size, only the resolution (and presently, I don't think anything but a 30" monitor hits 2560x1600).
@Dreamwell I'd like to find out the monitor size as well!
@Dreamwell
I believe these are 22" monitors, look at the keyboard and mouse and compare size...
@kwisatzca But look at that crazy resolution? Haven't seen a 22" with that resolution.
@Dreamwell
To run a game on it at those resolution you need 3 of the best graphics card on the market though, one won't cut it, and a 1500W PSU of course.
And you have to get ATI drivers to work, and lots of tranquilizers to calm you down while trying.
They should make a system were secondary monitors run at lower res, or at least the GPU calculates the stuff at a lower res then scales it to the monitor, itt doesn't have your focus anyway, and perhaps they can make a sensor to check what screen you look at and have that calculated at full res and the non-focused ones calc at low res then simply upscale, that way you'd get a wide view at good framerates.
But for that to happen we'll have to wait for apple to make a console I guess.
Incidentally: BREAKING NEWS: possible apple console rumored on engadget in comments section.
Just in time for the shrinking selection of PC games..
@Maeztro
Wait, so how is the selection of PC games shrinking? Are They phasing out and recalling all the games made before, oh say, 2007?
@JadeMatrix
Oh yeah. This set up is really geared to those gamers looking to play the top hits from 2005. I've been PC gaming for over 25 years and if you think the selection has not been shrinking you are nuts.
What's annoying is that many of the PC games are so clearly designed for consoles now and the PC version is an afterthought.
I played with this thing on the show floor. Once the screens are in your peripheral vision, the effect is better than the 3D sets on display. Could we get this in a 3D version? Please? (have a barf bag ready!)
AWE-SOME !
I like the '90s Dell keyboard, who cares about the display ;)
What a stupid idea. What ever happened to using just a regular tv. Well, one tv anyway.
I really don't see many people buying this six display tv system.