Any way to disable missile particle effects?

[~SJ~ Xarg Talasko]

I'm using a 5850 for eyefinity, 3x 19" monitors. A 5870 would be better, but there are 2 editions of it, the 3 monitor edition, and the 6 monitor edition. Unless you wanna fork out a lot of money for 6 displayport monitors, and want a grunty card, I'd pick a 5870 3 monitor edition, or 5850 if you don't mind lower settings, as the 5850 is quite a bit cheaper. A 5770 should be enough for basics though.

[alanwescoat]

Okay, let's say that I bought the 5770 and also had the money for two more displays.  Then I run Crysis with all three monitors at lowest details and 1600 x 900 resolution (actually 4800 x 900).  Can I expect a good framerate?  I'm running Windows 7 with an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83Ghz, 4GB DDR2 (PC2-5300).  I'm not sure if it matters for games, but I'm also using a SanDisk Cruzer as dedicated paging with ReadyBoost, and the HDDs it will be running from are Seagate Barracudas arrayed as RAID 0.  While I would love to have the high details, I'm not rich so I have had to build my system slowly, and I want to hang onto this system for a few more years if possible.  Actually, at this point, I'm not sure I can swing the 5770 in the next couple of months.  Anyway, the real benefit I see to EyeFinity is a dramatic increase on the prephery, the lack of which I think is the second-worst part of FPS gaming. 

In case you're wondering what I think the wost thing is, it's the lack of interface options.  I used to game a lot back in the '90's, and there was a plethora of options, and all of them could easily be configured for each particular game.  These days, it seems like PC gamers are expected to use nothing but a mouse and keyboard as though that's just the natural way to interface with a virtual environment.  I don't hear console gamers clamoring for a mouse and keyboard, though I must admit that the gamepad appears to be the worst interface ever devised.

Anyway, I would love to hear what people's opinions would be about the framerate at the stated settings on my system.

[~SJ~ Xarg Talasko]

One of the monitors MUST (not should, MUST) be a DisplayPort monitor, can't get around that, they're a bit more expensive than a standard monitor. I'm running 3 19" monitors at 1440x900 each, for a total resolution of 4320x900, in DirectX 10 (9 crashes too much for me), with CCC Pack level 1 (which is low-medium, altered via a config file to produce similar graphics with a higher frame rate), and usually get 150 fps in the spawn room, 80ish fps in the mech hangars, and between 30 and 70 fps running around in game (dependant on what is happening).

Using a Core2Duo 2.53ghz, with 3gb RAm (same speed as yours I think). You should be able to run in 4800x900 with medium settings at acceptable fps, maybe even high, but I would suggest using the CCC Pack instead of the ingame graphics presets.

You might want to check if your DisplayPort monitor comes with a DisplayPort cable (mine didn't), and plan ahead, otherwise you will end up with an expensive desk ornament until you can get the cable. If you haven't heard of the CCC Pack before, there are links around the tech forum here somewhere to it, though hopefully some kind person will put the link in here.

[alanwescoat]

 ~SJ~ Xarg, thanks for the input.  I have a slightly faster CPU and more RAM so I probably should get acceptable framrates at medium, which is good news.  As for the DisplayPort issue, according to the AMD/ATI website, the DisplayPort issue can be overcome with an active adapter.  Unless I'm mistaken, two monitors can be connected through DVI or HDMI (with a limit of exactly one HDMI) and then further monitors can be connected via DisplayPort.  Apparently, the DisplayPort can be adapted provided that the adapter is active rather than passive.  I'll have to do more research to verify that this is the case.  ATI has a list of verified adapters on their EyeFinity page.  I'm using an LG 27" Full HD TV/monitor, and I would much rather purchase two more monitors of the same type rather than three new monitors.

[~SJ~ Xarg Talasko]

Ah, that's quite a large screen. I know that at lower sizes, like 17-24", a normal monitor plus an adaptor is the same price as a DP monitor, not sure about the 27" bracket though, in that regard you're on your own, though you should be able to find a solution that doesn't involve mortgaging your house.