Since the launch of the ATI Radeon 5xxx series there has been a renewed enthusiasm for multi-monitor setups of three or even six monitors sprawling across the desk. A few obvious problems with such setups are that they require the use of multiple power adaptors (one per monitor), are expensive and perhaps worst of all will often have a distracting bezel edge and maybe even a slight gap between the monitors as they shift apart. We reported a while back about a 43-inch Curved monitor (CRVD) from a company called Ostendo. It was effectively three PC monitors in one prohibitively expensive package.
Samsung have now launched two new Eyefinity displays; the MD230X3 and the MD230X6. The MD230X3 is essentially three cPVA panels side by side in one package, offering an impressive but highly demanding resolution of 5760×1080. The MD230X6 adds another layer to the mix and offers a 6-monitor setup in one package and an insane resource-sapping resolution of 5760×2160. Remember those problems we were talking about with the distracting bezels and multiple power packs? The Samsung MD230 series of computer monitors have a bezel that is very thin indeed and should not be too distracting – and the whole thing is powered by one power pack. We can’t say that the price should attract too many people; at around £1500 for the X3 and just over £3000 for the X6 these are serious bits of kit. We also have our reservations about how responsive the gaming experience will be considering the insanely high resolution and the potential ghosting of the cPVA panels (check out the PC Monitors F2380 review to see what we mean).
Update: We have added a mention of the MD230 in our future monitors article in the context of curved or ridiculously wide high-res displays. We really do like the idea and hope it will catch on, but also think that the price and resolution are holding them back from the mainstream.
Samsung MD230 Eyefinity monitors
