The refresh rate won't make any difference other than keeping the card at higher clocks on the desktop. The resolution is what is going to cause your fps to tank the most.

More powerful cards. More cards. Lower settings to match.

Each time you add a monitor, it is going to double the resolution. Three means triple the resolution of course. So, to push that, you will need more power in the form of GPU's. The more powerful you can afford, the higher the fps will be as well as the higher the settings can be.

Ok thanks for the info guys, I was thinking of trying to do a surround gaming setup but that might be a little bit out of my price range.

Well let me ask this with me running the 970 would I be better of just getting a 60hz monitor like the BenQ RL2455HM , or would u go ahead and get the 144hz

Let me give you some reference numbers. I'm running 2 980 Ti HYBRIDS OC'd with an old 2600k, and I'm only getting 80-90 fps in BF4 on ultra. In order for you to hit 120 or 144 fps in surround, you'll have to drastically lower your settings, not to mention the new CPU and motherboard you'll need. I thought about the same thing you're trying to do and I settled on a 60Hz, possibly curved, extra wide 21:9 IPS or WQHD monitor with g-sync when one comes out. When you go above 1080p, it's very hard to keep framerate in the triple digits without some serious compromises.

COL-KNIGHT
I'm sorry for being such a noob at this but for someone like me that builds his own gaming rigs I'm so amazed at what all I still don't know or Evan understand. Thanks for all of ur help

Absolutely no problem, I can tell you I've been in the exact position you were.  That's what these forums are for, ask anything you want.

Zuhl3156

JerkMan
That's what these forums are for, ask anything you want.

Anything? OK, I gotta know if girls really have cooties. I've always wondered about this since my friends warned me about it when I was in the first grade.

Lol. While you're here, I saw your post about g-sync in the other thread. Hype, you said?

U guys are crazy. Lol getting back to the topic at hand if I'm running my 60 hz panel that I have now with the 970 that could mess up my gaming due to over power of the monitor if I understand everything right..

Also if u see some weird txt in my post it because I'm using my phone

COL-KNIGHT
U guys are crazy. Lol getting back to the topic at hand if I'm running my 60 hz panel that I have now with the 970 that could mess up my gaming due to over power of the monitor if I understand everything right..

Also if u see some weird txt in my post it because I'm using my phone

No. Your 970 is perfect for 1080p @ 60Hz. A higher refresh rate monitor would look smoother, but there's nothing wrong with your current setup. 
 
EDIT: Ok, I misunderstood. Yes, you'll get some screen tearing, but only you can determine if you can live with it. The 60Hz monitor won't lower fps.

The ASUS is down to $249.99 plus a $15 Promo code. I paid $277.99 in April of 2013: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236313
 

Scarlet-Tech

bsmegreg
The more important thing is 144mhz which is 144fps max, which you would never reach on a game without a 980/980TI SLI, except for CS:GO. I remember getting 120fps in games with a 970 SLI which is amazing, but it's not reaching the limits of 144mhz. The 3 times resolution only applies if you are using all three monitors to game. If you are only using the center monitor to game then you would see similar results to as if you only had one monitor.

Why even install three monitors and ask if a 970 "could run all three for a fps setup" (meaning surround), if you only plan on using one monitor? Doesn't make much sense. If your only using one monitor, then resolution obviously would change, but the question, will a 970 run a single 1080p 144hz monitor wasn't asked. 1080p is easy to push way past 144hz as long as resolution scaling and dsr isn't set to max. With sli, it becomes even easier.

Didn't know he was looking for a surround setup. What I was trying to say is that with a GTX 970 going over 100fps is rare. So maybe a better GPU or SLI would make more use of a 144mhz monitor. So why would he buy a 144mhz monitor when he generally get 50-100fps. Wouldn't it be better to get the 120mhz and save some money?

Some more info on the tearing - anytime that you don't run with VSYNC, you can have tearing. Tearing doesn't occur exclusively above the refresh rate. It also occurs below it. Different people notice it more than others. However, VSYNC also introduces input lag. I hardly notice the lag, however, so I'm not as sensitive to that. So I currently run VSYNC @ 60hz to avoid tearing, and I set my game settings so that I rarely if ever dip below 60.
 
So, you have to choose between tearing and input lag when it comes to VSYNC on or off, and that's going to depend on what you're sensitive to. If you're sensitive to both, and/or you want higher refresh rates without these issues, that's where adaptive refresh rate (G-Sync, FreeSync) comes into play.
 
This wasn't part of the OP's original question, but it did come up in discussion which is why I'm addressing it.

What I don't understand is when I bought my almost 400 dollar card it was the best thing since sliced bread. And this was in the last 6 months. Now u guys act like it a card u buy at Walmart on the clearance rack lol

jasonkresge

JerkMan

Doesn't VSYNC also cause micro-stuttering? (I don't use VSYNC)

I can't say definitively. For example, we have a user here who keeps saying that tearing doesn't occur based solely on their personal experience. I will say that in the past decade of using GPUs, I've experienced micro-stutter on precisely one game, which turned out to be one of the games that required AMD's dual-core optimizer patch (NFS:MW 2005 on an AMD 64 x2 3800). That patch fixed the problem.
 
Additionally, I don't use SLI, which is more prone to micro-stutter. So basically, I have never personally experienced micro-stutter due to using VSYNC. Doesn't mean it's not there, just that I can't perceive it.

Very good point. I notice it even without VSYNC, but it doesn't bother me.

COL-KNIGHT
What I don't understand is when I bought my almost 400 dollar card it was the best thing since sliced bread. And this was in the last 6 months. Now u guys act like it a card u buy at Walmart on the clearance rack lol

Such is technology my friend. But seriously, it's still a great car. The 980 Ti is just that much better.

COL-KNIGHT
What I don't understand is when I bought my almost 400 dollar card it was the best thing since sliced bread. And this was in the last 6 months. Now u guys act like it a card u buy at Walmart on the clearance rack lol

 LOL! Welcome to the world of bleeding edge tech. That's why I never buy top of the line cards upon first release. I think at this stage, monitor awesome just happens to be ahead of video card awesome. You can get high resolution, high refresh rate or affordability. Pick two.