Matrox Triple Head to Go Digital questions

[b1lk1]

Is this the only way to get games to span across 2+ monitors? My brother-in-law is itching to put a setup like this together and I and doing some research for him. Anyone with experience with this stuff?

[enaberif]

Matrox is so you can make 2 screens into one large screen and have a crazy res of like 2048x1024.

Otherwise you can just run two monitors over DVI and have it span.

[b1lk1]

He is really looking for games to span across 3 monitors. Money is not the issue, I just want to be sure to get the technicalities correct before ordering anything.

[enaberif]

Yup that's the only way to do it.

And also beware that by doing this a lot of games may look funny as you'll be playing in a res that isn't standard.

[b1lk1]

OK, that is what a I needed to know. The other option is to span across 2 LCD's since he has a 24" right now or to just up it to three 19 or 20's. He has a very specific few RPG's he plays that he wants to do this with.

[CMetaphor]

hey b1lk1, you should probably check out my review of the TH2Go Digital Edition here: Matrox Triplehead2Go Digital Edition Review

It really is the only way to get games to span beyond 2 monitors and it looks simply AMAZING! Just be aware that you'll need a beefy video card to run at the highest resolutions, probably an Nvidia card because ATI is still have driver issues with 3x 1680x1050 and also note that SLI/Crossfire isn't offically supported yet (although it can work). Any other questions?

[b1lk1]

Originally Posted by CMetaphor

hey b1lk1, you should probably check out my review of the TH2Go Digital Edition here: Matrox Triplehead2Go Digital Edition Review

It really is the only way to get games to span beyond 2 monitors and it looks simply AMAZING! Just be aware that you'll need a beefy video card to run at the highest resolutions, probably an Nvidia card because ATI is still have driver issues with 3x 1680x1050 and also note that SLI/Crossfire isn't offically supported yet (although it can work). Any other questions?

I was going to go with either a 4870X2 or a single 280GTX. I am also considering using 4870 Crossfire, but I need to talk to him and see where he wants to go with this. I am not sure he wants to give up the 24" LCD so spanning 2 of them would probably accomplish what he wants as well. The only thing stopping me there is that with 3 I would bet you get a better view. He currently has a 2900XT, but with the games he plays I would almost guarantee that even a single 4870HD would be enough.

I will PM you with any more questions because I guarantee I will have some and I definitely need advice from someone with firsthand experience with this setup.

[CMetaphor]

Sounds good, let me know. But just remember that with two screens the center of your focus will the spot where the bezels of both monitors meet = unplayable in my opinion. But to each his/her own. Have fun!

Edit: I'd suggest a single GTX 280 over anything ATI for a TH2Go.

[b1lk1]

I believe that would be the dealbreaker for dual monitors.

[howdid]

no man
I have been using 3 x 22" MOnitors to play games for almost a year now withOUT the TH2G
search SoftTH by Kegetys
it uses software to do it

the Pros and Cons?

TH2G costs $400....but is easier to set up and need less knowledge in game tweaking, has support from Matrox (however, rather debatable how useful those are)
TH2G does NOT support 5040x1050 resolution OR higher for Any ATi Cards...the Best you can get out of ATI cards, yes including HD4870x2, is 3840x1040 i believe
TH2G has software that comes with it that helps you configure your in game resolution and Field of view etc
TH2G supports more games, such as GRID or GTA IV, but most games are supported by both TH2G and SoftTH

SoftTH needs alot of configurations and tricks to get it to work...you need to know how to change resolution, field of view, and some other configs in the game's registry files, but most game's configuration steps are posted by experienced people on their forum
SoftTH is does not get coorperative support..but hey, its free
SoftTH does not support Crossfire or SLi, and you get a hit on performance...b/c it uses software to render the side monitors all the pixels are rendered on your main graphics card
SoftTH needs more than one card to run b/c you need out puts right?...but the second card can be a crappy one like a HD2400 or 8400GS since they don't do any rendering

All in all
if you have the money and don't mind spending $400 on a TH2G then go ahead
but if you don't wanna over commit
try out SoftTH see if you like it