Matrox Triplehead2go

Mine arrived yesterday. It is designed with 3 standard monitors in mind but I am using it with a widescreen centre monitor which scales quite acceptably at 1280x1024 giving a total res of 3840x1024. With 2x 7800GTs in SLI GTL copes remarkably well, as does NKPro. It will also run at 3072x768 and 2400x600 though my widescreen centre monitor looks a bit jaggy at 800x600. I have always liked 3 screen setups and now it is possible with a single PC with any high end graphics card config. Works great for racing sims IMHO. http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen1.jpg http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen2.jpg http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen3.jpg http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen4.jpg http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/nkpro_screen1.jpg Cheers Tony

"Tony Rickard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:Q15eg.76870$[email hidden]...

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> Mine arrived yesterday. > > It is designed with 3 standard monitors in mind but I am using it with a > widescreen centre monitor which scales quite acceptably at 1280x1024 > giving a total res of 3840x1024. With 2x 7800GTs in SLI GTL copes > remarkably well, as does NKPro. It will also run at 3072x768 and 2400x600 > though my widescreen centre monitor looks a bit jaggy at 800x600. > > I have always liked 3 screen setups and now it is possible with a single > PC with any high end graphics card config. > > Works great for racing sims IMHO. > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen1.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen2.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen3.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen4.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/nkpro_screen1.jpg > > Cheers > Tony

Where did you buy yours from? I'm thinking of doing a setup with my 21 inches CRT monitor in the center and i would buy two 19 inches lcds for the sides. The only problem is my graphic card. I only have a 6800XT at the moment and i would need at least to buy another one to SLI them. Or i could just buy a 50" DLP television and connect my computer to it...

[email hidden] (Tony Rickard) wrote: > I have always liked 3 screen setups and now it is possible with a > single PC with any high end graphics card config. I was very excited by this at first... finally an excuse to buy an SLI setup capable of driving lots of pixels. Then I saw the price of the triplehead and woke up. :-) I guess it's not too bad compared to the price of 3 monitors and a (pair of) really fast vid card(s), but I just can't swallow that price. Hopefully it'll inspire some cheaper competition though. Andrew McP

Andrew MacPherson wrote:

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> [email hidden] (Tony Rickard) wrote: > >> I have always liked 3 screen setups and now it is possible with a >> single PC with any high end graphics card config. > > I was very excited by this at first... finally an excuse to buy an SLI > setup capable of driving lots of pixels. Then I saw the price of the > triplehead and woke up. :-)

The only previous alternative was multi PCs or a triplehead card like the Parhelia (still at premium prices). What this does is mate to your nvidia or ATI card so you are not locked into a specialist card that isn't ideal for gaming. > I guess it's not too bad compared to the price of 3 monitors and a (pair > of) really fast vid card(s), but I just can't swallow that price. > Hopefully it'll inspire some cheaper competition though. Compared with a 30" widescreen it isn't a bad solution :) Cheers Tony

Bob Loblaw wrote:

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>> http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen1.jpg > Where did you buy yours from? I'm thinking of doing a setup with my 21 > inches CRT monitor in the center and i would buy two 19 inches lcds for the > sides. The only problem is my graphic card. I only have a 6800XT at the > moment and i would need at least to buy another one to SLI them. Or i could > just buy a 50" DLP television and connect my computer to it...

Direct from the Matrox online shop. Sounds a perfect setup. The centre screen can be set to be your windows desktop and the outer screens set to lose the top and bottom cm or two to match up with the bigger centre monitor. Then you won't have to mess with setting it up for Windows and sim racing every time. It will be a lot cheaper than a 50" TV although you might just want one of those anyway :) The TV won't give you 3840 x 1024 though. Cheers Tony

[email hidden] (Tony Rickard) wrote: > What this does is mate to your > nvidia or ATI card You've reminded me of the other problem. I prefer to buy ATI these days (a more political than practical decision, I admit) and the Triplehead has some nasty limitations with ATI cards for some reason. Andrew McP

Andrew MacPherson wrote:

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> [email hidden] (Tony Rickard) wrote: > >> What this does is mate to your >> nvidia or ATI card > > You've reminded me of the other problem. I prefer to buy ATI these days > (a more political than practical decision, I admit) and the Triplehead > has some nasty limitations with ATI cards for some reason.

Yes, ATI seems limited to 2400x800 with the Th2go (I think it is because the X1xxxx cards are limited to 2560x1600 and the TH2Go works on combinations of 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1200). Plus no support currently for Crossfire So nvidia cards are better supported as they can go right up to 3840x1200. Still a huge improvement over the Parhelia but you are right, ATI owners should take note and look at the compatibility table here before deciding: http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/support/th2go/compatibility.cfm Cheers Tony

Tony Rickard wrote:

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> Yes, ATI seems limited to 2400x800 with the Th2go (I think it is because > the X1xxxx cards are limited to 2560x1600 and the TH2Go works on > combinations of 800x600, 1024x768 and 1280x1200). Plus no support > currently for Crossfire > > So nvidia cards are better supported as they can go right up to 3840x1200. > > Still a huge improvement over the Parhelia but you are right, ATI owners > should take note and look at the compatibility table here before deciding: > > http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/support/th2go/compatibility.cfm

Anyone else using this? I really am very impressed and considering that 19" CRTs are being dumped by corporates a cheaper alternative than large widescreen LCDs. Cheers Tony

I am thinking of getting the TripleHead also. What fps are you getting in GTL at what in-game details settings? Do you use rfactor - if so, what fps are you getting there at what in-game details settings? What is the speed of your processor? Thanks! Tony Rickard wrote:

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> Mine arrived yesterday. > > It is designed with 3 standard monitors in mind but I am using it with a > widescreen centre monitor which scales quite acceptably at 1280x1024 > giving a total res of 3840x1024. With 2x 7800GTs in SLI GTL copes > remarkably well, as does NKPro. It will also run at 3072x768 and > 2400x600 though my widescreen centre monitor looks a bit jaggy at 800x600. > > I have always liked 3 screen setups and now it is possible with a single > PC with any high end graphics card config. > > Works great for racing sims IMHO. > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen1.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen2.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen3.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/gtl_screen4.jpg > > http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/nkpro_screen1.jpg > > Cheers > Tony

[email hidden] wrote: > I am thinking of getting the TripleHead also. What fps are you getting > in GTL at what in-game details settings? Do you use rfactor - if so, > what fps are you getting there at what in-game details settings? What > is the speed of your processor? Thanks! AMD64 4000 with 1Gb RAM. 40+ FPS in GTL with pretty much everything maxed except shadows at medium & 3840x1024. I will check with rfactor. I was surprised as the jump from 1920x1200 to 3840x1024 had a relatively small impact on FPS, knocking shadows down from high to medium and reducing the AI from 20 to 12 seems to have got me back to close to the FPS I was getting. SLI doesn't seem to do much for GTL at more normal resolutions but I believe is helping out a lot at the higher ones. Not tried disabling a card to find out yet. Cheers Tony

Does it make you faster with a wide angle? Do you have a TrackIR with that setup? Mitch "Tony Rickard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:cECjg.85397$[email hidden]...

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> [email hidden] wrote: >> I am thinking of getting the TripleHead also. What fps are you getting >> in GTL at what in-game details settings? Do you use rfactor - if so, >> what fps are you getting there at what in-game details settings? What >> is the speed of your processor? Thanks! > > AMD64 4000 with 1Gb RAM. > > 40+ FPS in GTL with pretty much everything maxed except shadows at medium > & 3840x1024. I will check with rfactor. > > I was surprised as the jump from 1920x1200 to 3840x1024 had a relatively > small impact on FPS, knocking shadows down from high to medium and > reducing the AI from 20 to 12 seems to have got me back to close to the > FPS I was getting. SLI doesn't seem to do much for GTL at more normal > resolutions but I believe is helping out a lot at the higher ones. Not > tried disabling a card to find out yet. > > Cheers > Tony

Mitch_ A wrote: > Does it make you faster with a wide angle? Do you have a TrackIR with > that setup? Not faster but safer side by side :) http://www.baldrick.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/TonyBazKeith.jpg I was on the left - we never touched, honest guv :) I don't think I could cope with TrackIR - I can't cope with look left & right buttons - I need to have a straight ahead view available to me at all time methinks Cheers Tony

Tony Rickard wrote:

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> [email hidden] wrote: >> I am thinking of getting the TripleHead also. What fps are you getting >> in GTL at what in-game details settings? Do you use rfactor - if so, >> what fps are you getting there at what in-game details settings? What >> is the speed of your processor? Thanks! > > AMD64 4000 with 1Gb RAM. > > 40+ FPS in GTL with pretty much everything maxed except shadows at > medium & 3840x1024. I will check with rfactor. > > I was surprised as the jump from 1920x1200 to 3840x1024 had a relatively > small impact on FPS, knocking shadows down from high to medium and > reducing the AI from 20 to 12 seems to have got me back to close to the > FPS I was getting. SLI doesn't seem to do much for GTL at more normal > resolutions but I believe is helping out a lot at the higher ones. Not > tried disabling a card to find out yet.

I take it back a bit - just checked & I am running GTL at 3072 x 768 to get these frame rates. Upping to 3840x1024 and it does significantly drop - guess I must have fiddled around with different settings I forgot what I ended up with! rFactor menus are a slide show but again running at 3072x1024 the racing is in the 40s, though it feels a bit slower than GTL (usually the other way around) - could be I haven't got the optimum SLI profile as I haven't played rFactor since swapping graphics cards. Cheers Tony

Im jealous :) I was just throwing around some numbers and I have another question Tony. Im considering a Dell 24" 16X10 ($610) and 2 19" NECs 4:3.($120ea) This for less than I purchased my first 20" CRT for back in 92'. Anyway I was curious if the Triplehead will be able to pump so many pixels at 5120X1200 res? I'd hoped to get by for a bit longer with my older [email hidden] (runs great) but unless that Matrox can pump some major pixels I may rethink the whole deal and consider an intel Core Duo and the Dell 24"er first then go the Triplehead/Nec's route later, if at all... Mitch -- "Don't pee on my leg then tell me it's raining" "Tony Rickard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8_kkg.86719$[email hidden]... > Tony Rickard wrote: >> [email hidden] wrote: > rFactor menus are a slide show but again running at 3072x1024 the racing > is in the 40s, though it feels a bit slower than GTL (usually the other > way around) - could be I haven't got the optimum SLI profile as I haven't > played rFactor since swapping graphics cards. > > Cheers > Tony >

Mitch_ A wrote:

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> Im jealous :) > > I was just throwing around some numbers and I have another question > Tony. Im considering a Dell 24" 16X10 ($610) and 2 19" NECs > 4:3.($120ea) This for less than I purchased my first 20" CRT for back > in 92'. Anyway I was curious if the Triplehead will be able to pump so > many pixels at 5120X1200 res? I'd hoped to get by for a bit longer with > my older [email hidden] (runs great) but unless that Matrox can pump some > major pixels I may rethink the whole deal and consider an intel Core Duo > and the Dell 24"er first then go the Triplehead/Nec's route later, if at > all...

No the max is 3840x1024 with nvidia, less with ATI as the limitation is what the graphics card(s) can chuck out - have a look here: http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/support/th2go/compatibility.cfm However, there are some more wide screen resolutions added - 3840x720 and 3840x768 which may better suit the aspect ratio you are looking for. http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/support/th2go/tmet.cfm Hope this helps Cheers Tony

"Tony Rickard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > AMD64 4000 with 1Gb RAM. > > > > 40+ FPS in GTL with pretty much everything maxed except shadows at > > medium & 3840x1024. I will check with rfactor. > >You're SLI'ing with GF7800's right? M.

I wonder how it would look at non standard resolutions. I wasnt happy running my 17" at any res other than the native but as you get higher I guess it would become less of an issue. Mitch -- "Don't pee on my leg then tell me it's raining" "Tony Rickard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:lFskg.86826$[email hidden]... > No the max is 3840x1024 with nvidia, less with ATI as the limitation is > what the graphics card(s) can chuck out - have a look here: > > http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/support/th2go/compatibility.cfm > > However, there are some more wide screen resolutions added - 3840x720 and > 3840x768 which may better suit the aspect ratio you are looking for. > > http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/support/th2go/tmet.cfm > > Hope this helps > > Cheers > Tony

M. wrote:

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> "Tony Rickard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > >>> AMD64 4000 with 1Gb RAM. >>> >>> 40+ FPS in GTL with pretty much everything maxed except shadows at >>> medium & 3840x1024. I will check with rfactor. >>> > You're SLI'ing with GF7800's right?

Correct. Note 3072x768 not what I originally thought. Cheers Tony