Widescreen Gaming Forum

Several questions.

1.) Would an 8800GTS be enough to run most games on triplehead?

2.) Where is the cheapest place i could find it?

3.) Is it difficult/annoying to keep windows on one screen?

4.) How would you fare with non-triplehead games with a triplehead setup?

5.) Is it possible to run triplehead (NOT DUALHEAD) with only 2 monitors?

6.) What are some inexpensive monitors you would recommend?

7.) Lastly, is it REALLY worth it?

It depends on what you are tripleheading. If you're going 3-way 1900x1200 then you'll need SLI 8800 GTX to max everything out and keep the FPS up.

1. Yes, you may have to bump down to 3072x768 though without SLI. With my core2 e6600 at 3.2ghz and my 8800gts, 2 or 3 of my games won't run real well at 3840x1024 but I have yet to find any game that won't run well at 3072x768.

2. Newegg or something similar no doubt.

3. No. It comes with matrox software that allows you to choose which display you want to open your programs in.

4. Many games have native support for triplehead. You may run into FOV issues on some of them but there are many hacks out there for free at the link below which get around this.

http://www.tocaedit.com/forum/dload

5. No. The image is stretched across 3 screens and without a third screen you will be missing 1/3 of the display unless you run at the native resolution of a single monitor (1280x1024) which will display the desktop on the center display only.

6. I use Samsung 17" LCD's with a 6ms refresh. The smaller the bezzle the better.

7. I can never see going back to a single display. I use a 24" LCD at work and it is great but nowhere near the gaming capabilities of the triplehead. I would only suggest getting the triplehead if you are an avid gamer. If windows and apps are your thing then get a 24"-30" LCD for the same price as investing in a triplehead setup.

Also to clarify something that Cabezone said above, 1900x1200 x 3 is not a supported rez for the triplehead. Each monitor runs a native 1280x1024 and it is stretched across the 3 screens horizontally to give you 3840x1024 MAX rez. This is the absolute HIGHEST rez that the triplehead can support, so it makes no sense for you to go higher than a 19" monitor that has a native rez of 1280x1024 or you will not be running the native rez of your monitor in windows and your display quality will suffer. I also recommend against widescreen monitors as well because they distort the FOV. I am very happy with my 3 17" LCD's as I find they are the perfect balance between desk space, FOV, and image quality.

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Intel D975XBX2 'Bad Axe 2' | Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.20Ghz | 2 GB Super Talent DDR2 800 |
Big Typhoon VX | eVGA 8800GTS @ 565/900 | Seagate 2x320GB SATA RAID-0 |
OCZ GameXStream 700W | Creative X-Fi | Silverstone TJ-09BW | Matrox Triplehead Setup

Great reply. I will add that I run 3072x768 with a 7900GT and it suits me just fine. Some games require lowered graphics settings, but it's completely worth it. Triplehead gaming is amazing.

As for cheap monitors, the cheapest you can get will be CRT, especially relative to the screen size. I use 3 used P1100 21" Trinitron CRTs that I bought used from http://www.azatek.com. CRTs pretty much require that you run at 3072x768, though, because that is the only res available at refresh rates higher than 60 Hz. Of course, if you're going to use 3 big CRTs, you need a desk that can take the weight, and you need the space. You are almost certainly better off with 3 17" or 19" mid-range LCDs.

5. No. The image is stretched across 3 screens and without a third screen you will be missing 1/3 of the display unless you run at the native resolution of a single monitor (1280x1024) which will display the desktop on the center display only.

No, OBVIOUSLY you'll be missing 1/3rd of the screen. That's common sense.

The question is will it prevent you from actually RUNNING the TH2Go with 2 monitors up?

No it doesn't 'prevent' you from doing it, but I honestly don't know why you would want to do that with 1/3 of the desktop missing; either that or I am just not understanding what you are asking here. There is a reason why it's called the TRIPLEHEAD to go. If you want dual monitor support then just use both the dvi outputs on your card. Good luck.

No it doesn't 'prevent' you from doing it, but I honestly don't know why you would want to do that with 1/3 of the desktop missing; either that or I am just not understanding what you are asking here. There is a reason why it's called the TRIPLEHEAD to go. If you want dual monitor support then just use both the dvi outputs on your card. Good luck.

LOL i know that 1/3rd would be missing, i'm just curious if it's possible.

For one reason, because i could use DH2Go instead of TH2Go, but why spend the extra cash for an upgrade later? If i could play *some* games to see how i like it with 1/3rd of the screen missing (games with HUD center) i.....i don't know, honestly i was just curious if you could.