Solution for Mixed Landscape/Portrait Multimon Gaming

[Tucson]

One common idea for triplehead gaming is to mix 2 20" LCDs (at 1600x1200) mounted vertically with a single 30" LCD mounted normally (2560x1600), resulting in a single 4960x1600 display. However none of the usual suspects allow for mixing landscaped and portrait mode LCDs into a single display. I am cautiously optimistic that ATI will update Eyefinity to allow for this configuration in the future, but for anyone wanting this right now there is a way to do it.

The solution, if it is one, appears to be analagous to the Triplehead2Go method. However, it is more flexible and it allows for rotation of individual output displays, in addition to a number of other features like scaling and such.

http://www.ems-imaging.com/online/products.php?product=Xtreme4vs

According to the rep I spoke with at EMS this unit runs for GBP745 or about USD1200 by todays exchange rates. It's a bit of a premium but nothing else does what this can.

I asked specifically about supporting a 2560x1600 panel in the center because it looked like it might not be supported due to the 2.5Mp limit, but the rep claimed it's not a problem. But I'm skeptical. Can a single DVI connection feed a 30" LCD?

[scavvenjahh]

Can a single DVI connection feed a 30" LCD?

Nope. :?
I'm fairly sure you can do this (20" P, 30" L, 20" P) using SoftTH anyway. And the latest version introduced support for all the crazy arrangements that this pricey box can do...

[Paradigm Shifter]

[quote]Can a single DVI connection feed a 30" LCD?

Nope. :?
I'm fairly sure you can do this (20" P, 30" L, 20" P) using SoftTH anyway. And the latest version introduced support for all the crazy arrangements that this pricey box can do...
Depends what you mean by "single".

A single DVI port, if Dual-Link DVI, has the requisite bandwidth necessary for 2560x1600. A Single-Link DVI port, on the other hand, does not - it maxes out at 1920x1200 (actually, the specifications for single-link DVI originally maxed it out at 1600x1200...)

[scavvenjahh]

You're right of course. I'm fairly sure Tucson meant "a single-link DVI connection" but let's put it another way: the Xtreme4vs has 4 Single-link DVI outputs, so 2560x1600 is a no-go.

[Tucson]

Yeah unfortunately. You can actually transmit 2560x1600 over a SL-DVI at 30hz but pretty much any LCD won't take it, plus it means you're talking about 30fps max.

I msged the manufacturer and they said there is no plan to release a version that I'd like at this time. Just have to hope Eyefinity delivers on this at some point.

Anyone know if SoftTH works decently enough for most games?

[Link0]

SoftTH works fine for most games, but it's notably slower than hardware solutions, and only supports DX9. also, if you have an ati card, SoftTH versions 2.00-2.04 are buggy and may require some fiddling.