I am wondering if the 3870x2

Gum · Post by **Gum** » 24 Feb 2008, 09:10

I am wondering if the 3870x2 is compatible with the TH2GO? I asked at Matrox and they suggested I asked somewhere else.

I am talking about the 3870x2 with only the 2 dvi ports on it not the one with 4 on it as if I got the one with 4 on it I shouldn't even need my TH2GO anymore.

I hope someone here can answer this.

Thanks
Gum

Mesh · Post by **Mesh** » 24 Feb 2008, 13:13

In theory the TH2G just needs a single dual-link dvi output able to be set at 3840x1024, so the 3870X2 should work.

In practice who knows.

[email protected] · Post by **[email protected]** » 24 Feb 2008, 16:26

On a DirectX 10 Card you should be able to do it.

sum1 · Post by **sum1** » 28 Feb 2008, 17:30

3870x2 ist not compatible atm with TH2G digital

sum1 · Post by **sum1** » 02 Mar 2008, 14:00

I couldnt get it working on my 3870x2 and TH2G digital edition with the DVI cable.
But I've found a little workaround:

1. Instead of useing the DVI cable, i plugged the D-SUB into the TH2G analog-in

2. On the other end i've taken a D-SUB to DVI adapter (since the 3870x2 has only two DVI-out's) and connected it with the gfx-card.

This way you can use the TH2G digital on the 3870x2.

The good: both desktop and games work at a resolution of 3840x1024 on my three 19" LCD's. (and thanks to the gfx-card at smooth frame rates :)

Limitations:
lower resolution are not supported properly
bezel management doesnt work
useing the analog connector isnt optimal on LCD's

Matrox pls fix these problems soon!!!

JKeefe · Post by **JKeefe** » 04 Mar 2008, 16:36

Matrox pls fix these problems soon!!!

Those sound like ATI problems, not Matrox problems.

starfighter · Post by **starfighter** » 05 Mar 2008, 14:16

1. Instead of useing the DVI cable, i plugged the D-SUB into the TH2G analog-in

Does that mean that the digital version has an analog input and support for 3840x1024 analog?

[email protected] · Post by **[email protected]** » 05 Mar 2008, 16:59

JKeefe · Post by **JKeefe** » 05 Mar 2008, 20:01

Ditto - yes. The "Digital" TripleHead2Go actually has a lot of improved features over the Analogue TripleHead2Go for analogue VGA users, such as 75Hz and 85 Hz refresh rate for most triple 4:3 resolutions and DVI-I outputs that can be connected directly to CRT monitors with the use of a DVI-to-VGA adapter. Of course the ability to use bezel management even with this analogue signal chain is a big plus (although in reality I find the large bezels of CRTs preclude its use).

starfighter · Post by **starfighter** » 05 Mar 2008, 22:17

Ditto - yes. The "Digital" TripleHead2Go actually has a lot of improved features over the Analogue TripleHead2Go for analogue VGA users, such as 75Hz and 85 Hz refresh rate for most triple 4:3 resolutions and DVI-I outputs that can be connected directly to CRT monitors with the use of a DVI-to-VGA adapter. Of course the ability to use bezel management even with this analogue signal chain is a big plus (although in reality I find the large bezels of CRTs preclude its use).

thx, I did not know that (the card can also do analogue).

can she does also 3072x768 60 or 75 hz analogue?

thefunk007 · Post by **thefunk007** » 07 Mar 2008, 12:41

I was thinking of getting one of these cards over my GTX - although it seems this card will be unable to work on a triplehead2go setup?

If that is the case I am very dissapointed :(

JKeefe · Post by **JKeefe** » 07 Mar 2008, 17:41

can she does also 3072x768 60 or 75 hz analogue?

Yep, and also that res at 85 Hz. Take a look at this thread, last post, for all of the resolutions and refresh rates offered by both TripleHead2Go products.

PunkNugget · Post by **PunkNugget** » 09 Mar 2008, 08:36

So what you're trying to tell me is that even with 2 3870x2 (Crossfired of course) cards I will still have the same trouble? Man, am I disappointed. Do you think Matrox will ever improve on there software driver to make that compatible? Has anyone else faced that same problem with a new card (in the past) that took a while until Matrox came out with improved software to finally make those cards work? And if that was the case how long was the wait? Whatever you can do to answer this that would be great, Thanks... PNug...

sum1 · Post by **sum1** » 09 Mar 2008, 15:02

Well i just can speak for myself. It works with the d-sub cable and that dvi to d-sub adapter for me and i could not get it to work with the digital cable because the TH2G led is just red when i connect it and the screens keep to be black. Dunno if anyone else has this problem.
Previous i said the that the bezel mangemant do not function and a lower res than 3840x1024 (3x 1280x1024) isnt working properly. Now i know that bezel management works useing GMX PowerDesk-SE v.2.2.0.8.
I also can go at the following res: 3840x1024 (3x 1280x1024), 2400x600 (3x 800x600) and 1920x480 (3x 640x480). If this is not a hardware problem so it can/should be updated via a more recent version of Matrox PowerDesk-SE or a newer catalyst driver. Currently i use catalyst 8.3. Im not annoyed too much about this coz its still a huge fun playing games @ 3840x1024!!!
If you can life with that limitation then the 3870x2 is the way to go.

My sys: foxconn x38a, q6600, 4 gig ram, 3870x2, raptor x 150 gb.
monitors: 1x Eizo s1931, 1x Eizo s1932, 1x Hyundai L90D+ <-(will be replaced by a second s1932 soon)

I hope I could help Ya.

PunkNugget · Post by **PunkNugget** » 10 Mar 2008, 03:43

From what I was told by Matrox is that you couldn't get a sharper resolution than 3840x1024 on 3 screens anyway. So what you're saying really isn't bad news. I wish it could do more, like 3840x1200, but that's okay, maybe with a better driver in the future. I have 3 ViewSonic VP2130b's. I'm using only one screen on my Mac @ 1600x1200, until I get my PC Tower tomorrow. Then it's Vista or Windows XP all the way. I know that this is my opinion but I'm dreading the switch. I feel like I'm going backwards in OS technology. I'm going to miss the fluid Eye Candy and ease of use that Mac OS X provides. I'll get used to it, since I'm mainly gaming and Mac doesn't really support too many games. That's life... Let me know your thoughts about the resolution stuff that I just mentioned; what Matrox's support staff told me. Thanks...

sum1 · Post by **sum1** » 10 Mar 2008, 23:05

From what I was told by Matrox is that you couldn't get a sharper resolution than 3840x1024 on 3 screens anyway. So what you're saying really isn't bad news. I wish it could do more, like 3840x1200, but that's okay, maybe with a better driver in the future. I have 3 ViewSonic VP2130b's. I'm using only one screen on my Mac @ 1600x1200, until I get my PC Tower tomorrow. Then it's Vista or Windows XP all the way. I know that this is my opinion but I'm dreading the switch. I feel like I'm going backwards in OS technology. I'm going to miss the fluid Eye Candy and ease of use that Mac OS X provides. I'll get used to it, since I'm mainly gaming and Mac doesn't really support too many games. That's life... Let me know your thoughts about the resolution stuff that I just mentioned; what Matrox's support staff told me. Thanks...

Right, 3840 x 1024 (3 x 1280 x 1024, 5:4 aspect ratio) is the max resolution the TH2G can go no matter what gfx card youre useing. For widescreens it is 4080 x 768 (3 x 1360 x 768, 16:9 aspect ratio).
Your Monitors have a native res of 1600x1200 which is a aspect ratio of 4:3, so if you want to have the correct ratio you should use a res of 3840 x 960 (3 x 1280 x 960 = 4:3 each display). This is the highest possible resolution with the right aspect ratio (i know the word is starting to suck) you can go at the TH2G with your monitors :)

Note: wrong AR might the image look stretched.

Check this page
for the complete list the TH2G does support.

Let me know your experience with the 3870x2 and have Fun :D

Gum · Post by **Gum** » 11 Mar 2008, 10:49

I only have the analog version of the TH2go.

So does this mean it will work or will I have to go Nvidia again?

PunkNugget · Post by **PunkNugget** » 12 Mar 2008, 05:48

This is to all who are concerned. I had a long talk with Matrox today and finally after much tweaking and the back and forth phone calls to their tech support team we have all three screens working just fine with utilizing there new firmware. Now mind you I am NOT using the new drivers that ATI currently have out now. I will do that as soon as Matrox comes out with there new firmware once again in a few weeks. Until then, I am currently running ATI's 8.2 software. If you use 8.3 and it works with their firmware then please post it here. Please call Matrox's Tech team and ask for either Tim or Manny (Work # 514-685-0270). Tell them I (Carl) asked for you to talk to them. One small glitch though, I have to unplug and replug the monitors from time to time if I restart the PC. Don't know why, but that's okay, at least it's working!!!

[email protected] · Post by **[email protected]** » 12 Mar 2008, 15:57

What resolution did you get them working at? I don''t understand what the achievement is that you got.

PunkNugget · Post by **PunkNugget** » 12 Mar 2008, 16:16

First the resolution; it is what the current max is on any TH2G box - 3840x1024. You cannot (right now) get a better resolution on 3 screens. They are working on a better better box, but they don't even know when that will come out. As soon as it does I will buy it, because the ViewSonic monitors I have can go up to 1600x1200 each. To answer your second question, the "achievement" that I received from all of this is... ALL 3 MONITORS ARE FINALLY WORKING THROUGH THE DVI CONNECTIONS AND NOT THROUGH THE DVI TO VGA DONGLE!!! Which is awesome, because it looks sharper now the way that it was supposed to look, as apposed to using the DVI to VGA dongle. The problem is these are new cards and with any new card I'm sure you are going to face some driver compatibility issues in the beginning. Again, the great thing is they work and that is all that matters. Which is the reason why others here have been trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Hopefully I have been of some help and stay tight with the tech support crew at Matrox and they should be able to walk you through just about anything...

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