Question & seeking advice about setup

dant · Post by **dant** » 23 Jul 2007, 02:07

Hello,

I am considering a strategy for triple-monitor setup. I have two ideas in mind but I don't know how well I can do them.

Obviously the triplehead2go is the clear option for just putting 3 monitors together - one issue though is that I have a single traditional aspect monitor, and 2 widescreens.

The triplehead2go is really above what I would like to spend and I had an idea which I'd like to know how feasible it is.

My video card, a Gigabyte Nvidia 7600, has 2 outputs, a VGA and a DVI
Right now I have one widescreen on each, and my non-widescreen monitor is just sitting on my other desk not being used.

My theory is as follows, and please let me know if this can be done:

Can I use a DualHead2Go (which I presume can be obtained for cheaper than the triple) to split my VGA connection to my traditional aspect monitor and one of the wide-screens, and then just plug my other widescreen into the DVI output? As far as my video card drivers is concerned then, I'd have two monitors, but the dualhead2go would split one connection across two screens.
Is this configuration feasible? I am looking to have smooth aspect-ratio across the whole thing. The 2 only games I'm really interested in using with this configuration are Guild Wars and Flight Simulator X.

Obviously if necessary I could get the triple, but I can actually see an additional advantage of using the double to just split two - this is that if I disable that output port (using the video card control panel) I can then just have the digital monitor in use for "regular" times during work or just ordinary computing.

To recap:
One Widescreen on the DVI port, one non-widescreen in the middle and one widescreen on the other side, the latter two being controlled with a Dualhead2go.

I'm going to try to find any vendor that will have a good return policy so in any event I always would have the option of returning the product.

Answers/thoughts/suggestions very much appreciated. Thanks.

Dem Pyros · Post by **Dem Pyros** » 23 Jul 2007, 03:47

It wouldn't be the same, because windows will see two monitors, not one.

So the game wouldn't render across all of them.

dant · Post by **dant** » 23 Jul 2007, 16:09

Interesting... you're right, I realize now that the extended desktop would already be performed by the video driver on the 2nd and 3rd.

Ok so back to plan 1 which is a triplehead2go... is it able to be configured smoothly with wide>non-wide
I'm hoping I can accomplish this.

Post by **skipclarke** » 23 Jul 2007, 19:44

No, you need three monitors of the same aspect ratio.

dant · Post by **dant** » 23 Jul 2007, 19:47

Oh well, so much for that.

Thanks for the info. Maybe one day...

JKeefe · Post by **JKeefe** » 24 Jul 2007, 20:05

Or you could go the route of SoftTH. It requires 2 PCI-E cards, and as of now it supports a widescreen in the middle with 2 4:3s or 5:4s on the sides, but I'm sure it could be flipped around. The development would have to happen, though.

Additionally, you could consider buying a 3rd widescreen and using it with the digital Triplehead2Go (although that comes with a few of its own issues).

Widescreen Gaming Forum