Widescreen Gaming Forum

I am Matrox hunting for work and found a lot of them for sale here, I was wondering why... and I saw this new forum section and think it all just fell into place.

Looks like ATI is for the most part making the Matrox obsolete with this new tech that supports higher resolutions, more screens, no 57hz limitations, and the fact its cheaper!*

A new TH2Go is like $250+ right, so you can basically tell yourself its ok to buy a new $600 video card because if you save the $250 of the Matrox and thus only spent about $300ish on the card :D

I mean this is the excuse I would have to give my wife :D

But i can also sell both my 4850's to make up some of the cost.

I have been wanting to ditch the dual cards for a stronger single card for awhile anyways, makes managing my case easier and should make the room cooler (2 cards = lots of heat)

So I am still on the hunt for a Matrox for work because I cant change our hardware but for somebody that has been wanting multi screen at home for years and never could afford the monitors + Matrox, its probably a better idea to just get a 5000 series card and skip the Matrox now would you not agree?

Yes, some are ditching because of better options and powerful single card. There are a lot of people that don't see the need to ditch their current setup though as it's working just fine for them. For someone new going surround-screen gaming, the 5870 makes a lot more sense than TH2G, but there are still reasons to buy the TH2G -- namely if you prefer nVidia cards over ATI. That said, the ATI route for surround-screen gaming is currently cheaper...well it should be at least later this week.

also a couple things to consider :

-apart from presentations which aims at showing the goods in the best light available we saw nothing

-in short we don't know how Eyefinity fares in the real world
is there bugs in the software (or even in a worst case scenario hardware) ? we don't know!

-how fast will the features that were touted to come later in the software, will actually be available ? we don't know !

-how much emphasis will ATI put in EyeFinity once the novelty wears off ?


maybe EyeFinity is a dream come true with absolutely no problem but it's a bet right now...

I would at least wait until a couple of real reviews are out, but then I'm in no position to be able to use multiple monitors so it's easy for me to say :wink:

the only questionmark left in my head is the fact that I havent seen how you run multiple monitors on the normal card. Sure we have seen those silly 4x 6 output cards with the grey adaptors, but i havent seen how you can run from the standard 2x DVI, 1x DP and 1x HDMI card more than 1 screen as an actual picture of the back of the card.

Until then, i have the slight issue of seeing how this is possible (say for 3 screens), if one isnt DP, without using an expensive/ dodgy adaptor.

But im sure very soon, all will come clear.

At this point Bezel Management is not supported. That is a pretty big thing for me as Bezel Mgt made a lot of difference. Also, if NV puts out a really good card with a DP port, you can get the DP TH2Go and use it back and forth between either an NV or ATI card. You only need one DP port to use the TH2Go, and use DP>DVI adapters, and wouldn't need to sell your monitors.

Using the DP TH2Go would allow you to swap between whoever had the best GFX out, and have Bezel Mgt. Remember, the DP version runs at 60fps.

I agree if surround is your main goal or a high priority it would be risky to jump on the ATI bandwagon and hope it rides you to the right place.

I kinda want a 5870 card anyways, as like I said the dual 4850's are not keeping me happy anymore.

I do not have an ATI or Nvidia preference and bezel management and things I know are user dependent. We didnt used to have them and the Matrox was still very popular.

My main concern with the Matrox route is the lack of 60hz support for there highest resolution setting, I hope they get that fixed somehow soon. I read that maybe the display port version of there unit will have that fixed, but also that that new competing product managed to do it without display port?

also a couple things to consider :

-apart from presentations which aims at showing the goods in the best light available we saw nothing

-in short we don't know how Eyefinity fares in the real world
is there bugs in the software (or even in a worst case scenario hardware) ? we don't know!

-how fast will the features that were touted to come later in the software, will actually be available ? we don't know !

-how much emphasis will ATI put in EyeFinity once the novelty wears off ?


maybe EyeFinity is a dream come true with absolutely no problem but it's a bet right now...

I would at least wait until a couple of real reviews are out, but then I'm in no position to be able to use multiple monitors so it's easy for me to say :wink:

Surround-screen gaming has always been a risk. With some of the half-a$$ed issues we've had to deal with over time with both TH2G and SoftTH, anything EyeFinity throws at it will probably be a walk in the park. Right now I'm pretty well pissed off about TH2G nVidia driver issues and SoftTH never having a user interface.

My main concern with the Matrox route is the lack of 60hz support for there highest resolution setting, I hope they get that fixed somehow soon. I read that maybe the display port version of there unit will have that fixed, but also that that new competing product managed to do it without display port?

I wonder....

The 57Hz rule was because of the bandwidth on the DVI cable (a single cable)....

is it possible to either use a DP one for more bandwidth, or perhaps run a 2x DVI > Matrox box > 3 (maybe more) monitors? If the ATi tech means you can span across x outputs then why not some other tech? :P

if the TH2g works for you and you are happy then there's really no point in going the ATI route.

the Th2G have been proven and have alot of support right now. I'm jumping on the ATI bandwagon just to be able to play games on 3x1920x1200 mainly

the ATI route would cost me just the cost of the video card $400 (I think)

wheres the Matrox route would reqire me to get a new Th2G DP version and a new video card that have DP output. $300 for th2go DP + $350 high end Video card. so it's about $300 more.

You can't discount the Th2G yet as with the the Display Port version:
1) you can get 1920x1200 at 60hz
2) works with any video card with DP so you are not locked own to a specific brand
3) can be moved around to different machines
4) matrox have pretty good support (at least I think so)
5) have been trialed and tested by many users
6) supports SLI/CF


As much as I'm drooling about the ATI
1) don't know what the real world performance of the cards are yet
2) how well triple head works on it.

For me it's just a cost issue. it's cheaper with ATI.
AFter selling my TH2g and 9800GX2 it wouldn't cost me a cent to do the upgrade

2) works with any video card with DP so you are not locked own to a specific brand
3) can be moved around to different machines
4) matrox have pretty good support (at least I think so)
5) have been trialed and tested by many users
6) supports SLI/CF

I think generally, once you update the firmware, use certain nV drivers and OS, the system just works, of course with the problems specific to games like Aion etc etc...

But the matrox system just works.

Who knows how buggy the ATi one is going to be, performance of cards etc etc.

I think you got the nail on the head.

For me, i just want 1 screen, 1 card, i wont be interested in more than 1 screen to game on (maybe get a 2nd cheap one for internet whilst playing or something) but thats already possible on existing kit, so sorry if I am biased against more than 1 screen systems :P

Bear in mind that despite being "proven" tech, the DisplayPort TH2Go is just as untested 'in the wild' as EyeFinity. The TH2Go-DP version might end up with issues that the VGA/DVI TH2Go doesn't exhibit.

Until both the 5870 and the TH2Go-DP are in the wild, this is all guesswork, though.

Long and the short of it; wait at least until a couple of weeks after the release of the 5870 so there had been some opportunity for early adopters to give it a bit of a workout, then you can decide you want to go TH2Go DVI/DP or EyeFinity with more information.

I'll try to be one of the early adopters of the 5870 as long as its not like $600, but problem is I do not have 3 monitors to test for EyeFinity, I still use my single 37" 1920x1080 and I really like it but I plan to replace it with 3x monitors for surround and then to keep me and the wife happy for stuff we need the big screen for (movies/anime/games) I want to have a HD projector to throw an image on the wall above the monitors.

That to me is the ideal setup.

I hope that forum member gets back to me about the 3x 22" samsung monitors he said he is selling.

See if you can borrow three monitors from work for an evening...?

I'll try to be one of the early adopters of the 5870 as long as its not like $600, but problem is I do not have 3 monitors to test for EyeFinity, I still use my single 37" 1920x1080 and I really like it but I plan to replace it with 3x monitors for surround and then to keep me and the wife happy for stuff we need the big screen for (movies/anime/games) I want to have a HD projector to throw an image on the wall above the monitors.

That to me is the ideal setup.

I hope that forum member gets back to me about the 3x 22" samsung monitors he said he is selling.

trust me once your try playing games on a triplemonitor setup... u don't want to go back.

even against a large screen HDTV.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856&Tpk=ATI%205870

only 379!

[quote]I'll try to be one of the early adopters of the 5870 as long as its not like $600, but problem is I do not have 3 monitors to test for EyeFinity, I still use my single 37" 1920x1080 and I really like it but I plan to replace it with 3x monitors for surround and then to keep me and the wife happy for stuff we need the big screen for (movies/anime/games) I want to have a HD projector to throw an image on the wall above the monitors.

That to me is the ideal setup.

I hope that forum member gets back to me about the 3x 22" samsung monitors he said he is selling.

trust me once your try playing games on a triplemonitor setup... u don't want to go back.

even against a large screen HDTV.

I dunno, I do a lot more movie & single screen stuff than I do multi screen stuff. I am sure atleast at first I will be looking for triple screen things to do but after that new feel wears off I'll be back to the single large screen for most stuff.

It lets me lay in bed and read easy, it makes games look great and it doesnt require 3x the system power that it will once I go wider.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856&Tpk=ATI%205870

only 379!

Thats amazing! However until its out and actually for sale that low I would not get your hopes up, it could just be a site traffic trick.

[quote][quote]I'll try to be one of the early adopters of the 5870 as long as its not like $600, but problem is I do not have 3 monitors to test for EyeFinity, I still use my single 37" 1920x1080 and I really like it but I plan to replace it with 3x monitors for surround and then to keep me and the wife happy for stuff we need the big screen for (movies/anime/games) I want to have a HD projector to throw an image on the wall above the monitors.

That to me is the ideal setup.

I hope that forum member gets back to me about the 3x 22" samsung monitors he said he is selling.

trust me once your try playing games on a triplemonitor setup... u don't want to go back.

even against a large screen HDTV.

I dunno, I do a lot more movie & single screen stuff than I do multi screen stuff. I am sure atleast at first I will be looking for triple screen things to do but after that new feel wears off I'll be back to the single large screen for most stuff.

It lets me lay in bed and read easy, it makes games look great and it doesnt require 3x the system power that it will once I go wider.

You are right in regards to things like movie and games that does not support triple monitor.

For me interms of investments 3x 24" is cheaper than say a 46"+ HDTV screen. 3x 24" at 1920x1200 is more productive for work than a 1080p screen.

but to each it's own. though sometimes when I play a movie or play a game that only support a single screen (Street Fighter 4) I do wish my rig is hooked up to my 52" HDTV :)

They were selling the new released of my 37" for like $500 on buy.com last month. Westinghouse makes a great panel for cheap because its a monitor not a HDTV and the quality is up there with any of the expensive brands.

I still have my user review of this panel here on the user review forum section. If the bezel was not so big I would just go 3x37" Westys :D :D


Hell if I see them for $500 again I may do that anyways the bezel wont matter when the side screens are just fov and immersion.

I still have my user review of this panel here on the user review forum section. If the bezel was not so big I would just go 3x37" Westys :D :D

What kind of crazy large desk would that require? :lol: