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- Date:
- Monday , September 24, 2007
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition
Multi-display gaming has never looked so good. We evaluate the new Matrox TrippleHead2Go Digital Edition which spreads your games across multiple-displays. We will look at features, show screenshots, test performance including SLI, and share our gameplay experiences.
TripleHead2Go Digital Edition
The module we have for evaluation today is the TripleHead2Go Digital Edition. The important fact you need to be aware of with this module is the maximum resolutions supported. First of all if you wish to run at the maximum resolutions with all three displays attached, your primary video card must support Dual-Link DVI. All of the NVIDIA GeForce 8 series and AMD ATI Radeon HD 2000 series do support dual-link DVI so they are good to go for utilizing triple displays.
The maximum resolution of this device is 3840x1024. You can set it up in either a dual or triple-display configuration. If you want to go all out and set it up in the triple-display configuration you will need three displays that have native resolutions of 1280x1024 each. Vertically the resolution will stay the same no matter how many displays you have, in this case 1024 pixels vertical. Horizontally you simply add up all the displays. For triple-displays you multiply 1280 by 3 for a resolution of 3840x1024. This is the resolution that your game will think you are playing it in, that is why a powerful graphics card is preferred for the best gameplay experience. For dual-displays you can use displays that have a higher native resolution, in this case 1920x1200. 1920 multiplied by 2 is 3840, the maximum horizontal resolution allowed. In this scenario you can utilize two 24” Widescreen LCDs.
Can you use a larger sized display that natively supports a higher resolution? You most definitely can, however you will have to run it at 1280x1024 for triple-display and 1920x1200 for dual-display (if the LCD supports it) which will most likely not be its native resolution. Depending on the display it may either be boxed in the middle or stretched across the screen creating a blurry image. The recommended display setup for this device is two or three 19” LCDs or two 24” LCDs with a native resolution of 1280x1024 or 1920x1200.
It is also important to note that the maximum refresh rate supported in every resolution, no matter what, is 60Hz. This means if you are using a CRT with this device you will be running at a low refresh rate and may cause you to notice flicker and tearing in your games. For LCDs this will not be a problem since they operate differently and their native refresh rates are 60Hz. You will most likely want to disable VSYNC in your games to deliver the best performance.
Compatibility-wise this device supports Windows 2000, Windows XP 32/64-bit, Windows Vista 32/64-bit and Mac OS X v10.4. We will be testing in Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit. This device is also compatible with such technologies as AMD’s CrossFire and NVIDIA’s SLI, and yes you can use SLI to accelerate your game and the device will spread it across all three displays! This could very well be the answer to multi-GPU and multi-display gaming. As far as what video cards are supported Matrox has a long list here, suffice it to say if you have a video card made in the last few years this should work for you.
There are some resolution limitations you need to be aware of with some video cards as reported on that page. Take note that with ATI CrossFire only 2400x600 is supported in TripleHead mode in 3D applications. In dual-head mode with ATI CrossFire only 2880x900 or 2560x1024 is supported. NVIDIA SLI has no limitations and it appears the Radeon HD 2000 series and GeForce 8 series also have no limitations.
TrippleHead2Go Digital Edition Pictures
The Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition comes packed in a small white box. There is a box inside the white one which sprawls open to reveal the goodies. Our package did not include a driver CD, in such a situation there is a piece of paper included which provides instructions on where to get the proper software needed from the Matrox website. You can utilize the Driver Download Wizard to download the latest driver and gaming utility needed.
Our packaged includes the module itself, a VGA and DVI cable required to connect the device to your primary video card and a USB cable. You must plug this USB cable into a powered USB outlet on your computer as that is what actually powers this device. It does not include VGA to DVI adaptors, so if you need to use VGA you will need to get your own adaptors to translate from DVI to VGA, which is supported.
This module is very simple to install and setup. On one end of the module is a VGA, DVI and USB connector with power light. This is the “input” end of the module. You will connector either the VGA OR the DVI connector here to your primary video card via way of the included VGA or DVI cable. Your display card will now be sending a signal to this device. On the opposite end sit three DVI connectors. This is where you plug your dual or triple-display setup into, making note of display number 1, 2, and 3. Make sure to put them in the proper order on your desk as indicated by the icons on the top of the module so your game aligns correctly. Then you will connect the USB cable to your computer, and you are ready to go! Make sure you do all of these connections with your computer turned OFF. It is not necessary to mess with your video card driver at all prior to installation. If you have multiple video cards, make sure to plug this into your primary card on DVI port 1.