Widescreen Gaming Forum

Hello there.

I'm interested in setting up three Dell Ultrasharp 3008WFP 30" in widescreen using two ATI 4870X2 GPU's.

Do I need to use the Matrox TripleHead2Go-Digital to set this up and if so, what is the max resolution can I go upto?

The Dell's and GPU's can support 2560 x 1600 but you must use dual DVI, but how does that work with the TripleHead2Go device?

Reading the Maxtrox website, can't really find any information on the 4870x2 to see if they are supported but someone told me over at XtreamSystems.org that you won't be able to use this resolution.

Hmm, kinda confused on the whole thing. :D

I would welcome any help and advice please.

I intend to use this for gaming and general use.

EDIT: Searched around here and found one or two topics, my new question, is there any resolution you can use for these cards to get them to work on all three monitors?

Hi there and welcome to the limits of the DVI standard :lol:
Here are some facts that you might find useful :

1) Ati cards seem to be limited to 3x 1440x900 with TripleHead2Go, because they can't output the lower-than-60Hz refresh rates required by TH2G to achieve 3x 1680x1050. SoftTH has no such limitations.

2) You can't use 30" panels with TH2G afaik anyway. Even at lower-than-native resolutions. I tried to use my 30" panel as the center screen, to go with 19" side panels, just for kicks. It didn't work. Even in single screen mode, I couldn't get the 30" panel to display my desktop. All I got was single colors all over the panel (red, then green, then yellow etc.)

3)For a triple-30" display your only option is SoftTH. With no guaranteed results. You'll need 3 active outputs, which means no Crossfire.

4) Final advice : you'd be so much better off with three 1920w or smaller panels... any size but the 30" monsters. What you'd "lose" in pixel count will be a much-needed gain in flexibility. TH2G will work wonders (even though at a lower res), and SoftTH will still be an option for higher res's. (Besides, even the most powerful GPUs to come would crawl with 3x 2560x1600 pixels to display, but that's another story) :lol:

Well that sucks, I would like to hear more from others before I make a final decision.

Maybe it just be best to stick with the one 30 for gaming, am having a dual setup still through, but I just use one screen for gaming.

Hmm, do you know anything under 30" screens that will work, anything over 26-28" be nice, the 4870x2s work better higher the resolution, so that's not a problem, the monitors should have dual DVI as well.

Dunno about dual-DVI, but it sounds like it might be worth checking out some of the smaller 1080p LCD-TVs available. I saw a 32" 1920x1080 LCD-TV the other day...

Dunno about dual-DVI, but it sounds like it might be worth checking out some of the smaller 1080p LCD-TVs available. I saw a 32" 1920x1080 LCD-TV the other day...

Don't understand, if I can't do a three-head setup with 30" then why 32"?

Sorry, my mistake. 30" is the largest size of computer monitors, but there are bigger panel sizes in HD TVs. What matters is the native resolution. 30-inchers are a special breed, head and shoulders above the rest in terms of pixel count.

30" = 2560x1600, demands dual-link DVI.
32" and higher = HD displays, 1920x1080 max.

Don't understand, if I can't do a three-head setup with 30" then why 32"?

The size of the screen isn't important.

The res that the panel can do, is.

30" PC screens do 2560x1600.

HDTV screens do 1280x720 (720p), 1366x768 (a bastardised 1024x768) or 1920x1080 (1080p). But because they're designed as TVs rather than monitors, they're rather larger in diagonal.

:)

if you want big just get 3 damn projectors :P

or sell ur 2x4870x2 and get 2xgtx295 :P

+

3x24inches or 3x28inches and you'll be able to game at 5040x1050 no problem.

if you want big just get 3 damn projectors :P

or sell ur 2x4870x2 and get 2xgtx295 :P

+

3x24inches or 3x28inches and you'll be able to game at 5040x1050 no problem.

Recent benchmark tests show that the 2 295's do worst at high resolutions, the 2 4870x2 still own them.

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/hardware/grafikkarten/2009/test_nvidia_geforce_gtx_295/20/#abschnitt_performancerating_qualitaet