Triple Head to Go Users

[iwik]

Hi,
Im considering a TH2GO and the question came up,What NATIVE resolution should i be aiming for when buying LCD monitors.As i see it with LCD,they should be used at their native resolution.These seem to be be increasing and the Th2go seems to have a max res of 5040 x 1050 which is 1680 x 1050.
Should i wish to operate at a lower res,say 1024x768,is my pic going to be
pretty crappy with the TH2go.
Comments from users woul;d be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Les

[metalnwood]

Hi Les, I was having a think about this last november wen I got a th2go.

I went from a 30" with trackir 4 to a th2go without seeing it, I had a few problems doing this including what sized monitor to get. I wanted bigger, I.e. 3x24" monitors. the problem with this was that I knew I couldnt run at native resolution so the panel would need to do some scaling.

The end result is that the scaling doesnt seem to be a problem at all. I have 3x24" at 1920x1200. I run them at 1280x800 and its fine.

So my suggestion is to get the size of monitor you can afford/want and not worry about the native resolution, it doesn't make a huge difference.

If anything I think I am future proffed for when the hardware will deal with 3x 1920x1200. Also, I made a mount to hold 3 of them and it saves a ton of desk space. In the pic below they are on the racing sim, which these days looks a lot more like a flight sim.

If you are in Auckland PM me and you can come and see what the scaling is like if it helps you decide.

Jason

http://gallery.me.com/jason.jane/100047/P1000591/web.jpg

[brynjames]

You probably know all this already, but if you think you will want to go to 5040x1650, you need to do two things:
1. make sure you buy the *digital* TH2GO (because the analogue version is restricted to 3840x1024)
2. head over to widescreengamingforum.com and read the long long threads on which monitors can handle the necessary 57Hz refresh rate (because many monitors can't)

Good luck!

--
Bryn

[BHawthorne]

The analog version = 3 x 1280x1024 @ 60hz
The digital version = 3 x 1680x1050 @ 55hz

Most any Samsung with 1680x1050 or better native resolution will work. Like metalnwood said, if you can go bigger, do so. The scalers in the LCDs I use work great. I understand your reasoning to go native, but 1920x1200 displays scale just fine to 1680x1050. There isn't that drastic of a resolution difference. The Samsung 245BW I use I can't even tell it's not native.

[brynjames]

Oops, I incorrectly typed 1650 instead of 1024 for the analogue height. Brain fade.

This matrox page:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/resolution/digital/resolutions.html
confirms the refresh rate is 57Hz and not 55Hz at 5040x1050.

As you say, most Samsung monitors seem to work - but some folks over at widescreengamingforum have had problems with some Samsung models. With such a large purchase it is worth checking carefully before pulling out the credit card :)

--
Bryn

[BHawthorne]

confirms the refresh rate is 57Hz and not 55Hz at 5040x1050.

While the Matrox website claims 57hz, when you run Wizard in PowerDesk-SE it'll state 55hz. ;)

57hz or 55hz....either way, it leads to compatibility issues. Just be extra careful in your display picks. Go with a known model or risk a very expensive purchase of incompatible displays.

[iwik]

Thanks Guys,
I think i will go for the Viewsonic 2240w it seems to be able to do
50-75Hz VF and it seems to be on the list for ones that work.
I had another look at my suppliers list and it seems at present most have a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 so scaling wont be neccessary.
Or do you think i should be going for a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 and down scale as you suggested.Ie build in something for the future.

MetalNwood:I live in ChCh but thanks for the offer.

Les

[metalnwood]

Hi Les, just one thing - you didnt mention what video card you are going to use. I mention because I have 2x ati 4870's and didnt realise that I couldn't do the 1680x1050 resultion.

I can't even get 1440x900 going so thats why I run 1280x800.

If you are running a good nvidia then you should be good, otherwise if it's ati then remember you cant run the panels at full res yet.

Jason

[BHawthorne]

Yep, TH2G digital definitely favors nVidia as far as maximum resolution. This has been a driver/hardware issue on the ATI side for the longest time. I heard rumors over at widescreengamingforum though that they're looking into addressing things with the latest drivers though. I have no idea on the specifics of what ATI is up to, as I only use nVidia products. I prefer to go with hardware I know will work, which is any 8-series or newer nVidia card.

As far as going 1920x1200 instead of 1680x1050, really it doesn't matter overall. Just go with the largest screen size you feel ok purchasing within your budget range. Either way, it'll be a very impressive setup.

[iwik]

Thanks for the comments,
Jason: i have a 9800gtx+ so it will do the high res.Before i bought it
i had read that ATI had some issues.
Ive decided to go for the 3 Viewsonic 2260wm or 2233wm, its a 1920 x 1080.For the price difference it builds in a bit of Future proof.

Les

[BHawthorne]

9800GTX+ should work fine for you for an initial TH2G card. You'll have no resolution issues with that card. TH2G been well tested with the 8, 9 and 200-series hardware.