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Viewsonic & TripleHead2Go Review
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First, the screen shots.

I took a number of shots, some in more games than others. I've archived all of the screenshots into one 7Zip archive. If your unarchiving program does not unpack 7Zip archives then grab the latest version of 7Zip from http://www.7-zip.org/. This is a free archiving progrma that gives WinRAR a serious run for its money, so to speak.

This archive contains one screen grab of my desktop as an example of what can be done in general day-to-day use of the system. The screen grab has a Power Point presentation loaded on the left monitor (from Psych class), MMORPG loaded on the center monitor, and my email app (image edited for obvious reasons) loaded on the right monitor. However, you can just as easily watch a movie on one or whatever else suits your fancy. It's only limited by your computer's ability to multi-task.

Heck, you could even use one monitor to store all of your desktop icons if you're the type to have a messy desktop.

The archive is 21.61 MBs according to FileFront, so we may as well say 22 MBs. Screenshots are from EVE, GuildWars, Half-Life 2, and World of Warcraft and in JPG format. Anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering were not enabled on all screenshots.

http://hosted.filefront.com/Mysk/ - go here and click through to the "3840x1024 Screenshots" link to download the images.

The Hardware:

Official sites for each hardware unit:
Matrox TripleHead2Go
Viewsonic VX922

First, I think that it's most appropriate to begin by touching on the Viewsonic monitor itself.

One of the first things that I done after plugging this monitor into my system was to search Google for LCD diagnostics software. I found plenty of it. To be perfectly honest I don't begin to understand all of the terminology associated with monitor technology, so I'm going to focus on what I do understand: Ghosting and color reproduction.

The good news is that - to my eyes - it passed the various tests with flying colors. There has been NO ghosting, the color reproduction has been great, light / dark areas display as they should, and the view doesn't vanish if you look at the monitor from the side.

However, it does darken a bit when viewed from an angle. I wouldn't say that it's terrible though. I have a nasty habit of leaning back and off to the side in my chair with my feet propped up on my computer desk. So I'm frequently looking at my display from a perspective other than head-on, and I can't complain too much about the view under those circumstances.

I've also used real world "tests", such as watching the Star Wars movies to see if any blurring occured during the light sabre duels. In short, I didn't notice a thing wrong with the display in any of the movies (Silent Hill, Star Wars 3 thru 5, & X-Men 3) that I watched on the Viewsonic.

Games have had equally impressive performances. 3DMark06, World of Warcraft, Half Life 2, 9 Dragons, and Guild Wars are some of the games that I've been running on the Viewsonic with no problems in so far as quality of display is concerned.

The bottom line? It's a top-notch monitor that's seems to tackle all challenges - games, movies, even music visualizations - without a sweat.

Note: If you buy this monitor (or any other LCD) then you should set your monitor's color display option to sRGB as soon as the monitor is installed. It's a significant improvement over the other color options.

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Three Monitors & You
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First I should mention straight way that my three monitor setup has been comprised of two CRTs with the Viewsonic in the center. I do, however, now have another two Viewsonic screens on my "to get" list! ;D

Thankfully, each monitor supports the desktop reslution of 1280x1024, the native resolution of the LCD that is also required for the largest widescreen display option. Therefor the display spanned as it should with just a bit more bulk between the monitors than three LCDs would have. This extra bulk is something that I adapted to within a reasonable ammount of time, but I highly suggest that you use three LCDs rather than CRTs for this setup when possible.

What exactly is the three screen display?

This is different from what you may be used to if you already use two or three monitors. In a typical multi-monitor set up you have your main desktop with the taskbar (Start button, clock, & list of opened programs) on one monitor and then you have "monitor 2" where you can toss additional 'stuff'; chat windows, web browsers, word processors, or what have you. It definitely increases one's productivity, but they are treated as two distinct monitors.

What the TripleHead2Go does is significantly different. It takes three monitors and spans the SAME desktop across all three. Your computer has no idea that more than one monitor is connected, it simply treats your hardware as one very widescreen display.

The end result is that you must physically look to your left to see the Windows Start button and physically look to your right to see the clock. Now that took some getting used to!

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x--x--x-Games-x--x--x
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Anyone with a widescreen display can tell you that not all games currently (perfectly) support the widescreen format. The TripleHead2Go gives you one of the widest screens that are available (that I know of) and it's no exception to this rule.

Thankfully, the TripleHead2Go does have an ace up its sleeves: software that can optimize a game for your super-sized resolution. The number of games that it can "optimize" is impressive. The end result is that - either via this optimization software or natively - you have an impressive selection of games that will work with your tripple monitor setup. Of course, Matrox continues to support this software, so if one of your faves isn't currently listed then that doesn't mean that it never will be.

Pay special attention to the photos at the left of that page because that's what you're in for with this setup!

Obviously I had some compatibility problems to begin with, but I've managed to work most of them out. Guild Wars was an issue, and Half-Life 2 crashes if I try to take a screenshot. The issue with Guild Wars was easily resolved, and I simply used Fraps to take screens from HL2. No other problems were experienced with HL2; it simply puked when trying to dump an image file at the size of 3840x1024. ;D

The main question will probably be: Does it really improve the gaming experience?

Short answer: Yes, yes it does. Using your peripheral vision is a natural part of sight that is simply not possible on a single monitor display but becomes a basic part of gameplay when using the TripleHead2Go.

The long answer...

Your gaming experience in widescreen is going to depend on two things more than anything else: The game's support for widescreen, and your computer hardware.

Compatibility:

Some games will give you minor issues, such as the display on the left and right monitor "stretching" ever so slightly (think "fish eyed" view. the center monitor is not affected). This only bothers me if I look directly at the side monitors, but for the most part they serve as aids to peripheral vision and I never notice the problem. It's also not an issue that I've encountered in every game, so it's not a universal thing.

Other games, such as World of Warcraft, may have lackluster support for widescreen resolutions. The view in WoW will span properly across all three monitors but you won't have as much vertical view space as you do on a single standard display. Thankfully, Matrox's software can "optimize" WoW to improve the situation, but it's a bandage and not a fix.

The worse situation that I've encountered is HL2 crashing when attempting to dump such a large screenshot. To be fair, I should point out that this is not a problem caused by the TripleHead2Go and needs to be patched by Valve.

If a game simply flat out refuses to use a wide screen resolution then the TripleHead2Go will simply power down the left and right monitors, allowing you to run the game as you normally would on a single display. The monitors are returned from sleep mode once the game is closed.

In any case, problems with this setup have been few and easily worked around.

Hardware Concerns:

Gaming through the TripleHead2Go is nothing more than gaming at an insanely high resolution - up to 3840×1024! Your computer somehow has to push out playable frame rates at that resolution, and as always, this falls back onto your 3D card and your processor. I'm sure that your system's RAM is a concern as well.

This doesn't mean that you need a beast of a machine. Far from it, in fact, by today's standards. View my DXDiag.txt here to compare it to your own computer. The catch? On my computer I can not achieve acceptable frame rates in most cases if I have anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering enabled, though Half-Life 2 managed fine with AA at 2x. Is that a big deal? I don't find it a be an issue at these resolutions, but that's a question that depends highly on the individual.

However, all of this is probably moot. If you have the money to own three LCD displays that you're going to run through the TripleHead2Go then you most likely have the dough required for a good 3D card or two.

Yes, the TripleHead2Go does work with SLI configurations! ;)

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Other Tasks
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Dealing with the desktop itself is very similar to dealing with three seperate displays. It's quite easy to store seperate applications on seperate monitors, and doing so allows you to have each application maximized. No, your browser won't span across all 3 monitors (unless you want it to). Rather, it "maximizes" to fill the monitor that it's already on.

This seems like a small point, but it's incredibly helpful. I have even moved my Recycle bin into the bottom-right corner of the right-hand monitor. I've had my Downloads folder opened while browsing the web, thus giving me instant access to the files without having to minimize the browser. I've watched a movie on one monitor while I had a browser, chat windows, or some other application opened on the others.

The net result is that you really don't have to stop to do anything. You can manage your play lists, chat with your pals, run a movie, browse the web, and any manner of things all at the same time. Just make sure that your computer can keep up with all of that multitasking! ;D

I was, in short, utterly floored with how productivity shot up once I began using the TripleHead2Go. I would have thought this pure marketting speak had I not experienced it for myself.

Before I forget to mention it, the ability to stretch movie playback across the three monitors seems to depend on the application: Windows Media Player 11 (Beta) will do so, but Cyberlink's PowerDVD would not. This will, of course, be a personal preference, but I wasn't comfortable with it spanning the three monitors. In most cases, the movie's image stopped dead center of the left and right monitor and the rest of those displays were black.

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The Bottom Line
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The bottom line is that the TripleHead2Go and three LCD monitors is the next step in your PC's multimedia or gaming upgrade plans.

The few issues that I've ran into have been minor or otherwise easily addressed. Gaming with three monitors takes a little getting used to, but it's a heck of an experience. You'll never want to go back to a single display setup once you experience what the TripleHead2Go can do for gaming and all around "comfort" at your computer.

Another perk? This setup may be less expensive than buying one single huge monitor.

Note: I wouldn't recommend the use of CRTs simply because of their bulky sizes, but they do work.

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Other Things To Think Of
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* Computer horsepower - will you have the "oomph" to play games at those huge resolutions?
* Power outlet availability - Do you have enough power outlets (three more in addition to what you are now currently using) to plug everything in so that you can actually turn it all on?
* Power consumption - do you feel alright with using the electricity needed to power three monitors?
* Space - Can your desk even manage to hold three monitors?

Computer desk recommendation: You may also want to look for a desk that allows you to sit in the center of the desk rather than at the left or right side.

~Mysk

Bada bump.

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Originally posted by grunty
Bada bump.

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Edit: I see why you bumped it.