Hi, I am starting my hardware from scratch.I want to run FSX with 3 monitor for the outside views.My questions are:1) is better to buy a graphic card and use TripleHead2Go or is it better to buy a card supporting the 3 monitors?2) is better to use XP or Vista? I will have a Pentium IV with 4 Gb RAM.thanks.Any advice in good configuration and card is really appreciated.

Hi, I am starting my hardware from scratch.I want to run FSX with 3 monitor for the outside views.My questions are:1) is better to buy a graphic card and use TripleHead2Go or is it better to buy a card supporting the 3 monitors?2) is better to use XP or Vista? I will have a Pentium IV with 4 Gb RAM.Don't buy a graphics card which supports 3 monitors..these are not Gaming cards. A TH2Go is the simplest solution to implement especially if you want to span your VC across all 3 monitors. For greater flexibility it is better to install 2 graphics cards.Search the forums for Post by member "January" has posted loads of good info on how to set up 3 monitors using 2 graphics cards.Also........Stick with XP (and 2GB RAM)Jim

Yep, what Jim said...The generally accepted configs are as follows.THTGo. one graphic card. Limited resolutions, limited cards. Not good with ATITwo video cards. Two outputs each. More flexability, can use either ATI or Nvidia. Also gives you possibility of running 4th monitor for maybe a GPS? Will need pretty stout cards and processor. Not sure about your config but you can also run 3 cards. One for each monitor.Multiple cards allow more selections of resolutions. THTGo might be a bit easier to setup. Little more expensive as well and limited to Nvidia for best selection of cards.Setup for multiple cards is easy although you have to setup each planes panel file for best viewing pleasure. if you can copy/paste, you wont have a problem.Cant say as I really favor any of them really. Its like the sliders, you have your own preference. Below is AGP card and a PCI card, AMD 3400 and 1 GB ram. 4 monitors. Fs9.http://eecherrors.homestead.com/DCP_1790.JPGLorraine

There is a current thread in this forum that may answer your questions: see below "FSX VC extended to another monitor". Whether FSX will work as well as FS9 with multi monitors is not yet sure. For virtual cockpit setup, TH2GO is a good choice- but be aware that the field of view will be less than with a 2D setup and triple views LFwd,Fwd,RFwd. I believe that with ZOOM, TH2GO FOV can be about 125

You can setup exactly the same views on a TH2Go system if you want by creating the three views and sizing them to the three monitors. Alternatively, use the VC across all three monitors.The TH2Go setup also gives you the option of using it with other games and sims...

A TH2Go will only support 3 monitors up to 1280x1024 though! (Generally 19")RegardsJim

Hi Magic Man- If you used the 2D panel + 3 views with TH2GO, would not the gauges from the panel be badly ovalized by the stretching? Also alignment of the views that way looks quite tricky in terms of the bezel adjustment. I would think for TH2GO, that VC would be preferred using some ZOOM to increase the FOV.Are you using TH2GO with 2D & individual views?Alex Reid CYYJ

Nope. Using the three monitors on a TH2Go with three distinct views would operate in exactly the same way as you are doing with the three views across multiple graphics cards.With the Matrox software you can set it to open windows maximum to the screen they are on so you wouldn't even need to fiddle with the resizing.Alignment of the bezels would be no different than having the monitors connected to individual graphic outputs.I use the VC because it seems the natural thing to do with the wide setup and I also have a TrackIR so it makes it even more so. I have used individual views and also a full forward view with all my instruments on the fourth monitor but I prefer having the VC on the screen for ground perception, especially with the helos.

Magic Man,Re:>With the Matrox software you can set it to open windows>maximum to the screen they are on so you wouldn't even need to>fiddle with the resizing.When I enabled my fourth monitor, this maximise to current screen feature stopped working for me with any window, FSX or not, on my TH2G monitors. Did you come across the same issue and, if so, how did you fix it?BTW, I agree that TH2G give you the flexibilty to use VC or 2D panels with similar ease. Like you, once you've used a multi-screen VC driven by TrackIR, a 2D panel looks so static in comparison. Nonetheless, a few aircraft that I fly don't have a VC, so I have to revert to the 2D way of life for some of the times I fly.Gary

All, really thanks for your help.Take care.BR from Madrid.MAD

BR- Be sure to let us know how it works out! Espec. any neat discoveries!Cheers Alex Reid CYYJ

I'd like to hear one of you with a THTG tell us how well, if at all, adding a second vid card to your system and then enabling the 4th and 5th monitor would work. Maybe not on X but 9 should be right sweet. Can you add a second video card to a THTG computer?

Magic Man- interesting! What was the % FPS drop from single mon/single view to TH2GO triple 2D views- LFwd,Fwd,RFwd ?In my triple GPU sys, the drop averages 50%- from about 38-40 FPS single view to 18-20 triple. (depending on aircraft/location etc)Is it correct that TH doesn't like different sized mons? Can the digital TH bezel adjustment feature cope with wider CRT type bezels? or would that still be done via Panel Config?Alex Reid CYYJ

I'd like to hear one of you with a THTG tell us how well, if at all, adding a second vid card to your system and then enabling the 4th and 5th monitor would work.Maybe not on X but 9 should be right sweet. Can you add a second video card to a THTG computer?Works well on either 9 or X. I've run 5 monitors: 3 outside views via TH2GO (3072x768) through projectors and 2 instrument panels (each 1280x800). This was with VFR Mesh & Scenery, modelled airfields but autogen was down to zero. FPS around 25 for FSX and 30+ for FS9Picture with just one of the 2 instrument panels connectedhttp://www.hometown.aol.co.uk/jimcooper1/simpit3.JPG/Another system has single graphics card TH2Go with 3x19" monitors (3840x1024) and another 19"http://www.hometown.aol.co.uk/jimcooper1/Grob1.JPG/First system: nVidia 680i + X6800 + 2GB PC2-6400 + 2 x 8800GTXSecond system: nVidia 680i + QX6700 + 2GB PC2-6400 + 8800GTXRegardsJim

>Magic Man- interesting! What was the % FPS drop from single>mon/single view to TH2GO triple 2D views- LFwd,Fwd,RFwd ?>In my triple GPU sys, the drop averages 50%- from about 38-40>FPS single view to 18-20 triple. (depending on>aircraft/location etc)>Is it correct that TH doesn't like different sized mons? Can>the digital TH bezel adjustment feature cope with wider CRT>type bezels? or would that still be done via Panel Config?>Alex Reid CYYJI have my FPS locked at 30 so don't actually see any drop between a single screen and running at 3840x1024. Can't say I noticed any difference when I tried the three views.You can use any size monitors you like, the issue is that there are a number of fixed resolutions that the TH2Go will use, the best being the 3840x1024. Whichever resolution you use it will get split equally into three horizontal parts each of which will be displayed on each of the three monitors. I.e. running 3 x 1280x1024 will output 1280x1024 to each of the three screen irrespective of what their native resolution is. Obviously if each is a different size screen then because of scaling things will look odd because of pixel size differences etc.The bezel adjustment works by shifting the left and right images in towards the centre by an amount you decide to take up the width of the bezels - i.e. as if you are shifting those parts of the image beneath the bezels. The result is that you end up with the missing vertical stripe from each at your extreme left and right sides. The larger the bezels then the more you would lose in order to make things line up. The thinner the bezels the better or forget about the issue all together. I have relatively thin bezels on mine (12mm) but don't actually use the bezel adjustment feature because for the most part you simply don't really notice the offsets...