fsx multi monitor setup

[killerbee1958 0]

Hi All,I have already seen some great advice on new hardware to buy to enable the best possible expierence for fsx and based on that i have already made up my mind on most of the hardware to be bought but i am struggling with one item for which i hope you all experienced simmers can give me some advice on.I will be getting myself a SB (i2500K) with P67 Motherboard, 8 Gb Ram, H100 processer cooling (for max overclock) W7 ultimate, 2 x SSD (one for OS and one for FSx) and i feel comfortable with that part of the rig.I will be using the rig to mainly play FSx with Airhauler (and later on online flying through IVAO or vatsim) but i also like to play sometimes first person shooters like Crysis2 or things alike.Favorite plane in FSx is PMDG's MD-11. Currently i play with two monitors attached to HD4890 (current rig) and TrackIr4 (and for the record, although i think it does not impact the advice, detailed scenery of UK, Some of the favorite airports (Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Heathrow, Flight sim commander 8, and active sky from hifi). Normal config is main screen for fsx (VC but still trying to get used to trackir sine i find it sometimes hard to keep head stable to tune the knobs) and other screen for FSC8 and AS display (and sometimes undocked 2D screens).Sometimes when i don't feel like using Trackir i fly in 2D cabin mode. The MD-11 can be quite efficiently flown in 2D.Off course i am also looking forward to the 737 NGx and this setup will be used frequently for flying this bird when available and what i would like to achieve is a 3 monitor setup for the VC cabin (left screen for display of left part of the cabin (captains window), front screen for front view, right screen for right side of the cabin (FO's side). And for the record this is also interesting to use with the MD-11 so this is by no means a thread to be started or misued about availablity of 737NGx.4th screen would be used for FSC and other FSx related display's (might for instance undock the FMC).It should be mentioned that i also have another (even older but still very capable PC , a C2D E8750 with 8 G) available in a LAN in the same room too. I am considering btw to sell the current rig (a 8G AMD 955BE with HD4890 but could consider keeping it if it is required for my requirements but the power consumpition in my computer room is already a bit high so preferred to get rid of it)So what have my current investigations learned me?1. I could go for two TI560-hawk cards in the new rig giving me the possiblity of 4 screens to attach and have the cards run in Sli for the FPS.(non sli off course for Fsx not sure how configurable this is) (for FPS games the graphic power does count). However i believe (and this is where i get a bit confused) that when flying in VC with TrackIr this does not compute. It seems that in VC you do not have a need for a left and right cockpit window view since this is achieved by actually moving your head and that part of the cockpit will show up on your main window (Right or Wrong???).Another way to go is with one TI560 and a Matrox Triplehead to go. This will in fact divide the main screen (normally on one screen) into three screens (but effectively you still will see the same view as with one screen but only enlarged. The way to get more cockpit on this screens is to decrease the zoom factor to 0.3 and then it will be about the same amount of info as with the above three separate screens in 2D (Right or Wrong?)One other option i found is to use wideview (specifically with the older rig) and run FSx on two pc's interconnected (would require a extra fsx licence but this cost around nil nowadays so no issue)And this is where i am and got lost.What are your opinions on the best (and most cost effetive) way forward to enable my requirement.If someone already has his kind of config the pro's (and con's if any) are highly appreciated.kind regardsFred Koch

[Tui737 22]

Hi FredHave you looked into http://www.matrox.com/graphics/surroundgaming/en/home/ Their triple head to go (digital addition) has native support for FSX & because it spreads the image overthe three monitors from one dvi output from your graphics card there is no drop in frame rate because your pc sees it has one monitor.I use it on PMDG 747 & previous 737ng on both flt sim 2004 & FSX. I've also used it with X-plane. It does help if you have three monitors the same, in my case I have 3 x 24" HD monitors.Because it supports many games including all the shooters, racing etc I'm sure it's right up your street.Check it out.

[killerbee1958 0]

Hi Mike,From your reply i understand you are using the matrox triplehead.Are you also using Trackir? And if so how is this working with the Triplehead?The triplehead is indeed one of the solutions to my request but i just don't see the exact differences. Maybe you can explain?Thanks in advanceFred Koch

[xflash 0]

I use it on PMDG 747 & previous 737ng on both flt sim 2004 & FSX.

You run the 747 with Th2go? I have there a Problem with the FSX version.. If i use the 747 with 3 monitors i get a flickering mouse, the panel dont show up and the framerate drops to abou 10. If i use it with 1920x1080 on one monitor all is fine.. Did you change something?

Are you also using Trackir? And if so how is this working with the Triplehead?

Yes it works like with only one monitor.. I use trackIR5 with no problems.

[avhpilot 156]

i run fsx with triplehead2go and trackir as well and the experience is still amazing. you will never want to go back once you're used to it.i use 3 identical 19inh monitors at 1280x1024 resulting in a total screen of 3840x1024. having deliberately chosen for screens with thin frames.with win xp i had some issues with matrox drivers in the past but now with win7 it's practically plug and play.

[Tui737 22]

15:16I have used tri4 & still have it connected. However, using the three monitors with th2g I find I don't need to use it & if I'm honest I find it hard work, as you have mentioned-turning knobs etc. TripleHead2go's software & it's SGU program allows you to set up all the games that it supports straight out of the box with a few mouse clicks. It will give you several resolutions to try & it may take a few goes before you feel happy with it. I found some resolution showed only outside views, strange looking panels etc but I found for me the top two resolutions gave me the best image. I can't remember what they are off the top of my head but it's something like 4800x1080. Enter matrox triple head into u-tube search engine, there are lots of videos that others have set up to give you an idea if it's for you. If there is a down side it's the cost of all the monitors if you want the best results. Eflash, it you have three monitors the same try higher resolution in the SGU software & then check fsx screen resolution are the same. Make sure you set the refresh rate as per you monitors ie-60htz. Also make sure that you have set wide screen 16.9 in the SGU. If you monitors are different then you may not get the results you want.

[Tui737 22]

Out of all PMDG aircraft the 747/400 is the most difficult to set up due to the thick window supports. For this aircraft I use a different zoom setting. The old 737ng in 2004 worked really well & from the screen shots & videos of the new ngx I just know it's going to be great set up on three monitors. The other great feature with th2g is the bezel management, it keeps everything aligned from the flight deck to the outside world. With the two hat switches on my yoke I can look around the flight deck adjust knobs & switches then a quick flick of a switch I'm back in normal view looking ahead with left front window in left monitor front view on centre & right front on right. The other plus is you get a good sense of motion through clouds & when banking & of course it makes taxiing a breeze.

[WotanUK 289]

I am starting to sound like a salesman for ATI, but have you considered the ATI eyefinity setup, it can cost less than the Matrox solution and doesn't require any additional cards. I am running a 6970 with 4x 27" iyama flat screens. 3 of them are used for the main display and i have one mounted on top for FSC or films. Despite what you have heard my card runs FSX with full detail settings and no problems, also running FSC and a film on the top monitor. The only downside is that it will only support two DVI monitors and two mini-display port, i use active convertors with no issues.I also think that nVidia do a similar solution, it's called surround gaming i think; i have no experience of that though.Hope i helped

[oleg 0]

XFlashIf i use the 747 with 3 monitors i get a flickering mouse, the panel dont show up and the framerate drops to abou 10Change (disk/FSX/Simobjects/Airplanes/PMDG747-400/panel/panel.cfg) size.change all the lines:{Window00}...window_size=0.333,0.874{Window38}...window_size=0.333,0.874(hese are the steps to take to fix the issue with the 2D main panel window not showing up on triple-wide resolutions, which causes extreme performance drops and the windows 'wait' cursor to remain active.1) Open the Panel folder for the aircraft you wish to fix.2) Make a backup copy of your panel.cfg file, in case anything goes wrong.3) Open the Panel.cfg file in notepad.4) Scroll down to the [window00] section. (This is *usually* the main panel window.)5) Change the line:window_size= 1.000, 0.874to:window_size= 0.333, 0.8746) Comment out the following line:window_pos= 0.000, 0.120When commented out, the line should look like this:// window_pos= 0.000, 0.1207) Save the file.info here : http://widescreengamingforum.com/forum/11008/problem-triplehead2go-and-fsx-2d-view?page=2

[jasonf 0]

I have there a Problem with the FSX version.. If i use the 747 with 3 monitors i get a flickering mouse, the panel dont show up and the framerate drops to abou 10.

This is the result of using the 2D panel with a screen way too wide for the panel. If I stay 100% VC with the MD-11 everything is fine but if I accidently select 2D cockpit view I get this same problem only in my case I don't see a panel. Maybe you are hitting one of the shortcut keys to bring up the main 2D panel. I'm re-installing my machine but when I'm done I intend on disabling the 2D cockpit menu for my setup. The only difference for me is that I'm using the nVidia Surround 2D in SLI mode instead of a TH2GO.

[Del57 3]

HI Fred Re your problem in keeping your head still when tuning knobs in Trackir. Just programme a button on your joystick to pause Trackir (you can do this thro Trackir).Then when you want to tune a knob hit pause, turn the knob to desired position,hit pause again and your back in business.Saves all the stress of trying to keep your head still.

[xflash 0]

Thanks Oleg,but it doesn`t work for me... :(But i found out, that i can use the 3d cockpit, with all panels above shift+7 so i can fly the 747..

[killerbee1958 0]

@Del57: Derek: Thanks for that tip on pause in TrackIr. Will defenitly try that out as i think that is a proper solution to my problem of tuning knobs while using TrackIr@Wotanuk: Ian: I feel more comfortabel going with Nvdia for FSx than ATI. Mind you ATI has beautiful graphic cards (using a 4890 now) but too many indications that nvdia and fsx are a better marriage.#Tui737: Mike Thanks for the info. The tip to look at youtube was very helpfull. I have looked at some of the vids and although very convincing i am still struggling with the concept. If i understand well the two ti560ti's in SLI will be able to support a 5760x1080 (3x 1920x1080)^{2,3 INfo on matrox side} resolution. However the note 3 shows that this resolution is at 50 Hz and the (to be bought Ilyama's E2409HDS-B1 show as supported frequencies Frequenties 24 - 80 kHz horizontal55 - 75 Hz verticalQuestion 1: Is 50 Hz not a bit unconvient (too low refresh rate)?Will the 2409HDS-B1 support the 50 hz?Just to be sure. Is it right that i will zoom the cockpit to let's say .3 (which in fact enlarges the cockpit area to be viewed but at less detail, but due to the fact that the T2G creates the option to set a overall resolution of 5760 x 1080i that effective i have a wider and better view?)thanks for all your input. greatly appreciated.Lat but not least. By using dvi-1 to the T2G i still have the option of attaching a " 2nd" display to DVI2 (the T2G is seen to win7 and games as display 1 and the second display as display 2) Right?Kind regardsFred Koch

[killerbee1958 0]

@wotanuk:ianStill snooping around on the web and found that eyefinity indeed might fit the bill.You mention you have fsx running through 6970 with 4 x 27 inch. WOuld you care to tell something more about the config (resolution used in fsx, stability, ease of install etc?)I would like to understand this some more as you properly pointed out this config might cost much less and still do the sameKind regardsFred Koch

[WotanUK 289]

@wotanuk:ianStill snooping around on the web and found that eyefinity indeed might fit the bill.You mention you have fsx running through 6970 with 4 x 27 inch. WOuld you care to tell something more about the config (resolution used in fsx, stability, ease of install etc?)I would like to understand this some more as you properly pointed out this config might cost much less and still do the sameKind regardsFred Koch

No problem.Running at 5920x1080 on main screen (composed of 3x 27" iiyama flat screens. A single one mounted above running at 1920x1080, used for FSC (Flightsim Commander) and/or movies. Never had a problem at all in FSX, never crashed. I have attached a picture for you...that top monitor is running Air Crash investigations...and the PMDG J41 (what else) at my local airport EGCC.As you can see you do get some distortion on the side monitors, it's nothing too bad, but can be distracting. The bezel compensation is also something that requires messing around with.The main difficulty i had was finding 4 monitors that worked, the 6970 only supports 2x DVI/VGA monitors, in fact it only supports 1xVGA (being DVI-I), it has 1xHDMI and 2x mini display ports. The HDMI has the same clock source as the DVI connections and cannot be used along with the DVI monitors, so you can only have 1x DVD-D and 1x HDMI/VGA/DVI-I. The other two monitors are running mini-display port active convertors, and they do need to be active! :)Performance wise, i run full settings (other than traffic and ground traffic), i was also ripping my Blu-Ray movies to M4v files for local play back while flying from ENGM to BIRK, no frame lag or anything; also i always run FSC and a film or TV program in that top monitor. I know that nVidia is better for FSX, but i use my computer for other things as well and the ATI card hasn't yet let me down. Again nVidia does have it's own multi-monitor solution you might want to look at, i don't know a great deal about it though. I will post my FSX.cfg file if you would like.Cheers