Triple Monitor Gaming for EVERYONE (who has 3 monitors)

[KiDCoDEa]

ITS HERE! http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/matrox_triple_head_2_go_preview/

after many requests... well at least mine http://forum.matrox.com/mga/viewtopic.php?t=17945 , seems like the chaps at matrox have delivered.
if u dont have 3 monitors, why not start looking for 3 good 17" or 19" used and cheap 4:3 monitors, coupled with this baby (non dvi) it will rule all sims and apps! :)
Its a dream come true for many, shame price is a bit steep 299$, but its A LOT cheaper than a curved display lcd at that res ;)
The dualhead was useless, but this is GOLD!
More details here (max refresh75hz) http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/th2go/home.cfm
and specifically gaming http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/th2go/gaming/home.cfm

have fun :thumb:

ps: i know a coder who has no excuse now for not grabbing a dx9 or dx10 card from ati or nv for coding on his triplehead enviro ;)

[AndroidXP]

Sounds awsome :thumb:

Now, all I need is three flat screens :(

[spankmeyer]

Seems really silly that Matrox didn't release that three years ago. I guess they don't like money. :D I hope the best for that unit, the specs and price look alright, so hopefully it'll work great and sell nicely. Not much competition on multi-display adapter market, so that's covered already.

[ScHiZ]

Great find kid, glad I always make a point of reading your posts :thumb: :D

[Fetzo]

this looks great! i need more money :(.

[Dizzy74]

Amazing news, kid.
Now i just hope that a 6800LE@GT with 3x19" puts out decent fps.

[Shotglass]

wouldnt their dual head splitter + a dual head graphiccard (which basically means any modern graphiccard) be significantly cheaper ?

[colcob]

I think the point is that if you use any kind of graphics card based dual/triple head system, the computer sees them as separate monitors and it can be very difficult to get full screen directX applications to spread accross all monitors.

The beauty of this system is that windows just sees one big monitor and provided your game allows you to use any resolution that your system supports, it will work.

[Shotglass]

the not so beautiful bit about those systems is that your desktop isnt two seperate monitors but a single one so any programm you run maximised (and videos in full screen) spans across all three monitors and you have big gaps between parts of the picture ... or even words when you surf the net

[TheRealEddie]

sounds cool but then I'd need a graphics card that can do 60fps at 3840x1024 (and 1024 is kinda low)

[Vain]

Do the math:
300€ for the splitter
500€ for two new TFTs
Thats 800€ for a triple-head-system (not counting a new GFXboard that may be necessary)
For 800 loose €s I'd head myself towards a HeadMountedDisplay. Those things price similarly, but they recognize the turning of your head so you can turn your head to the right and see the correct picture to the right of you (because the display is moving with your eyes). That is better than a triple-head-solution or TrackIR.
Still a lot of money.

Vain

[KiDCoDEa]

the not so beautiful bit about those systems is that your desktop isnt two seperate monitors but a single one so any programm you run maximised (and videos in full screen) spans across all three monitors and you have big gaps between parts of the picture ... or even words when you surf the net

watching the pics and reading the website helps. thats where powerdesk software comes in ;)

Financial and Enterprise http://www.matrox.com/mga/corp/th2go/home.cfm

Creative Professionals http://www.matrox.com/graphics/workstation/cre_pro/products/th2go/home.cfm

CAD and GIS http://www.matrox.com/mga/workstation/3dws/products/triplehead2go/release.cfm

Security and Process Control http://www.matrox.com/mga/workstation/3dws/products/triplehead2go/release.cfm

@vain: math is simple for me. In new condition, u can get 3x 1280x1024 lcd monitors for 600 euros, so thats 900 euros for a 3840x1024 realestate. where can u buy such a monitor at that price? nowhere. not even close.
If u go for used monitors, then it becomes even more atractive. u can even add 13x 9" fresnel lens and get seamless connections! all for 500 to 600 euros!!

[colcob]

the not so beautiful bit about those systems is that your desktop isnt two seperate monitors but a single one so any programm you run maximised (and videos in full screen) spans across all three monitors and you have big gaps between parts of the picture ... or even words when you surf the net

The software that comes with it catches any desktop applications and only maximises them to the current screen.

Note, I'm not a matrox employee or anything, I just read the technical page.

[P5YcHoM4N]

I so have to get myself one of those. Damn does it look kick ass :D One of those and a 7900GTX, oh yeah :insane:

[tristancliffe]

It'll be interesting to see just how good frame rates are in games with 3 monitors and decent resolutions, with AA and AF, on more modest (ish) graphics cards.

Not everyone can justify the megabucks for a top of the range graphics card that'll be out of date before you get it home, but more could justify spending money on something like this that is likely to last until either monitors become really cheap or vga outputs become a no no.

[KiDCoDEa]

i already ran my old gf4 on resolution at 3840px wide and it didnt suffer much. with any modern card u can even enable low AA and AF.
totally playable lfs. trick is dat it isnt drawing much vertical res (usually 768 or 1024 max).
so yes, on a gf4 u can play lfs at those res. anything better will only improve the experience further.

[SamH]

Well I guess BANG goes my vacation this year! Suddenly the money's needed for more important things :thumb:

A triple-head is such an obvious gaming solution, it amazes me that it's actually so late in arriving, and that it's Matrox (no disrespect to them) that are first to market with it, over ATI/nVidia. Credit to Matrox for demonstrating the ability to be more consumer-driven than those GFX giants.

[B2B@300]

Can LFS display 3840x1024? or any of the other resolutions that this divice does, as they are all about 4:1 aspect ratio... I'm very likely going to get one but would just like to know for sure if LFS will display properly accross all the screens :shy:

[KiDCoDEa]

yes it will display properly. i've tested and matrox also. u can see lfs listed as supported games in their site. not that it was needed to be there. in fact lfs is much more modern than most of those on the list since it adapts to dif screen sizes very well. no stretched 2d ui unlike many other games...
all vector baby.
even bg images are constrained ratio ;)
btw i have ran lfs at higher res than that of the triplehead max can display :)
btw u can also run lfs on origami and oqo. (not that i tested that one) ;)

aditional scawen info:
Ah, I'd better mention what most people probably don't know...



If you select any 16:3 ratio screen mode (same as 3 normal 4:3 monitors) then LFS goes into a special "parhelia" mode, and the text / laptimes / etc - all 2d display things, are confined to the central screen, plus a couple of other layout improvements.

[B2B@300]

Thx for the info KidCoDEa, I know LFS was in the support list excetera but find info like that can be rather sketchy, and just wanted to get confirmation in black and white :tilt:

[Jarmin]

cheers for bring this little beast into the light :)

i'll wait for the price to come down however :thumb:

[misterX]

this has already been done earlier ;)
back in RSCNET days we played lfs on 3 monitors, with a matrox parhelia with triple head support (we had a big center 21" and two 19" iiyama CRTs)

i still had some screenshots of that on my ftp, but deleted them some weeks ago..

cheers

[Hyperactive]

But the (one of the) point is that you don't need to use/have parhelia for this. ;)

[KiDCoDEa]

wow misterx u totally missed the point. which is strange on such a detailed and linked thread...
lfs is deved on parhelia for 3 years or more... that wont impress anyone here.
this is not about 3 monitor gaming. this is about 3 monitor gaming for everyone using nonmatrox cards. dx9 cards etc etc.

[B2B@300]

cheers for bring this little beast into the light :)

i'll wait for the price to come down however :thumb:

Wouldn't hold my breath for that one :schwitz: Matrox has a history of keeping there pricing on products fairly consistent (i.e. they don't drop much over time)

I know where your coming from, I'm the same I generally don't buy the latest hardware and wait for it to go down in price, but in this case I think I'll make an exception :D

[Hyperactive]

Also, follow the links of the link: http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=245355

EDIT: check the post 12 (on my link):D

[KiDCoDEa]

here a bit more info on triplehead:
"Matrox says a DVI version of the TripleHead2Go is possible, but such a product would have very high bandwidth demands and therefore require a card with a dual-link DVI output. Matrox also points out that the software doesn't support daisy-chaining multiple TripleHead2Go units, so users looking for six-monitor setups will have to bide their time."

[Scawen]

If you select any 16:3 ratio screen mode (same as 3 normal 4:3 monitors) then LFS goes into a special "parhelia" mode, and the text / laptimes / etc - all 2d display things, are confined to the central screen, plus a couple of other layout improvements.Correction... I meant 12:3 of course, not 16:3.

3 x 4:3 = 12:3 (aka 4:1)

I got 3 21 inch monitors in good second hand condition from a shop with piles of monitors (i guess from offices upgrading to LCD) years ago when Matrox sent me a Parhelia to support.

I normally race in 2400 x 600 to keep the frame rate up, any higher isn't good enough for racing. 600 doesn't seem that low because it's more zoomed in. Horizontal FOV is 120, giving an approximately life-size view.

I don't think you will need 1024 in the vertical resolution. I'm interested to know how / if the new Matrox gadget works with a last year or so card like a Radeon 9800 Pro - specially as i've got one of those lying round here - i know it has better frame rate but i can't yet give up my triple head! :D

[Scawen]

According to Kid's post here : http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=81213#post81213

3072x768@75Hz looks like the one to use.

The other modes seem to say they are at 60 Hz! But 60 Hz is like a terrible flicker you don't want for anything! [EDIT : Shotglass corrected me below - 60 Hz is the correct refresh rate for LCD screens] Hopefully 75 Hz will be ok [EDIT : For CRT monitors] and from my experience, 768 is enough for LFS in the vertical resolution.

[Shotglass]

But 60 Hz is like a terrible flicker you don't want for anything!

all lcds run at 60 hz ... so its the res to go for with a lcd (its also apparent that this res was intended for use with lcd since for some weird reason all 1280 lcds are 5:4 and therefore have a vertical res of 1024)

[Scawen]

all lcds run at 60 hz ... so its the res to go for with a lcd (its also apparent that this res was intended for use with lcd since for some weird reason all 1280 lcds are 5:4 and therefore have a vertical res of 1024)Thanks for the explanation. I'd better make LFS recognise that 15:4 ratio as a 3 screen mode, just like the 12:3 ratio.

[Shotglass]

hmmm i wonder if 2 of those would work for a 6 monitor setup

[Forbin]

LOL! The funny part about that is that it's addressed in one of the links posted above which specifically states that no, you can't hook them up together.

EDIT: Scratch that. It's mentioned in THIS very thread. :) See post #29 by Kid.

Besides, with an even number of screens, you once again run into the problem of having the center of the image split.

[Speed Soro]

People, and about XGA projectors? Isn't cheaper and better, once you have no vertical divisions?

A lamp with 3000 hours of lifetime can give you more than 4 years of 2 hours/night every single day of fully satisfaction, IMO.

What would be better in your opinions? It fits with a recent thread mine here where I ask for big screens solutions...

Silvio

[Shotglass]

LOL! The funny part about that is that it's addressed in one of the links posted above which specifically states that no, you can't hook them up together.

EDIT: Scratch that. It's mentioned in THIS very thread. :) See post #29 by Kid.

Besides, with an even number of screens, you once again run into the problem of having the center of the image split.

the way i understood it was that you cant cascade them ... but all modern graphiccards have 2 outputs and can run 2 monitors so if the driver allows it you should be able to run 6 monitors

[Greboth]

Right - you need 3 19 inch tft monitors for the 3 screen view. THen 2 little 9 inch screens for wing mirrors. THen a 12 inch widescreen sittinon on top of your monitors for rear view mirror. Would be amazing lol. Although i have no idea how possible it would be. lol.

[TheRealEddie]

According to Kid's post here : http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=81213#post81213

3072x768@75Hz looks like the one to use.

The other modes seem to say they are at 60 Hz! But 60 Hz is like a terrible flicker you don't want for anything! [EDIT : Shotglass corrected me below - 60 Hz is the correct refresh rate for LCD screens] Hopefully 75 Hz will be ok [EDIT : For CRT monitors] and from my experience, 768 is enough for LFS in the vertical resolution.

I must have terrible eyes because I cant seem to have a problem with 60hz. On games that I want to cap the framerate at 60 fps, I cap the refresh rate at 60hz. It must be me :pillepall

[NotAnIllusion]

Dunno, I can't use 60 Hz at all. Hurts my eyes immediately. Three screens would be kinda cool though.. 60 Hz or not :p

[keiran]

With a CRT monitor I'm pretty sure your not supposed to run them under 72hz :p At school they run them at 60hz and I can see it flickering. I can't work on a school computer for more than 15mins at a time without having to look away briefly :s Just hurts my eyes.

Keiran

[Gimpster]

To the person who wanted to use two of these to get 6 screens. I think that it will given that each can be connected to its one video output from the computer. So in essance each of the computers video outputs could be turned in to 3. Humm... Nvidia make a quad output workstation card, 3*4=12 :D

[Forbin]

the way i understood it was that you cant cascade them ... but all modern graphiccards have 2 outputs and can run 2 monitors so if the driver allows it you should be able to run 6 monitors
Hmm, yes, you may be right. For some reason I thought I saw two cables running into the box from the computer and another 3 to each monitor.

I must have terrible eyes because I cant seem to have a problem with 60hz. On games that I want to cap the framerate at 60 fps, I cap the refresh rate at 60hz. It must be me
If you have an LCD, you're obviously not going to see any flicker at 60Hz due to the way an LCD works. However, even on a CRT, there are some people (probably a lot actually) who can't see flicker. Maybe you're one of those people.

[Shotglass]

hmmm which cheap fast response 1280*1024 lcd has the smallest bezel round the screen ?

[sil3ntwar]

anything more than 60hz i cant use. The screen goes blurry and hurts my eyes straight away.

[KiDCoDEa]

I normally race in 2400 x 600 to keep the frame rate up, any higher isn't good enough for racing.

thats where any modern card (hell even a quite old one) blasts away a parhelia. as i said, in lfs, even a gf4 will do.
btw scawen u have the ideal setup for a seamless fresnel lens set, kind of like these
http://www.rickleephoto.com/rlcoll.htm
http://www.avsim.com/pages/0404/bugeye/bugeye_review.html
http://www.bugeyetech.com/home.php
http://www.bugeyetech.com/avsim_clips.php
http://www.3dlens.com/

[KiDCoDEa]

all lcds run at 60 hz ... so its the res to go for with a lcd (its also apparent that this res was intended for use with lcd since for some weird reason all 1280 lcds are 5:4 and therefore have a vertical res of 1024)

if u ever made gfx for tvs and consoles or early home computers like c64 or amiga, you would know why.
but then u also have to understand common (too common in fact) misconceptions about screen sizes and pixel ratios. in fact when u hear someone explain the whole plethora of resolutions with the term "screen aspect ratio" with no further explanations u just know one thing:
he doesnt understand jackshit.
i'll wont go into why pixel ratios are more important than screen dimension relationships here, since its not the target crowd either. i could say dig the web, but its so filled with crap, misconceptions or incomplete info that its gonna be a tuff ride for anyone that didnt live the events (creation of vga etc).
basically , to put it simple, the answer to your question/doubt would be "different technological background". one comes from a square pixel (1.0) background the other from a 0.8 pixel background (tv).
how bout that for an answer ? ;)

ps: if u have problem understanding, and have a crt monitor look at it. its prolly of a 4 by 3 screen dimension (1,33(3) relation). u can output 1024x768 (1,33(3) relation) to it and the pixel size on screen with be square 1.0.
then select 1280x1024 (1,25 relation) on ya card and output to exact same screen (as u can see the monitor itself didnt grow or contract, its exact same size and thats good, coz it means your monitor isnt a living thing that will eat you) then that res assumes a 0.8 pixel ratio for that exact screen.
if u load amiga graphics, for example, then you'll see them properly...or tv signal direct feed onto screen. etc etc.

[B2B@300]

I got 3x 21 inch monitors in good second hand condition from a shop with piles of monitors (i guess from offices upgrading to LCD) years ago when Matrox sent me a Parhelia to support.

I normally race in 2400 x 600 to keep the frame rate up, any higher isn't good enough for racing. 600 doesn't seem that low because it's more zoomed in. Horizontal FOV is 120, giving an approximately life-size view.

I don't think you will need 1024 in the vertical resolution. I'm interested to know how / if the new Matrox gadget works with a last year or so card like a Radeon 9800 Pro - specially as i've got one of those lying round here - i know it has better frame rate but i can't yet give up my triple head! :D

:razz: Now we know for certain, that LFS has been specifically programed for surround gaming and a wheel :D So we have to conclude that you need both to fully appreciate LFS :scratchch :razz: :D we can also assume that we will get priority support for the matrox device (vested interest :razz:)

BTW interesting "temporary" permantent desk design :razz: especially like the G-Clamps :D

[tristancliffe]

as u can see the monitor itself didnt grow or contract, its exact same size and thats good, coz it means your monitor isnt a living thing that will eat you)

What a disturbing thought :x

[Scawen]

People, and about XGA projectors? Isn't cheaper and better, once you have no vertical divisions?

A lamp with 3000 hours of lifetime can give you more than 4 years of 2 hours/night every single day of fully satisfaction, IMO.

What would be better in your opinions? It fits with a recent thread mine here where I ask for big screens solutions...

SilvioYes, a projector is a great solution, if you have a plain white wall, and you can rearrange your room and put the racing seat in the middle. I tried this once with a friend's projector, and it was great. Only thing is, i can't lose that space, i need that wall for other things, and so the three monitor solution is good because i can have them on the window side, and my racing seat there facing the window. So... projector is great if you have some space available, but 3 monitors is good for space restricted people like those who live in and around London. :)

It's good for racing simulators because most of the action is around the horizon, so the 4:1 apect ratio is useful. Probably not so good for flight simulators, etc. Personally i don't mind the central bar, you get used to it quickly, but almost looking forward to one day when one of my monitors breaks down and i'm forced to get 3 black LCD screens with a narrower edge. :D

You can see my setup on the previous page : http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=81276#post81276

[Scawen]

BTW interesting "temporary" permantent desk design :razz: especially like the G-Clamps :DThanks. I keep meaning to just screw it on to the desk because it's annoying when i need a clamp for something else and my keyboard plywood base goes without its wooden supports for a day. :D

[El_TaxMaN]

Scawen, may you put photos from your office?? :D

[AndroidXP]

You could also accidently slip in some screenshots of the newest LFS goodies :D


Seriously, a triple monitor setup would rock. Combine that with a fresnel lens and the bars are gone, too. But before I can get three monitors I probably need a own apartment first :(

If I won in a lottery I'd totally build a curved room with a projector (or even three projectors) and add a cyberseat to that. Or I'd buy a decent car and do real racing... oh the beauty of imaginary decisions.

[B2B@300]

If I won in a lottery I'd totally build a curved room with a projector (or even three projectors) and add a cyberseat to that. Or I'd buy a decent car and do real racing... oh the beauty of imaginary decisions.

:razz: Thats my favourite hobby :Looking_a

[Speed Soro]

Yes, a projector is a great solution, if you have a plain white wall, and you can rearrange your room and put the racing seat in the middle. I tried this once with a friend's projector, and it was great. Only thing is, i can't lose that space, i need that wall for other things, and so the three monitor solution is good because i can have them on the window side, and my racing seat there facing the window. So... projector is great if you have some space available, but 3 monitors is good for space restricted people like those who live in and around London. :)

It's good for racing simulators because most of the action is around the horizon, so the 4:1 apect ratio is useful. Probably not so good for flight simulators, etc. Personally i don't mind the central bar, you get used to it quickly, but almost looking forward to one day when one of my monitors breaks down and i'm forced to get 3 black LCD screens with a narrower edge. :D

You can see my setup on the previous page : http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=81276#post81276


I use sometimes a 2 monitors solution cause it's very simple, once all new vga cards have 2 connectors. I like to use lower fov, around 50 to get the virtual cockpit at almost the same size of real cars.

I measure that doing this: I seat on my car, extend my arms in front of me and with just one eye I measure hand to hand a virtual distance from one side to other side of the track. Then I seat on my desk and do the same thing until reach the same condition, and that always gimme a fov between 45-50. Of course, even in 19LCD screen, the field's width becomes too small, the sense of speed decrease, and I have some difficult to see the others in my laterals, but the immersion is much bigger, so the gain worth the price.

I'm in intention of buying a Epson projector Powerlite S3, which is relatively cheap (about U$1000,00) here in Brazil. Its specifications says that it's svga (800 x 600) native, but also says that it's able to run xga resolutions (1024). I'm trying to talk with Epson for 2 days, but I've had no sucess yet, just to understand that supposed xga capability :shrug:

The 3 monitors solutions is a good stuff for space issues, and it liberates you from rearranging your layout, in the case you have just one pc.

I'm really thinkin about build a specific pc with projector, just for race.

Sometimes I get myself complaining about spending money with such things, but I do no others things to have fun, that is my hobby, and in a automobile's world, even RC cars are very expensive, sometimes more than a good set of pc+joystick+projector.

And if you go to real cars, even karts, sure you'll spend much more, so I decided have no guiltiness when thinking about spending my money with myself :D :pillepall :Looking_a

But yes, the 3 moinitors, with such Matrox solution, is something to dream about, once is cheaper than a new vga, and with a price of a simple Epson S3 projector you can buy 3 19"LCD monitors.

[B2B@300]

But yes, the 3 moinitors, with such Matrox solution, is something to dream about, once is cheaper than a new vga, and with a price of a simple Epson S3 projector you can buy 3 19"LCD monitors.

Do a search for DIY projectors, there is details of how to make very good quality projector out of an overhead projector and LCD panel. Think there is even a topic on our forums here or RSC.

[Shotglass]

...

are you trying to say that those lcds have a non sqare par ? because they do they have a 1:1 par a 5:4 native resolution and a 5:4 screen ar

[TheRealEddie]

Do a search for DIY projectors, there is details of how to make very good quality projector out of an overhead projector and LCD panel. Think there is even a topic on our forums here or RSC.

Heh, those DYI projectors are "very good"? From what I've seen its usually an internet scam. =)

I have an Infocus 4805 projector that I use for TV/Movies/PS2. I've also connected my computer to it as well, but the 4805 has a max resolution of 1024x768 and LFS doesn't look so hot on it. One thing about this Matrox device is the fact that it the horizontal resolution is so high thus allowing you to really get that peripheral vision.

[Vain]

I saw that internet-scam too. Don't go for costly packages, but actually do it yourself. I saw people do those things and they worked well.

Vain

[Speed Soro]

what is DIY and internet-scam?

[Renku]

what is DIY?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&client=opera&rls=en&q=define%3ADIY&btnG=Search

:google:

[B2B@300]

Heh, those DYI projectors are "very good"? From what I've seen its usually an internet scam. =)

I have an Infocus 4805 projector that I use for TV/Movies/PS2. I've also connected my computer to it as well, but the 4805 has a max resolution of 1024x768 and LFS doesn't look so hot on it. One thing about this Matrox device is the fact that it the horizontal resolution is so high thus allowing you to really get that peripheral vision.

I actually prefer the matrox solution too :p thats why you see my positive comments about it throughout the thread :D as for the DIY projector being a scam :scratchch well it could be... but from the research I've done it does look possible if you use good parts, and as they say nothing ventured nothing gained. (but you would have to be handy at DIY projects and I didn't say it was without risk) I only posted it for SpeedSoro's as he seems set on that path.

[KiDCoDEa]

what is DIY?

"faz você mesmo"

[sdether]

Yes, a projector is a great solution, if you have a plain white wall, and you can rearrange your room and put the racing seat in the middle. I tried this once with a friend's projector, and it was great. Only thing is, i can't lose that space, i need that wall for other things, and so the three monitor solution is good because i can have them on the window side, and my racing seat there facing the window. So... projector is great if you have some space available, but 3 monitors is good for space restricted people like those who live in and around London. :)

Another problem with the projector is that while you can blow it up real nice, it's not that high res. And if you go with a 16:9 projector you're basically looking at 960x600. You can really see every pixel when you get close to that projection.

I'm definitely going to check this device out once it drops. Dell keeps running crazy deals on 19" LCDs that picking up a third isn't going to be too hard. And yeah, those are 1280x1024 @ 60Hz native, like most 19" LCD, so the 15:4 "special" mode would be much appreciated.

[Speed Soro]

"faz você mesmo"

Faça você mesmo :tilt:

Portuguese language is full of details... :(

[KiDCoDEa]

correcto. tentei "abrasileirar" e "me dei mal". :)
demasiada novela a ouvir pontapés na gramática.
"eu amo tu, porcina..."
keep it up!

ps: the only projectors worth it are imho 16:9 projectors. hdtv gave a boost of these. u can get a 1280x720 projector or a 1920x1080 projector. shame they are still so expensive. especially when compared with the solution that this thread presents ;)

[OPK]

Hm, seen this thing in a news article last week :D

http://www.hartware.de/showpic.php?type=news&id=39531&nr=4&path=/media/news/39000/39531_4b.jpg

Awesome - though very expensive ^^
The idea behind it is so innovative and relatively easy ^^
It should work with any 3d card capable of handling the resolution required :)

[Scawen]

thats where any modern card (hell even a quite old one) blasts away a parhelia. as i said, in lfs, even a gf4 will do...Ok... what i want to know is, is there a list of graphics cards that can do these high resolutions?

All i can find about a 9800 Pro, is that the maximum resolution is 2048x1536 - which isn't enough to run at 2400x600, 3072x1024 or 3840x1024. :(

I was hoping the 9800 Pro would do the job, as it's a reasonably recent DX9 card, from last year, and also because i've got one sitting here just asking to be used.

[B2B@300]

Ok... what i want to know is, is there a list of graphics cards that can do these high resolutions?

All i can find about a 9800 Pro, is that the maximum resolution is 2048x1536 - which isn't enough to run at 2400x600, 3072x1024 or 3840x1024. :(

I was hoping the 9800 Pro would do the job, as it's a reasonably recent DX9 card, from last year, and also because i've got one sitting here just asking to be used.

Does it have a custom resolution option in your drivers?

I've got a nvidia 6600GT and it has an option for setting a custom resolution. I tried 3840x1024 and it accepted it! So I'm hoping it is ok :D

P.s 2048x1536 is 3.1 million pixals and 3072x1024 is about the same so theoretically it should be able... I also just checked before I put in the custom res the max res my card listed was 2048x1536 as well, my card is 256MB so if yours is it should be possible to get 3840x1024 out of it, I guess it is just if it allows custom modes.

Also on the Matrox site it says it will automatically show the resolutions that your card can support when you install it, seems any card with a RAMDAC of 300MHz bandwidth or higher will do the job, they also said as it gets closer to the release date they will publish a list of compatible cards.

[Kegetys]

At least with nvidia cards you can use whatever resolutions you want. Though I have never tried that large ones myself, I would guess it is only limited by the RAMDAC and video memory.

[KiDCoDEa]

took 5 seconds here
as i said, i already ran WAY WAY higher res here...

ps: btw this even shows up in my f520R because this beast eats it all ;)
my usual windows desktop is 4:3_1440x1080 (hdv format default coincidently but for 16:9) because i like seeing pixels on a 21". my usual gaming res are 1600x900 (memorized vertical stretch to match pixelratio, monitor creates the black bars) or 1280x720 using same technique. i also output native 16:10_1280x768 to the tv_lcd (75cm diagonal) i have here which i use mostly for divx viewing.

[Vizzini]

This looks interesting :)

http://maxdisplays.com/x.php?md-319 (http://maxdisplays.com/x.php?md-319)

[KiDCoDEa]

This looks interesting :)

http://maxdisplays.com/x.php?md-319 (http://maxdisplays.com/x.php?md-319)

not really... much better exists, with a lot thinner bezels and much better specs.
but this aint a thread about monitors, multi or not :)

[Kegetys]

The 75Hz limitation seems a bit worrying. I find 75Hz to be barely bearable when using a single monitor, but with multiple monitors at least 80-85Hz is a must for the side monitors since the eye has higher 'refresh rate' at the sides which causes flickering when not looking directly at the monitor. It would not be a problem with LCD screen of course, but then with those the analog input and output signals are not a very good choice.

And even with CRT monitors it would be better if the input would use a digital signal as converting the analog VGA signal back to digital, and then back to analog again is surely going to affect the image quality.

I also wonder if it is possible to disable the triple monitor thing from it and just pass through the vga signal to one monitor. This would allow using the desktop with a higher resolution on one monitor, and play games with three monitors without too much hassle... :scratchch
edit: After re-reading those specs, it seems this is possible in "VESA-compatible single screen modes", I wonder if my 1456x1092@84Hz is VESA-compatible :P

[KiDCoDEa]

kegetys that issue doesnt exist in lcd land. which is what they are mostly aiming at. pixels and images just get updated vs drawn on screen by a refreshing blasting cannon :)
but i agree, for crt land, more than 75hz would be welcomed.
btw, affecting quality could mean it improves or remains equal. :) which given matrox legendary signal treatment quality i wouldnt be surprised...
dvi version needs GIGANTIC bandwith, which would need dualdvi link out of card, which in effect would limit the target of users to much. not many have such a card. maybe in future a dvi version comes out, they said its possible but only for a limited number of users...
blame dvi design... ;)
this is the perfect product considering its target imho. i just would love more hz support for crt land. and thats what i asked about in their forum. other than that, seems spot on.
I also wonder if it is possible to disable the triple monitor thing from it and just pass through the vga signal to one monitor. This would allow using the desktop with a higher resolution on one monitor, and play games with three monitors without too much hassle...
yes it is. and its automatic. upto 1600x1200 on center screen from what i recall (aint sure)

edit: yep, my mem served me well:
Supported Display Modes
Resolution Refresh rate
1920 x 480 (triple 640) 60Hz
2400 x 600 (triple 800) 60Hz
3072 x 768 (triple 1024) 75Hz
3840 x 1024 (triple 1280) 60Hz
Regular VESA-compatible single screen modes at up to 1600x1200 on center display

[Kegetys]

btw, affecting quality could mean it improves or remains equal. :)

I really dont think this is possible. If you have ever used those switchboxes that allow you to switch between multiple VGA inputs for one monitor, you'll know that having anything in between the monitor and the video card can have a massive (negative) impact on the image quality. The VGA signal is very 'vulnerable', even a bit of extra solder, or one extra component somewhere along the path of the VGA signal can cause the quality to get noticeably worse. In fact I'd guess that this is the reasons why it is limited to such low refresh rates and resolutions, at higher ones the image quality would suffer too much.

Also for desktop use it would be nice if it would have an integrated 'switchbox', so it would have three inputs (DVI!) and three outputs. In normal desktop resolutions each monitor would display their own input signal, but when changing to a surround resolution on the middle monitor the side monitors would automatically switch to display the side views.

[KiDCoDEa]

actually i have used a lot of databox switches. mostly linked to sgis and highend pcs. in fact i used several brands (yes they differ quality a lot and some eat signal like i eat cereals) and yes im familiar with signal losses from cables since the time i soldered my own (mostly for amiga geekness). u take my sentence as you wish, i know what i said. what goes on inside triplehead is not a simple matter of bridging between A and C or B and C, you are comparing apples to bananas. why the switch example here ? to illustrate what u want to say. not to illustrate what i said.
signal processing is not a simple matter, if it was nvdia and ati would have reached matrox quality output long ago on analog signal.

[Rob76]

KiDCoDEa,

You seem to know your monitors so you might be able to answer this for me. Is VGA or DVI better for smooth gameplay, where smoothness at the expense of picture clarity may be preferable?

I thought VGA might be worse because an LCD monitor has to convert the analogue signal to digital, where as DVI is already digital, but from what you and Matrox have said regarding this triplehead it sounds like DVI might be a bigger bandwidth burden. Does that impact smoothness at higher resolutions vs VGA, even with single LCD monitors?

Cheers,
Rob

[Kegetys]

what goes on inside triplehead is not a simple matter of bridging between A and C or B and C, you are comparing apples to bananas.

My point was that working with analog signal is not a good thing, and is going to affect the image quality. No need to try to start a debate about it, wait until the device is available and we'll see.

signal processing is not a simple matter, if it was nvdia and ati would have reached matrox quality output long ago on analog signal.

Neither nvidia or ati make the cards themselves so it is propably mostly up to the card manufacturers. Though there propably are some minimum requirements on the quality of the components on the card, at least they used to vary from cheap junk to ok in older cards but all seem ok now. And for the card manufacturers it propably isn't a question of being able to do it, but if it is worth it to put in expensive components that will be useful for only a minority of their user base (for "average" consumer cards).

[KiDCoDEa]

No need to try to start a debate about it, wait until the device is available and we'll see.
i could say the exact same to you , couldnt i?
i didnt start the "omg its analog, the signal will get less quality (http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?p=82189#post82189)"



Neither nvidia or ati make the cards themselves so it is propably mostly up to the card manufacturers.
excuse me? 2 words "reference card"

[Kegetys]

at least i didnt start the "omg its analog, the signal will prolly suck"

I haven't said such things.

excuse me? 2 words "reference card"

Reference cards are designed by nvidia/ati, yes, but its up to the card manufacturers to choose a) if they use the reference design at all and b) if they use the same components in it.

[KiDCoDEa]

KiDCoDEa,

Is VGA or DVI better for smooth gameplay, where smoothness at the expense of picture clarity may be preferable?
Cheers,
Rob

hmm lets see... if u ever played a consistent frame per sec game synced to monitor refresh/update u know that is smooth. at consisten 60fps the prefered choice is lcd (anything under 16ms should be fine). but then, very few pcs have the horse power to pump consisntent sync on 60fps. and the ones that do, rarely is a game and/or system, as optimized as a console enviroment. so in the end, you might have a pc with wasted horsepower. meaning less eficient for the bucks u pay for it. dvi only allows max 60fps framerate.
dvi has better image quality , visible for example in a totally black page. it has no noise whatsoever. flawless. same lcd via vga cable gets visible noise.
so if u want high fps visible (for example i can do 150hz or 200hz on my monitor at certain res) nothing beats a vga crt for fluidness.
if your aim is 60fps (which is surely enuff for most games) then a dvi lcd is nice.
i have both, which is the optimal solution ;)

[KiDCoDEa]

Reference cards are designed by nvidia/ati, yes, but its up to the card manufacturers to choose a) if they use the reference design at all and b) if they use the same components in it.

to which the answer a) and b) is big majority of times, YES.
and its not just components quality, its how they are used.
just the fact u have a final dac box outside a gigantic box of interferences patterns is already beneficial. if it identifies patterned noise signals then it can filter. there is much enhancement that can be done. no magic will occur, only work and love for quality. indeed in nv and ati wanted i believe they would also reach matrox signal quality, thing is, they never did, and thats the target for this product.

[Kegetys]

to which the answer a) and b) is big majority of times, YES.

Actually I think its more like A) Yes, quite often and B) no, almost never.

no magic will occur, only work and love for quality. indeed in nv and ati wanted i believe they would also reach matrox signal quality, thing is, they never did, and thats the target for this product.

Do you mean the target of triplehead2go? I thought it is targeted to people who already have fast cards from other manufacturers and want to have triple monitor gaming. That is people who already have these cards that output no-so-good analog signal, there is no way triplehead2go could (truly) improve the signal, only make it worse. The question is how much. Because of that it would also make sense to make a version with DVI input and high quality analog outputs, so 'gaming card' owners would get high quality analog vga video out of it at the same time too.

[Shotglass]

does anybody know how much delay th2g will cause ?

[ORION]

Hm when you look at the latest cards, you can be happy if you dont see the default cooler. I dont know any recent nvidia/ati card that doesnt use the default architecture, except for those dual asus cards maybe.
nvidia even makes complete cards, the manufacturers can only chose which colors the pcb shall have :)

[KiDCoDEa]

Actually I think its more like A) Yes, quite often and B) no, almost never.
yes you think. u also think that "Neither nvidia or ati make the cards themselves so it is propably mostly up to the card manufacturers."

thinking is good. but knowing the facts is better. please stop spreading useless erroneous info in a thread about a specific product which has little to do with oem cards from nvidia or ati which you obviously never saw, since they "dont even make them".

[Kegetys]

thinking is good. but knowing the facts is better.

Yup, but talking like you think you know the facts when you dont is worse :tilt:

please stop spreading useless erroneous info in a thread about a specific product which has little to do with oem cards from nvidia or ati which you obviously never saw, since they "dont even make them".

What useless errorenous info have I spread? And it was you who started talking about nvidia and ati.

[KiDCoDEa]

Yup, but talking like you think you know the facts when you dont is worse :tilt:

are u trolling?
i've had enuff of this crap.
once we post anything worthwhile here come the xperts.
what facts am i "thinking i know" mr perfect?
which ones?
the ones i have contradicted your opinions with? sad isnt it? getting owned? we dont know everything, but very few of us when corrected get back trolling and acusing others of talking bull.
if u cant distinguish between opinons and facts then go upgrade your interpretation skills somewhere else.
im not your ideal partner for that.

[Kegetys]

i've had enuff of this crap.

Good. Why couldn't you have stopped there then instead of having to resort to name calling?

[sdether]

When all is said and done, I hope sales of the triplehead2go will be good enough that ATI and Nvidia recognize that triple head cards have a market and decide to just build a GPU with 3 outputs.

Truly, having fast 3D cards with dual head make almost no sense to me. I use dual head for work all the time. It's really good for programming. But i never use it for gaming. Always just use a single head because almost all games will have the focus of the action in the center, where with dual head you just get a big bar. We'll see what develops.

[Rob76]

so if u want high fps visible (for example i can do 150hz or 200hz on my monitor at certain res) nothing beats a vga crt for fluidness.
if your aim is 60fps (which is surely enuff for most games) then a dvi lcd is nice.
i have both, which is the optimal solution ;)

Thanks. I think I'll stick with DVI with my LCD - the picture quality is far better at non-native resolutions. The VGA input seems to handle frame rates higher than 60 (when not VSYNCed) better than under DVI. Also strangely, it offers a few resolution options in windows in VGA mode that DVI doesn't, but many look awful. The scaling of non-native resolutions is handled better with the DVI input.

Do you know if there's a resolution (or number of pixels) where DVI chokes compared to VGA? I guess I'm not getting why a DVI triplehead would be a problem if driving digital LCDs...

[B2B@300]

I guess I'm not getting why a DVI triplehead would be a problem if driving digital LCDs...

Well I would guess that there current one is post-processing an analog signal, where a "DVI triplehead" would have to work with and process a digital signal. This would be a totally different disgin and electironic package (and most likely more expensive) :shrug: Historicaly digital signal processing lags behind analog signal processing in its development cycle, so its just probably a matter of time, which probably would be proportional to the demand for the TripleHead2Go :p

[Krane]

Pfff triple monitor gaming..... how about quattuorviguple monitor gaming :thumb: :razz:

http://www.plastk.net/

It's for Quake 3 though.... :tilt:

[v4forlife]

i play on a lap top on a kitchen table.....so there

[lowgoods]

... This would be a totally different disgin and electironic package (and most likely more expensive) :shrug: Historicaly digital signal processing lags behind analog signal processing in its development cycle, so its just probably a matter of time, which probably would be proportional to the demand for the TripleHead2Go :p

Indeed designing an input interface for DVI, that can handle all those high resolution modes, is quite some tricky and costly as the frequencies involved go beyond 1 GHz. I'm not sure, but I think Matrox don't have one yet in any of their products and I doubt it would be profitable to design one just for this little non-mass market, low-cost box... so I don't expect a DVI version, at least not from Matrox, but let's see, maybe I'm wrong.

[GT Touring]

so how do you set up triple monitors?
my card supports three- (9800 ati 256k)
but physically
do they cable into one another, or all into the tower?
i have not looked into this but i think i want to now

[Forbin]

I think you're mistaken, GT Touring. The 9800 only supports 2 monitors. The only card at the moment that supports more than 2 monitors without the aid of the previously aforementioned device is the Matrox Parhelia (with the exception of the older Matrox cards which I seem to recall could support 4 monitors, and also perhaps any super expensive workstation cards from the likes of 3DLabs).

[GT Touring]

oh yes i looked up the card tweaker in my PC and found only a two set up
however it seems three can be hoooked up or more as long as the resolution is set porperly and the option to extend the desktop across the field is selected.
I am not about to buy two extra monitors to find out though

[three_jump]

Has anyone some expirience with this?

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/th2go/home.cfm

[BBO@BSR]

Has anyone some expirience with this?

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/offhome/th2go/home.cfm
:D this is what this thread was originally about 3j

Matrox TripleHead2Go will be available for purchase at the end of April 2006. So i don't think someone here tested it till today :)

[three_jump]

:p

reading the first pages of a thread is so .... boring
Always reading only the last post :D

[CHR20000]

aha...just a stoopid question in between: is it possible 2 set them (2)screens, so one is the "view of driver" and the other is "view of co driver"?
(no space here for 3rd monitor, no phys.and no 3rd port on gfxcard)...didint find "2048*768" resolution 2 choose somewhere... ?!?!:noob: in multiscreening:x

[BBO@BSR]

aha...just a stoopid question in between: is it possible 2 set them (2)screens, so one is the "view of driver" and the other is "view of co driver"?...

Afaik no. You can use 2 monitors but scawen wrote something in another thread about it:

.. because the bar would be in the middle which makes it pointless. But i think someone has use a fixed turn angle before, so they got more view angle in one direction....

[DEVIL 007]

Hi,
I dont know if this might help you with the topic you discuss here as I went thru it quickly but I know that for example 7900 series support dual QXGA displays at 2048*1536 @ 85hz or two 2560*1600 display with Dual dual-link DVI.
I know also some x1900 support this as well.

[DEVIL 007]

Hi all,

For those who are still interested in 3 monitors surround gaming please check this 1st review of TripleHead2Go.There is however bad news now for ATI users:(.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/337/1

[BBO@BSR]

... check this 1st review of TripleHead2Go.There is however bad news now for ATI users:(.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/337/1
Thx for the info. This sounds really cool (only for nVidia users like me).
I think I have something new to buy :D

[ChrisBsim]

I've been away from LFS for quite a while, but saw this Matrox announcement about the TripleHeadToGo2 and thought of LFS :).

I have a Parhelia that I used to use a lot for LFS racing with 3 17inch Hitachi 16ms LCD panels, and for LFS it was one of the best ways of improving the realism imho. Once you have tried 3 screens you won't want to go back!

However the Parhelia is showing its age now, (it never really was a contender in the power / fps stakes anyway). The problem I was having is that I would really miss the 3 screen setup, so this new offering from MAtrox finally gives me an upgrade path while keeping access to the 3 screens.

To echo others comments though, don't expect the prices to head south anytime soon. Matrox seem to have little understanding of pricing for the home / gaming user. I think the Parhelia's are still hideously expensive given how outdated they are now.

On the VGA / analogue output quality, I think this is one are where Matrox historically seem to do very well. Sure its not as good as DVI, but I suspect you won't be able to tell the difference on moving images. The current Parhelia uses a VGA cable splitter for left and right monitors from a single DVI socket and the quality is as good as the DVI only centre screen.

The other nice thing about this solution is you are free to choose from other manufacturers graphics cards. A huge bugbear for me has been the almost complete lack of driver development on the Parhelia. Updates took forever to come out and there was no Matrox developed driver support under Linux.

According to the Guru3D review the NVidia cards are the way to go at the mo as ATi cards don't seem to work well with the Matrox offering, and ATi don't seem interested in offering any help anytime soon to fix it by the sounds of things.

You need a beefy card to get good framerates though (7800 or better) seemingly.

For what its worth I think its a smart move by Matrox. This has a much wider market than their cards, and I suspect involves less development costs than trying to bring out a card to compete with the like of ATi / NVidia.

Interesting to hear what LFS-ers think of it.

Cheers,

Chris

[bahrain]

yay 3 monitors to screw up my eyes instead of 1 :D

[RaGeBbit]

Only speculating :scratchch :
FOV would be RL if it would be as if you put e.g. 19" frame infront of you in the same distance as your screen on your desk is, look trough it and you have the same view as on your screen... Thus FOV obviously depends on the distance between you and screen.
Considering this, would't it we better to buy a projector instead of LCDs and that splitter a sit as close as possible? Picture quality would be much worse I suppose but you get big FOV (both for horizontal either vertical direction) without loosing the feel of speed, normal resolution which doesn't demand better VGA and pretty good home theatre:thumb: And no seams..

[Blowtus]

with 3 screens you could angle them around you somewhat :)

[BWX232]

Yeah that is a big part I think- so your peripheral vision is being used..

The closer you can get to sitting on the inside of a sphere, the more immersion you will have.

[Cue-Ball]

I have a Parhelia that I used to use a lot for LFS racing with 3 17inch Hitachi 16ms LCD panels, and for LFS it was one of the best ways of improving the realism imho. Once you have tried 3 screens you won't want to go back!I agree with you 100%. I also have a Parhelia that I used for triple-screen LFS. I recently changed to a single 21" monitor (bought a new video card in antiscipation of using a projector soon). The difference is amazing. Even though I was using three 17's before and a 21" now, the 21" view seems so constricted. Before I could see my whole dash, both mirrors, and only a small portion of the screen was taken up by the dash/wheel/gauges. Now, on a single 4x3 screen the field of view has to be much narrower (90* versus 120* with three 4x3 screens) or else you end up filling 50% of the screen with the inside of the car.

Hopefully a widescreen projector will be a good compromise. I'm just waiting for the day I can afford TWO widescreen projectors running in multi-mon mode. :D

[P5YcHoM4N]

oOo, or get three projectors, and use the th2go. That'd be so hot.

[sdether]

Hopefully a widescreen projector will be a good compromise. I'm just waiting for the day I can afford TWO widescreen projectors running in multi-mon mode. :D

I've used a widescreen projector quite a bit and it's ok. I run LFS at 960x600 and 80 degrees FOV. Still cuts off a lot of mirrors. Have to go to 98 degrees on the BF1 to see the mirrors. Main problem is that even with anti-aliasing, 960x600 is pretty grainy once you get close enough to give you proper immersion, since the projector has distinct boundaries between its LCD pixels.

Waiting to see what the th3go will do. I love LFS at 1280x1024 on my LCD and getting that x3 would be amazing, even if that means loosing DVI.

Then there's this thing: http://www.elumens.com/products/visionstation.html Saw that last year at E3. Needs a special lens and then software that renders the 3D distorted to match the lens. But you get great immersion

[BWX232]

Then there's this thing: http://www.elumens.com/products/visionstation.html Saw that last year at E3. Needs a special lens and then software that renders the 3D distorted to match the lens. But you get great immersion

Yup- look at that- sitting inside a sphere.. that's where it's all going.


http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/3976/main9ch.jpg

PLUS-

http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/1572/vsimagegeekfull0013dx.jpg


Would be sim racing heaven...

[Cue-Ball]

The Force Dynamics 301 is the greatest invention in the history of mankind.

That is all.

[BWX232]

The Force Dynamics 301 is the greatest invention in the history of mankind.

That is all.
LOL- I agree.. now all we need is mass production and bank loans.


edit- that reminds me-- there is a show on Spike called two-guys garage.. they went to some auto show thing and last week I saw that guy, Sam Amolo, or whatever- driving a 301!! On TV!.. He did not mention the name of it, but I recognized it.. he said it was a blast. They showed it for quite a few seconds.

Edit- it was Speed channel- not Spike..

[lowgoods]

Pre-ordered... :trampolin
Quite expensive though, germans have to pay 350 € at shopmatrox.com :(

[BWX232]

Pre-ordered... :trampolin
Quite expensive though, germans have to pay 350 € at shopmatrox.com :(
Cool... post some screenshots when you get it set up!

[lowgoods]

Cool... post some screenshots when you get it set up!

I will do so! Hopefully I'll get it working with RBR also, which is not in the list of supported games though. I remember, however, I once saw a video of RBR running on a triple monitor setup... :scratchch

[BWX232]

That would be sweet- being able to see all the way through the turns, etc...

Interesting thread- maybe ATI are going to start supporting it w/o any extra gear.. Maybe not though...


http://www.driverheaven.net/showthread.php?t=103061

[RiginalSin]

One of the lads we race with here in Australia has just set this up...

He is getting other monitors soon, Samsung thin bezeled monitors..

It has convinced me to do the same... Altho i am going to try and remove the bezel entirely.

this is Funkys setup

http://flickr.com/photos/jorgens/sets/72057594116540644/

Ill get mine up when its done... probably take a few months

[Dumpy]

Nice! Year old bump! :smileypul

[RiginalSin]

yea well some of us have only just decided to set something like this up :thumb:

[stevewhite]

I did the very oposite... I sold it all!!! I figured the one thing that would kick lfs's ass would be a real car, so i went for it, i have yet to get a car though... Maybe after a few cheques. Everyone is spending all of this moneys on their computer, but you can have the real thing!!! People have 3 22" lcd monitros set up with a th2go!!!! Thats probably 2000 dollars woth of monitor exuipment, not to mention the 500 dollar video card needed to run it all! Then the g25, and the cockpit, and all the other computer parts! Get a real car, the graphics are great, the ffb is amazing, and the sounds are even better! And for all the ricers, yes, you can get all the crappy neon, fake goodscoops, giant spoilers, and hideous paint/graphics you want!!!

[George Kuyumji]

I did the very oposite... I sold it all!!! I figured the one thing that would kick lfs's ass would be a real car, so i went for it, i have yet to get a car though... Maybe after a few cheques. Everyone is spending all of this moneys on their computer, but you can have the real thing!!! People have 3 22" lcd monitros set up with a th2go!!!! Thats probably 2000 dollars woth of monitor exuipment, not to mention the 500 dollar video card needed to run it all! Then the g25, and the cockpit, and all the other computer parts! Get a real car, the graphics are great, the ffb is amazing, and the sounds are even better! And for all the ricers, yes, you can get all the crappy neon, fake goodscoops, giant spoilers, and hideous paint/graphics you want!!!

LOL your numbers are far off and whats wrong with having a Hobby like this. Alot of people spend alot of money on there Hobbies and can still afford a real car :shrug:

[RiginalSin]

i have my mini Gt and my two motorbikes...

I like having my LFS hobby and i like enjoying it with my gadgets... :shrug:

[BWX232]

I did the very oposite... I sold it all!!! I figured the one thing that would kick lfs's ass would be a real car, so i went for it, i have yet to get a car though... Maybe after a few cheques. Everyone is spending all of this moneys on their computer, but you can have the real thing!!! People have 3 22" lcd monitros set up with a th2go!!!! Thats probably 2000 dollars woth of monitor exuipment, not to mention the 500 dollar video card needed to run it all! Then the g25, and the cockpit, and all the other computer parts! Get a real car, the graphics are great, the ffb is amazing, and the sounds are even better! And for all the ricers, yes, you can get all the crappy neon, fake goodscoops, giant spoilers, and hideous paint/graphics you want!!!

Um, most people have a real car or two as well.. Maybe not a race car, but most people will never have a car specifically for racing.

[bbman]

I did the very oposite... I sold it all!!! I figured the one thing that would kick lfs's ass would be a real car, so i went for it, i have yet to get a car though... Maybe after a few cheques. Everyone is spending all of this moneys on their computer, but you can have the real thing!!! People have 3 22" lcd monitros set up with a th2go!!!! Thats probably 2000 dollars woth of monitor exuipment, not to mention the 500 dollar video card needed to run it all! Then the g25, and the cockpit, and all the other computer parts! Get a real car, the graphics are great, the ffb is amazing, and the sounds are even better! And for all the ricers, yes, you can get all the crappy neon, fake goodscoops, giant spoilers, and hideous paint/graphics you want!!!

You forget one thing... After you bought all those computer parts, you (only) have to pay electricity and internet fees... Paying the price to own a real car, that's only the beginning of your real expenses...

[steve]

anyway to get softTH working with ATI and Vista?

[Cue-Ball]

You forget one thing... After you bought all those computer parts, you (only) have to pay electricity and internet fees... Paying the price to own a real car, that's only the beginning of your real expenses...Not to mention that I can't race at Pacific Raceways at 11pm...in December....while it's raining....in my underwear. :x

Sim racing is not only MUCH cheaper (and this is coming from a guy with a G25, a projector, a real car seat, etc), but it fits any schedule and runs all year round, no matter the weather.

I'm trying to get a car for part time track duty, but sim racing will always be much cheaper, easier, and less dangerous.

[RobbyMac]

At least the fuel for LFS is cheap.