Widescreen Gaming Forum

Dell 2407WFP - 16:10 - 1920x1200 :D

The spirit of this thread was to support a thread over on the Matrox forums about expanding the Maxtrox TripleHead2Go (TH2G) unit to support triple 16:10 aspect ratio screens (something which it doesn't support, even after the TH2G Mode Expander Tool -- TMET -- patch). The TH2G unit, when launched, only included resolutions for triple 4:3 and 5:4 aspect ratio resolutions at 60Hz (triple 640x480, triple 800x600, triple 1024x768, and triple 1280x1024). Matrox then added support for some additional resolutions, including dual monitors, and triple monitors, but didn't add triple 16:10 (which is weird, since everyone knows 16:10 is the most common widescreen aspect ratio, and it's proven by looking at this poll). Anyway, here's the summary of the e-mail I just sent to Matrox support:

The TMET added the following resolutions:

2560 x 1024 (dual 1280 x 1024)
3360 x 1050 (dual 1680 x 1050)
3072 x 768 (triple 1024 x 768)
3840 x 720 (triple 1280 x 720)
3840 x 768 (triple 1280 x 768)

Let's critique the five resolutions added by the TMET. Let's start with the first 3 which aren't triple widescreen:

2560x1024 (dual 1280 x 1024) is dual 5:4 aspect ratio screens (which makes sense, since your primary resolution is 3840x1024 which is for triple 5:4 aspect ratio screens). Have a dual monitor version of the primary monitor resolution you are supporting (1280x1024) seems smart.

3360x1050 (dual 1680 x 1050) is great, that's a dual 16:10 aspect ratio screen (however, this is the only 16:10 aspect ratio, and it isn't a triple)

3072x760 (triple 1024x768) at 85Hz is also great for CRT users, but that's a 4:3 aspect ratio.

Now let's get to the two triple widescreen modes added:

3840x720 (triple 1280x720) is awful, that's three 16:9 aspect ratio monitors, or 2% of widescreen users out there… very uncommon for computer LCDs to be 16:9, they're all 16:10. This is a great resolution if you want to show off at a trade show with triple 42" or 50" plasma monitors though (since some of them use 1280x720 native, although you'll find most are 1365x768 or 1366x768). If you want to support a 16:9 aspect ratio for big plasma demos at trade shows, 3840x720 is fine, but 4098x768 (triple 1366x768) is probably the most common native resolution of 42" and 50" plasmas right now.

3840x768 (triple 1280x768) is really awful. That's three 16:9.6 or 5:3 aspect ratio screens, or 2% of widescreen users out there. This one really should have been 3840x800 or triple 1280x800! If you can only fit five additional modes, this one should be deleted and replaced with 3840x800.

The triple widescreen resolutions I suggest you should be supporting are:

3840x800 (triple 1280x800) which is actually a somewhat uncommon LCD size, but very common aspect ratio (16:10), 90% of all widescreen users have 16:10, and 1280x800 scales nicely up to other resolutions like 1920x1200 in a 3:2 ratio.

4320x900 (triple 1440x900) which is a pretty common LCD size, and very common aspect ratio (16:10). This might be the limit on widescreen resolution that the TH2G unit or VGA outputs can handle.

If possible, these should be supported too (although they might be outside of the bandwidth for most VGA users or the TH2G unit):

5040x1050 (triple 1680x1050)

5760x1200 (triple 1920x1200)

FYI, I've been waiting about six months (since last July) for Matrox to add support for triple 16:10, and so far nothing has been released and nobody from Matrox has ever contacted me.

-J.C.

P.S. I've also been waiting six months for Matrox to get Valve to release a patch for Half Life 2 (and now Episode One) that puts the crosshair back in at TripleHead2Go resolutions. I know there's a workaround to get a crosshair in Half-Life 2 (i.e. switch to single monitor and then back to triple while in game); however, that workaround doesn't work in Episode One. ;-(

_________________
PLP with Dell 2007fp + U3011 + 2007fp at 4960x1600
ASUS STRIX GTX 980 Ti OC

Sorry guys, how to check from my system ?

You're using a 24" mac right?

Then the ratio of your screen is 16:10 since the res of that screen is 1920 x 1200

As of 2 weeks ago... 16:9 1920x1080. 37" 1080p is a thing of beauty.

I wonder why 16:10 become the defacto standard for widescreen pc displays instead of 16:9?

16:10 is known as the 'golden ratio' - but i can't remember why :lol:


I currently run 32:10 lol ... 2x 16:10 monitors at 1440x900

though I should be switching to a 30" display in the next 2 months at 2560x1600 - of course, still at the golden ratio :)

A lot of historical artists and mathematicians thought that this ratio was especially aesthetically pleasing. There's literature specifically about it that goes back as far as Euclid. I think it was Renaissance artists who were the first to call it "golden ratio."

So this raises another question. Why did they make widescreen TVs at 16:9 instead of 16:10? Or 1.85:1 or 2.35:1, for that matter.

16:10 both at work and at home. I never have to stare at a 4:3 monitor again! WOHOO!

16:10 both at work and at home. I never have to stare at a 4:3 monitor again! WOHOO!

Same here mate. :D

At work i use a 20" and at home a 20" and 23". What more could I have wished for. :P

Same here mate.:D

At work i use a 20" and at home a 20" and 23". What more could I have wished for. :P

Life is good