Matrox TripleHead 2 Go Digital Edition (DVI) review - 7 - Conclusion

The verdict

The situation we disliked the most with the first test we did in 2006 had a lot to do with the graphics cards being limited to much lower resolutions than tested today, especially with ATI Radeon graphics cards. Fortunately the cards released in 2007 all support the extreme wide resolutions really well. So that's a big plus opposed to the analog product. What I still loathe is that we are still bound by a maximum of 3x 1280x1024. I so much would like the product to support (3x) 1920x1200 yet current GPU's simply do not allow this, not at all Matrox'es fault. But it is a limiting factor and a bit of a hinder.

None the less if you do have 12x10 monitors hey .. you are in luck as the gaming experience is just incredible immersive and impressive. Not even a 30" Dell can get you the feel that surround gaming gives you with an additional monitor left and right from you, the Matrox TripleHead2Go is a truly unique product to say the least, I still don't get it that in 2008 graphics card vendors have not picked up on this.

But hey, generally, the experience of playing games with the three screens is simply put fantastic, in the first minutes you'll even feel disillusion, as your brain needs to process so much information it can hardly keep up. The 'wow' factor with the experience here is just very high.

It is a gigantic leap of an immersive feel over a wide 'single' screen. Now granted, a 30inch display is undoubtedly a simpler option as there would be no bezels to worry about and it’s certainly going to be easier to hook up. Next to that three screens and an external box results in a lot of cabling and you’d need a lot of space to provide accommodation for it all. But 1:1 gaming wise .. the three screens definitely give a better feel in gaming, thanks to the surround display experience.

The best things in life are free, but definitely not when it comes to computers. The Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital comes with an advertised 329 USD pricetag, but for the enthusiast end-user that is willing to spend that kind of cash it's likely worth the experience. If you have three 1280x1024 monitors available to you, this could be a worthwhile investment and a way to extend your monitor desktop. I guarantee that after you use multiple monitors for a very short time, you will feel depressed when you are looking at just one. It is remarkable how quickly you get used to that large desktop.

Now I've been asking and looking around a little, if you plan to buy this device then please remember that you might need a firmware update, for which you have to contact Matrox. I do not the why how or what, but most peole that I've talked to, all needed this essential updated firmware.

The move towards a digital DVI ready version of the TripleHead2Go is a welcome addition. Now let's just hope that in the near future there will be broad support for even higher resolutions and thus monitors, as such a thing would blow my mind and praise the product into heaven, even though this is an enigmatically expensive piece of hardware I can recommend it very much.

** Update - should you have purchased this product and ran into the issue we described on page four. Matrox has an firmware update available. If their customer support does not respond (happens a lot lately as it seems), we have the binaries for you as well. Use them at your own risk, yet you can download it here. Obviously only use this formware if you have a problem !

Matrox TripleHead 2 Go Digital Edition (DVI)
Info: Matrox
Price: 329 USD

Check some of the shops as they offer rebates you can deduct of these prices.