A few questions about the Matrox Parhelia...

[IgoByte]

I'm interested in the Parhelia mostly for its triple-monitor support and because I know that Matrox has had a good history of 2D cards.
Here is the setup I have in mind: Sony FW900 24" CRT as the primary display and two 19" Dell flat panels on the sides. The Sony has to run @ 1920x1200/85Hz and the flat panels run at 1280x1024.
I'd like to know if the Parhelia can handle the different size monitors at different resolutions, most notably the 1200 vertical pixels on the CRT.
The other thing I'd like to know is how good the card's 2D performance is. I obvously need something that'll support 1920x1200 without flickering and the picture quality needs to be as good as possible.

I know that the Parhelia isn't a very popular card around here, but I figure some of you might've tried it out...

 

[MrGrim]

Get a good primary card for the main display (one that can actually run games) and then a couple of PCI G400s for the other two monitors. That's what I would do anyway.

 

[IgoByte]

Originally posted by: MrGrim
Get a good primary card for the main display (one that can actually run games) and then a couple of PCI G400s for the other two monitors. That's what I would do anyway.

That's probably the very best idea. What would you recommend I get as the primary card and how exactly would that work out? How would the PCI card know that the other two monitors should be running in sync with the main monitor and what exactly would I be able to see on the two side monitors?

 

[IgoByte]

I just spoke with a customer service rep. at Matrox and he's assuring me the card can do 1920x1200 on the first disaplay and 1280x1024 on the second & third.

I'm just wondering if anyone confirm this.

 

[dexvx]

Probably get a Radeon9700 as your primary display. Its 2d quality/and RAMDAC specifications are above and beyond that of any nvidia card to date. It also has dual head capabilities, so you can use the DVI. Then you just have to find another DVI PCI card.

That's probably the very best idea. What would you recommend I get as the primary card and how exactly would that work out? How would the PCI card know that the other two monitors should be running in sync with the main monitor and what exactly would I be able to see on the two side monitors?

The PCI card wont know, WinXP has a built in feature that syncs the things for you. Thats why people like Matrox cards is because they are built with triple head in mind. Having 2 different cards, you just use teh generic winXP multi-display drivers. Its good enough for some people, but featurewise, its lacking compared to the Parhelia.

If you go on using a non-Parhelia route, all you can do is extend desktop (3072x768 for example). With the Parhelia, you can do some other fancy things, which I havent had the time to play around with.

 

[IgoByte]

If you go on using a non-Parhelia route, all you can do is extend desktop (3072x768 for example).

First off, thanks a lot for the input.

A few things you should note, simply because I don't know how they would work out:
1. I don't use Windows XP. Still prefer Windows 2000.
2. 3072x768 isn't enough. I need 1920x1200 & 1280x1024, for which I will definitely be needing the ability to use separate resolutions for each monitor.

 

[dexvx]

the 3072x768 was an example. If you had 3 monitors capable of 1600x1200, then the max would be 4800x1200. I dont know what Windows2000's multi-monitor feature is like, so I cannot comment on it. If its there, then I believe its the same thing as winXP, basic extend desktop functionality.

If you want to go the "safe" route, then just go Parhelia with native triple monitor support, or just buy a Radeon8500 (dual capable ones) + a PCI card with DVI and try out how window's generic multi-monitor support is like. Personally, I prefer 1 dual head card over 2 single head ones.

 

[Fun Guy]

I would get a Radeon 8500 or better for your 1920x1200 solution, and a G450 or a G550 DualDVI (depending on whether the flat panels are analog or digital). Of course, the issue of only 1 AGP slot is the important one and the one that will decide what you do...