Would this setup work with TripleHead2Go?

[matta757]

Hey Gents,

So the wheels in my head have been spinning (again) and I have a setup idea that I hope to execute but wanted to see first if anyone could tell me whether or not this will work.

I have decided that I really would like to create the MIP for my 757. I am currently using the PSS 757 software, which has the very nice features of the 4 main CRT screens being available as separate windows for which the size can be adjusted. So, with that in mind, would the following work:

*1 video card display output would be the scenery outside the airplane
*the second video card display output would be connected to a TripleHead2Go and at least 2 19" monitors which would display the captain's instruments and the EICAS/flap instrumentation. I would position the monitors behind cutouts in the MIP and then move each respective CRT screen and other instruments (altimeters, etc) so they were displayed in the proper cutout

In addition to whether or not this would actually work from a hardware standpoint, is there a way to configure the instrument setup on the monitors so that I would not need to reposition every instrument every time I started the game? Can it be made to start with a particular setup across the 2 or 3 monitors?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

Regards,
Matt

[Kennair]

Hi Matt,

That's a fairly common setup you're describing and one which is fairly similar to mine up til now.  It does depend on a couple of factors however.

1.  How powerful is your PC?  This will be the main determining factor in whether multimonitors will drag your framerates down or not.
2.  Will you be running FS9 or FSX?  This will also determine the framerate loss and will determine how you set up the sim to save all the panel layout.  FS9 is much more reliable than FSX in this regard.

Never the less your hardware setup as described would certainly work.  As for the TH2GO this is a great option to expand a single video card beyond the two monitor limit however the more screens you add, the more framerate loss.  As an option you can run the outside view as described then the TH2GO in dual head mode for Capt and EICAS screen then add an FO screen with a video splitter off the Capt screen.  This way you get an FO output for no loss of frames.  This assumes you are wanting to cater for an FO side in the sim and of course the layout won't be realistic as it will simply be a copy of the Capt side.  If your system can cope hang 3 monitors off the TH2GO to run independent Capt, EICAS & FO screens.

As for saving the panel layout simply set everything up as required, that may include modifying panel gauges to display correctly behind panel cutouts.  You can do this by editing the panel components of the panel.cfg file or using a tool such as FSPanel Studio.  Once laid out as required, save the flight.  Next time you open that saved flight all the panels should go to their respective screens.  There is a proviso however.  This will work as expected in FS9 but not so in FSX.  FSX doesn't remember panel states as well and so there are all sorts of methods to make it do so.  There is an addon piece of software out there that helps in this regard but I have found the simplest solution is to make sure you run FS on whatever screen you use for outside views.  You will need to experiment to find what suits you and what particular problems your system encounters both with framerates and panel views.

Hope that helps but I'm sure there are many others here with helpful tips as well.

Ken.

[matta757]

Hey Ken,

Thank you for that incredibly helpful post. I am running FS9, as I cannot stand FSX and how slow it tends to run, even on my machine.

I have a pretty powerful computer; when I bought it from Jetline Systems back in December of 2008, it was basically as powerful as I could get it, except for the processor, that's the one thing I did not upgrade to the highest level. Should that be powerful enough? Flight Sim is running on its own harddrive and everything, I can get more comp specs if needed.

I am not planning yet on doing the FO side, so at the moment it looks like I am just planning on using 2 monitors for the Capt. instruments and the EICAS, although I have also thought about using a smaller screen to do the CDU, but I think I am just going to open that as a separate window for now...

Anyone else have thoughts or suggestions?

Regards,
Matt

[jskibo]

Not sure its going to help, but when I was running my TH2GO @ 5040x1050 I would get 10 to 12 FPS at busy airports (KORD, EGGL, KLAX) with 50% traffic, then 30 - 35 in the air clear of the airport.

This was running on a i7-920, overclocked to 3.6GHz, 12GB RAM and a pair of GTX275's.

Your idea should work as you could run a lower res and across two screens.  Of course you would be running in windowed mode, so a bit of an FPS hit there as well

[Kennair]

Hi Matt,

I can't stress enough the need to tweak both Windows and FS to get the most out of your system, particularly so for FSX.  The latest i7's will still stutter if not setup correctly.  Head over to Simforums and read Nick Needhams tweaks if you haven't already.

I'm running FSX on a Q6600 overclocked with only 4Gb RAM and Windows 7 64 and it runs fine across the TH2GO for outside view and 2 x 17" LCD's for instruments.  Could be better but eminently flyable.  It's fully tweaked using Nicks tips and regularly defragged with Ultimate Defrag (another must for serious simmers).

As for FS9, generally it runs better in Fullscreen mode, whereas FSX is the opposite.  Also you get better performance in FS9 at a limited frame rate of say 30 whereas FSX tends to do better when set to Unlimited.  This is all due to the change in the graphic engine in FSX.  You can save the flight in Fullscreen and it should remember the panel states at next startup.  One tip though when saving any flight and multipanels, always shut down FS after saving the flight.  It tends to lose some parameters if you simply save then fly some more.

Good luck,

Ken.