Matrox Graphics eXpansion Module (GXM) supports the use of multiple monitors over a single video source by splitting the output of a video source, providing an enlarged workspace or gaming environment. GXM is not a graphics card itself, and in fact requires a fairly powerful graphics card for playing games on multiple monitors.
While most modern graphics cards have support for dual monitors and can expand a desktop across three screens, 3D games were generally limited to a single monitor. The GXM uses the standard Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) structure to communicate its capabilities to the graphics card just as a monitor does. However, the GXM's resolution includes all pixels in the three monitors. If the TripleHead2Go were hooked up to three monitors with 800×600 resolution, the TripleHead2Go would report itself as a single monitor with 2400×600 resolution. The graphics card then sends out a 2400×600 signal which the TripleHead2Go divides and distributes to the appropriate monitors.
The TripleHead2Go supports 3 displays at the output, and has maximum resolution of 3840×1024@60 Hz (1280×1024 each). The low 60 Hz refresh rate is used in all except 3072x768 resolution which makes it unsuitable for CRT monitors (however, the severity of flickering perceived by viewers depend on other factors).
The TripleHead2Go Digital Edition supports DVI-I output. The maximum resolution was originally 3840×1024@60 Hz (1280×1024 each), but on August 5, 2008 Matrox announced the support for new widescreen resolution, with a maximum resolution of 5040×1050@57 Hz (1680×1050 each).
It is similar to TripleHead2Go, except it supports only 2 displays. When setting output to 1024x768 per display, the refresh rate can be set up to 85 Hz. It has maximum resolution of 2560×1024@60 Hz (1280×1024 each). It was later renamed to DualHead2Go Analog Edition.
Compared to original DualHead2Go, this one supports DVI-I output by converting input signal to digital, but it still supports analog output. It has maximum resolution of 3840×1200@60 Hz (1920×1200 each).
As of 2006, the Matrox TripleHead2Go was the only consumer level device which allows 3D gaming across three monitors with an expanded field of view (FOV). Very few games directly supported playing at these large resolutions, although many can be tweaked to run on the TripleHead2Go. Matrox maintains a compatibility list of games and provides a Surround Gaming Utility to automatically adjust the game settings to run on three monitors. Some problems remain with distortions to the user interface and geometric distortions at the edges of the display since the games weren't written with such a wide FOV in mind.
In 2009, AMD/ATI released its Radeon HD 5000 series which included an AMD Eyefinity-branded display controllers. These display controllers allow users to use 3 or more monitors on a single video card, using at least one display port on the back of the card.
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Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the IBM PC compatible industry within three years. The term can now refer to the computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector, or the 640 × 480 resolution characteristic of the VGA hardware.
A graphics card is a computer expansion card that generates a feed of graphics output to a display device such as a monitor. Graphics cards are sometimes called discrete or dedicated graphics cards to emphasize their distinction to integrated graphics processor on the motherboard or the CPU. A graphics processing unit (GPU) that performs the necessary computations is the main component in a graphics card, but the acronym "GPU" is sometimes also used to erroneously refer to the graphics card as a whole.
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High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, to a compatible computer monitor, video projector, digital television, or digital audio device. HDMI is a digital replacement for analog video standards.
Alienware Corporation is an American computer hardware subsidiary brand of Dell. Their product range is dedicated to gaming computers and can be identified by their alien-themed designs. Alienware was founded in 1996 by Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila. The development of the company is also associated with Frank Azor, Arthur Lewis, Joe Balerdi, and Michael S. Dell. The company's corporate headquarters is located in The Hammocks, Miami, Florida.
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DisplayPort (DP) is a digital display interface developed by a consortium of PC and chip manufacturers and standardized by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA). It is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor. It can also carry audio, USB, and other forms of data.
A low-force helix (LFH-60) is a 60-pin electrical connector with signals for two digital and analog connectors. Each of the pins is twisted approximately 45 degrees between the tip and the plastic frame which holds the pins in place. Hence "helix" in the name.
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The Matrox Parhelia-512 is a graphics processing unit (GPU) released by Matrox in 2002. It has full support for DirectX 8.1 and incorporates several DirectX 9.0 features. At the time of its release, it was best known for its ability to drive three monitors and its Coral Reef tech demo.
The G400 is a video card made by Matrox, released in September 1999. The graphics processor contains a 2D GUI, video, and Direct3D 6.0 3D accelerator. Codenamed "Toucan", it was a more powerful and refined version of its predecessor, the G200.
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Uncompressed video is digital video that either has never been compressed or was generated by decompressing previously compressed digital video. It is commonly used by video cameras, video monitors, video recording devices, and in video processors that perform functions such as image resizing, image rotation, deinterlacing, and text and graphics overlay. It is conveyed over various types of baseband digital video interfaces, such as HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort and SDI. Standards also exist for the carriage of uncompressed video over computer networks.
The graphics display resolution is the width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain combinations of width and height are standardized and typically given a name and an initialism which is descriptive of its dimensions. A graphics display resolution can be used in tandem with the size of the graphics display to calculate pixel density. An increase in the pixel density often correlates with a decrease in the size of individual pixels on a display.
The ATI Wonder is a series of video cards for the IBM Personal Computer and compatibles, introduced by ATI Technologies in the mid to late 1980s. These cards were unique at the time as they offered the end user a considerable amount of value by combining support for multiple graphics standards into a single card. The VGA Wonder series added additional value with the inclusion of a bus mouse port, which normally required the installation of a dedicated Microsoft Mouse adapter.
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5K resolution refers to display formats with a horizontal resolution of around 5,000 pixels. The most common 5K resolution is 5120 × 2880, which has an aspect ratio of 16∶9 with around 14.7 million pixels, with exactly twice the linear resolution of 1440p and four times that of 720p. This resolution is typically used in computer monitors to achieve a higher pixel density, and is not a standard format in digital television and digital cinematography, which feature 4K resolutions and 8K resolutions.
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