Parhelia and Dual WIDE/Samsung 2400?

[MichaelW]

I am trying to find out the following information. Will the Parhelia drive 2 WIDE or Samsung 2400 (24 inch) LCD displays in DIGITAL at 1920 x 1200 each. I keep getting mixed information and can't find any kind of official link that will say yea or nay. It appears that analog is no problem, but I want these to run digital. Does anyone here know? Or know where I can find a reliable answer? I don't want to spend $10,000 on monitors/card unless it does what I want.

Thank you very much,
Michael

[Neomagic_Twist]

It says on their website dual DVI out at 1600x1200 so I guess not then ?

[Ant]

Widest variety of display outputs
All Parhelia boards are full-height ATX form factor with two DVI-I connectors integrated on the bracket and allow Matrox to offer the widest variety of display output options on the market:
* Dual independent DVI-out at 1600 x 1200 resolution each (165MHz)
* Dual independent RGB-out at 400MHz each (dual 2048 x 1536 @ 85Hz)
* Triple independent RGB-out in extended desktop mode at 3840 x 1024 32bpp
* Various mixes of DVI-, RGB- and TV-out

[Chucky Cheese]

Michael

the short answer is no...the max, as stated by ant is 1600 x 1200. do not let that deter you from considering a parhelia as your next graphics card though...you will not be dissappointed!!!

that res will look good on those panels.

i have 2 samsung 210Ts'(21.3") on a g550 dual dvi...which is limited to 1280 x 1024 @ 60Hz(..it is absolutely flicker free!). i look forward to getting the parhelia and the higher dvi modes. i do no 3D gaming so the 3d features are nice but not necessary for me.

cc

[Pace]

Is Pauly around? What resolution does he use on his wide Sony CRT?

[VJ]

Chucky Cheese:

The resolution 1600x1200 will not look good on LCD-displays : if their native resolution is 1920x1200, they'll have to interpolate other resolutions (or perhaps show black borders to both left and right (?) in which case there is little point in buying wide displays )

You might of course connecting them as analogue displays, in which case I'd say the resolution is possible (but perhaps at the cost of quality ?)

An other option might be to use 2 videocards, as I doubt there currently are other cards that would support it (if this Matrox-card doesn't).


Jörg

[MichaelW]

Thank you everyone for your response. But see, this is where I get confused. Please see

http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/tech_info/pdfs/parhelia/dh_hf.pdf

where it mentions 1920 x 1200 for dual DVI

Thanks again,
Michael

[MichaelW]

And as a quote from

http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/parhelia512/technology/dualhead_hf.cfm

With DualHead-HF, Parhelia-512 is capable of displaying dual 2048 x 1536 @ 32bpp analog outputs or dual 1920 x 1200 @ 32bpp digital outputs with hardware overlays, hardware cursors and gamma correction.

So gosh darn it, I can't seem to get a hold on whether this setup will work. I would LOVE this setup and I am willing to pay the big bucks for it, but obviously only if all this will work together. I have read so much information about all this but it seems like it is impossible to find out if it will work unless I try it. And the LCD manufacturers are less than thrilled with the idea of sending these displays to me on the condition that I can return them if my choice of video cards isn't right. It seems like there is some limit to the digital stream of 165MHz, but there are ways to get greater resolutions by reduced blanking. From http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/t...elia/dh_hf.pdf
Due to the ever-increasing popularity of DVI flat panels—especially among high-end graphics users—Parhelia is equipped with dual independent 165 MHz DVI outputs. While most competitive offerings only support one DVI output, the Parhelia-512 lets you future proof your investment by allowing you to choose between RGB or DVI displays. Parhelia-512's dual-DVI outputs have reduced blanking support for resolutions greater than 1920 x 1200. The maximum resolution for digital flat panels that do not support reduced blanking is 1600 x 1200 at a 60Hz refresh rate.
Blanking refers to the amount of time for the electron beam to return from right to left, and from top to bottom in a CRT monitor (see image below). Reduced blanking enables higher resolution DVI outputs by increasing the efficiency of the timing signals sent to the panels. The typical loss due to blanking is in the order of 30 percent. Parhelia-512 supports a horizontal blanking size of ten pixels and a vertical blanking of one line. At 1920 x 1200 the loss is lower than one percent. Next generation panels supporting reduced blanking will benefit from higher resolutions and refresh rates. Once again Matrox future proofs your investment by building forward-looking products.

[Ant]

So then you need to find out if those Samsungs support reduced blanking? If not they will be limited to 1600x1200.

[MichaelW]

Is that how I should read it? I read
Parhelia-512's dual-DVI outputs have reduced blanking support for resolutions greater than 1920 x 1200.
as meaning that for things over 1920 x 1200 one needs vertical blanking. See how confused I am?

[Ant]

I took it to mean that with reduced blanking support could go up to 1920x or greater, but it is not exactly clear. I'd check on the reduced blanking support anyway.

[Neomagic_Twist]

I think the best thing to do, would be to post your question on the Matrox support forums, Haig will probably know the answer to your question