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The TripleHead2Go, dual monitors, and the MacBook Laptop Macs
When upgrading to my current Unibody macbook, I was replacing a dual-monitor setup using two computers and Synergy. While there was lots of speculation, I couldn't find any concrete info on how to achieve the same setup with my new Macbook. As such, I decided to share that info here.

I have two 20" LCDs that run at 1600x1200 each. After reading up on the Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital edition, I decided to buy one. After having some initial problems, I was dismayed to find out that the MacBook uses an unsupported chipset, and so their support department was of no help. If you want to take the jump, don't worry, it works, but with a few caveats...

In order to get the high resolution, you'll need the Dual Link DVI adapter, which currently runs about $100. In addition, you need the digital version of the TripleHead2Go at ~$300 (even if you only have two screens), because it's the only version that supports DVI input, and you won't be able to get the high resolutions on the MacBook without DVI.

The final piece of the puzzle is a laptop cooler. I'm using a Targus cooler that cost me $15 at my local office store. The laptop cooler is necessary (even when running from a desk) because the computer really heats up when driving this much video output, and the second channel starts flickering and will even black out if the computer is too hot. The laptop cooler will prevent this from happening.

Once you have everything together, remember to plug the monitors into position one and three, not one and two on the TripleHead2Go, because you'll be left with a blank screen otherwise. You'll need to install the Matrox Powerdesk software to configure the device with the proper resolution (2x1600x1200 in my case; feel free to fill in additional options afterwards).

With everything plugged in, your displays might not light up. To make sure they come on at your selected resolution, you have to plug everything in, then unplug the USB cable that connects the TripleHead2Go to the MacBook and then plug it back in again. This will cause the MacBook to reconfigure the external displays and light them up.

If you wish to use the external displays without the internal one (like I do) and with an external keyboard, you'll need to close the laptop display after everything is plugged in. After doing so, using the mouse or pressing keys will wake up the MacBook without lighting up the displays. Unplug the TripleHead2Go's USB cable and plug it back in, like you would with the display open, and the external displays will light up, allowing you to get your work done.

The last thing you should know is that the two screens will show up as one external display, not two. This means that your menu bar will extend across the two displays, and that the maximize button will fill up both screens. All is not lost, however, as the PowerDesk utility installs shortcuts (Command-Option-1 and -2 by default) that will resize the current window to maximize on the given screen.

In addition, they provide a UI that will allow you to reposition the dock to the left or right, so that it won't be split over the two monitors. Luckily, the Quicksilver menu can be dragged over to one or the other of the displays, but I can't say the same for the task switcher. It's my last major annoyance with the setup, but I figure it's worth it to be able to use two displays.
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The TripleHead2Go, dual monitors, and the MacBook
Authored by: Macmungous on Feb 18, '09 08:27:27AM

You could also have tried DisplayLink-based hardware. Their Mac support is good and I'm running two additional displays from my MacBook Air with zero problems.

There are plenty of vendors supplying hardware:
http://www.displaylink.com/shop.html

And good Mac drivers (with some 3D acceleration limitations):
http://www.displaylink.com/support/mac_downloads.html



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The TripleHead2Go, dual monitors, and the MacBook
Authored by: hamarkus on Feb 18, '09 09:04:31AM

Or use any old computer and Screenrecyler. The refresh rate on the screenreclyed monitor will be pretty low and whether and how you get it color-calibrated I don't know. But for a lot of situations it works absolutely fine.



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The TripleHead2Go, dual monitors, and the MacBook
Authored by: only_solutions on Feb 19, '09 08:34:19AM

Cool hint!

I'm just now considering to switch to almost exactly this kind of setup, also with two 1600*1200 DVI displays but in my case with an older MacBook Pro 17" (first Core 2 generation) which still has a native Dual Link DVI output. But it is interesting that it even works through the DisplayPort-to-DVI-Adapter with the new ones.

I just hope the cooling issue will be less pronounced in that case; When the external GPU in the MacBook Pro really gets to work, the machine can get a bit noisy. But since the GPU has its own fan in the MacBook Pro and the case is significantly larger, I hope cooling will normally suffice without ramping up the fan speed. How is fan behaviour with a 30" display connected, especially together with the internal display? Any experiences? It should be roughly comparable with two external 20" ones regarding GPU load.

I would probably use all three displays in that case since I don't want the menu bar or the Dock on my main screen(s).

Another question: I guess since OS X doesn't know about the separate external displays, alerts and other dialogs will pop up exactly across the division between them, won't they?



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The TripleHead2Go, dual monitors, and the MacBook
Authored by: acooney on Feb 19, '09 09:43:15AM
Great to hear the Chill Mat is working for your set up. We have somewhat recently launched a chill mat specifically for Mac Laptops which places the heat dissipation fans in the back portion of the chill mat based on where Macs put off the most heat.

http://www.targus.com/ca/product_details.asp?sku=AWE41CA

This is a link to our Canadian site, if that's not applicable, you can change the country you're shopping from by going to the main page of the site. http://www.targus.com.

Thanks for your support!!!

Allison Cooney
Targus Canada


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