Dual Monitors with Matrox DualHead2Go DP on 13" Unibody MBP

Hi Solfella,

Not to say someone might not have answer for you here in the Mac Pro forums, but here might be the better place to try. Look for the forums on the bottom of the page. Good luck.
http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/

hi solfella,

you've probably solved this by now but I thought I'd put the answer in-case anyone else stumbles on your post.

I got a dualhead2go dp edition today. The answer's not very intuitive and I was puzzled till I found the answer (luck mainly).

1) I assume you've downloaded the mac powerdesk software from the matrox website; address in the matrox manual.

2) In the System Preferences pane a new icon will have appeared at the bottom called Matrox GXM control panel. Open this.

3) You need to 1st set whether the screens are normal aspect or wide screen.

4) Find the resolution you want on the supported Resolution and Refresh Rates list and move it with the arrow to the Active resolutions and refresh rates list.

[a quick way to do will probably be to click the Configure Base on Attached Displays button]

5) You may then need to open the Matrox Powerdesk application and select Change Display Setting from the drop down menu. Then select the resolution you want.

The resolutions you want should be easy. I have 15" Macbook Pro and am currently running 2 Samsung T260 26" monitors with 1920x1200 pixels each as well as the inbuilt display (1440x900). The graphics are still noticeably quicker than my 2007 Macbook.

I'm still playing but it seems like a good bit of kit.

Hi there - I'm trying to do the exact same thing with my MBP 2009 unibody. I have the Triplehead2go DP edition - however when I select for 2*1920x1200 - each of the external displays flicker pink. When I select 1*1920x1200, the displays work but just mirror each other. How did you get yours to work exactly?

Try opening up Matrox Powerdesktop and adjusting the display setting. If not call up tech support: +1 514 685-0270. Make sure to register your device before you do. My Issue with Matrox is they don't post Firmware updates for mac users. Now I have an issue w/ my dualhead2go DP not working w/ the macbook pro lid closed. Updating my firmware via a PC should not be the only solution.

Sunny1313,

Did you ever manage to get this to work? I am considering doing the very same thing you are doing right now on the exact same computer and the exact same dualhead2go model.

I was wondering if you would be willing to share the result of your struggle. I am trying to gather as much information as possible before I myself take the plunge and spend a lot of money on equipment.

Thank you in advance!

This is purely a 10.6.2 OS issue known by Apple but they have ignored it to date as far as I can tell - on 10.6.1 it works like a dream.

So a solution is to fall back to 10.6.1; call Apple and ***** about their disregard for 3rd party technology/less than perfect QC process.

ecrcook,

Can you please elaborate? What is the extent of the problem? Is the TripleHead2Go effectively an expensive doorstop with 10.6.2? Is it just this one resolution affected (2x1920x1200)? Can it be used with another, say, 1920x1080? What exactly is the problem?

Is there somewhere I can read more about this?

Thank you in advance.

Hi I'm having here the same problem on a MBP 15". I did the firmware update via Windows and the strange thing is that it was running for 2 weeks (after some incredible playing around - but I have no idea what I finally did).

Now I have the same problem again, flickering like **** and no chance to "repair" it. Another side effect is that when I'm connecting the USB connector for the first time, then the MBP switches off completely (looks like an overload at the USB).

All is very strange. But I was now contacting the Matrox Support. Let's see what the outcome will be.

Heyho,

I got an answer. So here is the solution.

You have to run the Radeon 9600 GT chip to be able to use the DualHead2Go ... with the "energy saving" 9400 it's not working.

"Can you go to your energy saver options in your preference panel and set the graphic card to performance mode and this should resolve your flickering issue."

cheers
thomas

Message was edited by: Thomas Heine

I just set up dual 24" apple cinema displays with my unibody macbook pro using the dualhead2go dp edition and it is a pain in the ***!

it doesn't really work right, and it seems that matrox is blaming apple for it!

so if anyone is looking to set up dual 24" acds with their unibody mbp....i say wait until the problem is fixed or go with another option

i did a write up of my setup, you can read further if youre interested below:

http://www.tnpham.ca/blog/304/macbook-pro-with-dual-24-apple-cinema-displays/

@ http://www.tnpham.ca

The Mac OS X 10.6.2 update lowered the output voltage on the DisplayPort, causing the DualHead2Go DP to no longer function correctly (using two 1920x1200 DVI screens) under Mac OS X. Hopefully Apple will fix this with 10.6.3...

Message was edited by: gaw.in

well, on a MBP 15" with Graphics setting set to "High Performance" it does.

greets
thomas

All of you MacBook owners realize that you are in non-Book territory devoted to the "sits on the floor next to desk" workstation/tower Mac Pro, right?

Here a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul0fkTiH7nk
For more information read the description on youtube.

If you're using the Triplehead2go DP edition to drive only 2 displays, you have to plug the displays into outlets 1 and 3 (!!!) on the Triplehead2go box. This totally counter-intuitive procedure is however documented in the manual for the product.

Also, make sure nothing is physically connected to outlet 2 on the box. I struggled for hours to get the setup working, finally discovering that unplugging my third monitor from using the Triplehead2go DP edition port 2 allowed dual head mode to work.