Product Review: Matrox DualHead2Go DP Edition

Matrox is global leader in designing enterprise and industrial graphics solutions for a diverse array of industries, including financial, oil and gas, medical imaging, sciences, digital media, and engineering. The company has a series of Graphic eXpansion Modules (GXM) which enable mobile laptops to power either two or three large LCD displays in addition to its own display. In addition to powering additional monitors for Apple Mac and Windows based mobile computers the same GXM units can add display expansion for desktops and servers.

Matrox GXM Options for the Mac Platform

There are two key products that can serve the entire current line of Mac computers: Matrox DualHead2Go DP Edition and Matrox TripleHead2Go DP Edition. In this review we took a look at the DualHead2Go DP Edition GXM unit (see image 01). And we tested it on a mid-year 2009 MacBook (MacBook 5,1) with a 2 GHz Intel Core Duo processor and Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chip with 256 MB of memory.

For older Macs that do not use the Mini DisplayPort Maxtrox has both a digital and analog series of products (Matrox DualHead2Go Digital Edition and Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition; and Matrox DualHead2Go Analog Edition and Matrox TripleHead2Go Analog Edition, respectively) to serve you. And in addition to these products video professionals on the Mac can also be served up more Mac friendly hardware that work in conjunction with these units.

The unit itself is a smallish, black metal box of punched-holed metal about 4 x 5 x 1.5 inches total–very discreet, tidy and attractive. On one side consists display ports and on the opposite side a USB port for powering the unit and another single DisplayPort. (see image 01 above) Standard items shipping with the unit include DisplayPort to DisplayPort input cable, USB cable for powering the device from your computer and the Getting Started CD.

There are two key things you will need to get started. First, you will need a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter cable if you are using a Mac (such as a MacBook). This is sold separately for about 35.USD. Secondly, you will need to download the Matrox PowerDesk software for Mac in order to fully configure the product. The PowerDesk software for Mac installs key software and a new Matrox control panel to your Mac’s preferences. (see image 03 below)

The Matrox PowerDesk software for Mac comes in a standard OS X installer package and provides you with various settings organized across three windows. This is a native OS X application and sits inside your Applications folder. Once opened you can access the Matrox GXM Control Panel, which is also accessible from within your System Preferences, from inside the PowerDesk app.

Next page: Configuring the Unit

Configuring The Unit: Intro

When using the Matrox GXM units with Apple Cinema Displays they lock to the native resolution of those units due to a technical control Apple imposes on their displays. With Dell or other monitors this is not the case and the user has more choices available for display resolution under the Change Display Settings software pane of the Matrox PowerDesk for Mac software. We are testing this unit using all Apple gear so we naturally are using Apple Cinema Displays. We want to point this out and a few other differences related to non-Apple displays.

While Matrox sells a lot of graphics hardware to various professionals markets, we realize that some Mac users (CAD and 3D included) may not be as savvy with working with multiple displays and configuring display hardware in general. Assuming that, we want to walk users through the setup carefully.

Configuring the Unit: Hardware

Before configuring the hardware and hooking it up first install the Matrox PowerDesk software for Mac. We will talk further about this software after we discuss hardware.

Next, basic knowledge of cable connection is all that is required to get the Matrox DualHead2Go unit up and running. As noted before you will need a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter cable which does not come with the unit but can be purchased separately. Get all the cables connected into the GXM unit itself first as shown (in image 01) above. This means the Apple Cinema Displays (or other type of displays) are connected to the unit and the last remaining connections are the Mini DisplayPort adapter cable to the MacBook and the USB connection.

The USB connection to your Mac should be the last connection because this powers up the Matrox unit. Once this step happens your secondary displays will fire up and in the case of the Apple units they will automatically utilize their default resolution in a multiple that relates to the total width of both displays. In our test case our two 20-inch Apple Cinema Displays utilized 1680 x 1050 60 Hz resolution. With two displays connected our total combined resolution (not counting the MacBook’s own screen real estate) equaled 3360 x 1050 pixels.

One final note about the hardware. Because the DualHead2Go DP Edition GXM unit gets its power from the USB port it is important to ideally shut down and restart your computer when disconnecting from the GXM. In our particular case with the Apple MacBook, simply unplugging cables and then reconnecting later doesn’t necessarily result in the connected dual displays firing up properly. That’s because the USB port may not initialize properly and not be able to send the proper amount of power to the Matrox GXM.

Configuring the Unit: Software

The Matrox PowerDesk software for Mac utilizes a standard Apple installer. (see image 02) After the installer is complete you will have two places on your Mac to access the software. A new Matrox GXM Control Panel will be added to the System Preferences (see image 03) and Matrox PowerDesk will be added to your Applications folder. If you are utilizing Apple displays or using an Apple Mac mobile computer clicking on the Matrox GXM Control Panel will result in an error message stating it could not load the preference pane for the Matrox GXM Control Panel. Matrox explained this is because the  GXM cannot control the MacBook’s LCD.

Instead launch the Matrox PowerDesk software from the Applications folder. Once launched you will have three key menu options under the PowerDesk menu. The third choice is Open Matrox GXM Control Panel. With this panel you get a list of supported resolutions and refresh rates in a drop-down menu. (see image 04) On the right hand side of the control panel are four empty boxes for Active Resolutions and Refresh Rates.

When you fire up the hardware the GXM will automatically find the highest resolution supported and choose that by default. On Apple Cinema Displays it will find only the one default resolution, which is also the highest one supported on the Cinema Display. In our case it has already populated two of the empty boxes. If we were using a Dell or other branded set of monitors we would be able to further populate the four boxes with another set of resolutions. We would grab these from the drop down menu at left in the control panel and hit the right arrow button. The left arrow button moves resolutions back out of the four boxes on the right.

Other options in this control panel include a button which automatically will configure based on the attached displays, as well as reset to manufacturer settings. These are useful when things get out of whack. At the bottom of the control panel is basic information on the Matrox GXM unit, such as serial number, firmware version and the like.

The next settings option in the Matrox PowerDesk software is Change Display Setting. This panel allows you to choose an available GXM display option from a drop-down menu. In our particular case using the Apple Cinema Display (20-inch) in pair configuration, we have just two choices: use one external display or two. (see image 05) Other key options are setting the location for the menu bar (which you can also set in the default Mac display preferences) and more importantly the left or right choice for the GXM location. This latter choice determines which direction (left or right) the external monitors are located relative to the laptop display so when you move the mouse off the laptop display in the right direction it follows over to the left side of the attached external monitors. Alternatively, if you have your external (GXM) attached displays on the left side you would choose the Left radio button.

The last configuration panel allows the user to swap the active window with a keyboard shortcut. The keyboard shortcut moves the active window from one of the GXM displays to the other. There is also a dock configuration control. And this completes the review of the Matrox PowerDesk software. (see image 06)

Next page: Enjoying the Matrox GXM

Enjoying the Matrox DualHead2Go

Once everything is setup you can truly enjoy the use of multiple monitors. Stretching out on two to three large external displays–whether Apple Cinema units or units by others–while working is truly enjoyable. One must remember too that your laptop display also adds to the real-estate, beyond the supported maximum resolutions supported and shared across multiple GXM units.

Because the Mac operating system places its application menu bars at the top of your display space–unlike Windows–one must decide where to put it: on the laptop display or spread across the attached external units?

In the image above we have two Display preference panels. One says Color LCD and controls the MacBook display. The way the Mac OS handles displays each display gets its own control panel. So the second Display preference panel is for the Matrox GXM. From here you power and control the displays attached through the Matrox GXM. (see image 07). There is an important button on the MacBook’s display preference pane called Gather Windows. Hitting this brings the GXM’s display preferences window to the same display controlling the Color LCD preferences.

On the MacBook’s display preference pane you can select the Arrangement button and set your location for the menu bar (by dragging it from one blue box to the other). (see image 08) Blue boxes represent the built-in LCD display and a larger one for the whole of the attached display space. You can also drag the smaller blue box around the larger one to determine how the large display expands from the laptop display space.

The benefits of  using multiple large displays becomes obvious within a few days of working with them. At first one must become accustomed to the vast canvass of screen real estate and get used to some nuances of such a configuration. As in the example above a user should ideally place the Mac menu bar on the attached GXM unit side where your main large applications will exist. The MacBook’s display then gains a bit more headroom and makes a nice place to use web browsers and email–programs that typically contain all their necessary controls within the interface anyway.

With two or three attached displays a Mac user can run two CAD or 3D programs side by side as in the image above. We loaded the new Autodesk AutoCAD for Mac on the left and the venerable Nemetschek Vectorworks on the right. (see image 10) In such an arrangement however the Mac menu bar does cluster itself to the left attached monitor only. It would be a really neat trick if the menu bar could move between the displays based on the active application but it doesn’t. It doesn’t take too much effort to lay out palettes and application windows to work this way and the benefits can be many.

If on the other hand what you really want your extra monitor space for is non-CAD or non-3D applications then that too is very productive. Having calendar, email, database or other business applications open while working on CAD/3D applications is very useful. And this setup isn’t just useful for CAD or 3D professionals, it is darn useful to anybody who needs to “look and read” from one window while working in another. That would include web and graphic designers and even journalist professionals like us writing this review!

Closing Comments and Recomendations

Before we write our recommendations we want to summarize some key points. The Matrox GXM unit we tested was for dual monitor setup expansion beyond the main laptop’s LCD display. You can also use these products to expand off of an iMac or even a Mac tower. Though in the case of the latter there is no build-in display.

Apple Displays act differently than non-Apple displays and you will have more control options with the Matrox GXM software when you have non-Apple gear plugged in, as we noted above. The unit is designed to be easy to use but it is strongly recommended that users shut-down and restart between hooking up the Matrox GXM. When the unit is working properly a green light glows from it. If an orange light glows and stays on there may be an initialization issue or not enough power going to the unit from the USB port.

We think this hardware is excellent and Matrox has good tech support. We would, however, like to see better setup materials that explain some key items we talked about here in the review, such as the fact that Apple displays act slightly differently than non-Apple displays. These are minor items that the company can improve on in the future. Matrox has done an excellent job with this unit and its sister triple head unit works identically. If expanded screen real estate has been on your wish list the Matrox DualHead2Go DP Edition or its sister TripleHead unit are excellent choices to make this happen.

Pros: Good looking and space efficient hardware is built very well and comes with high-quality cables; Matrox PowerDesk for Mac installs with native Apple installer and the software is simple to work once learned. Unit is smart and can work automatically between Apple and non-Apple displays, configures itself to highest available resolution supported by displays.

Cons: Many of the nuances of the software discussed in this review should be brought to the attention of the new user in its setup guides; Matrox can do better with included setup materals.

Advice: For CAD or 3D professionals the Matrox GXM units offer an excellent choice for expanding your screen real estate; the GXM supports build in (4 rows, recall) resolutions so you can move your laptop between two locations with differing resolution capacities (home versus office, etc). We experienced no issues with the unit but we do recommend our own review to help with setup.

Cost: The unit tested goes for 229.USD and its triple-head sister goes for 329.USD. The Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adaptor cable is not included. Refer to the Matrox website for detailed system requirements and the latest compatibility information.

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