For those of us who cant afford to buy 2 matching video cards(SLI OR CROSSFIREX) for Surround or Eyefinity, there is an alternative... SoftTH.
I will help you setup a basic configuration file for SoftTH.
FAQ
What is SoftTH?:SoftTH is basically a software version of Matrox TripleHead2Go. It spans your gameplay to all 3 monitors using set resolutions you define. I will get into this more later on.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of SoftTH?:Well I will start with the disadvantages first.
Disadvantage #1:It does require you to have morethan one video card. You CAN use your motherboards IGP if you have one.
Disadvantage #2:Is NOT compatable with DirectX 10 or 11 games. DirectX 10 games that can run in DirectX 9 may work.
**Notice**: It is recommended that you have 2 GB RAM or more.
Disadvantage #3:Some games are unsupported(I will make a list of working and non-working games after the FAQ)
Advantage #1: Videocards DO NOT need to be the same.
NOTICE: It is recommended that you have a PCI-e videocard as your main card.
Advantage #2: Is not that hard to setup.(ok maybe a little time needed but not difficult)
Advantage #3: No annoying Drivers to install.
Advantage #4:FREE
![biggrin.gif]( "biggrin.gif")
Is SoftTH the right choice for me?:SoftTH is not for everyone. If you are someone who can afford 2 matching videocards, I suggest that instead as SoftTH does not have the best compatability for some games. If you cant afford matching videocards and just have a spare PCI videocard lying around then yes.
![smile.gif]( "smile.gif")
Game List
WORKING(Will be updated):
Battlefield 2(Odd FOV/Icons)
Battlefield:Bad Company 2(DX9 Mode)(tested)
Call Of Duty 2
Call Of Duty 4(tested)
Call Of Duty:Black Ops
Crysis(DX9)
Fallout 3
Half-Life 2(ep1&2?)
Halo 1&2(tested)
Lord Of The Rings Online
Oblivion
Warhammer Online
X3:Terran Conflict
Non-Working(Will be updated):
Orange Box(Steam)
Torchlight
Will Work with Tweaking(Will be updated):
World of Warcraft
Tutorial
****Disclamer Notice****: This is my tutorial but i have nothing to do with the software. The Software was programmed and released by Keijo "Kegetys" Ruotsalainen. His Homepage
Before I begin i will explane a little more of what SoftTH is/does.
SoftTH uses your Main videocard to render the frames and at the same time uses your RAM to transfer rendered frames to your Secondary videocard. Your main videocard does all the work while your secondary vdeocard just "displays" the images.
Your Secondary videocard can be anything that you see fit. I used an old ATi X1300 256mb PCI card(secondary) i had lying around with a 6800GT as my Main(an old pentium 4 rig).
First step(Obvious): Be sure you meet the requirments of the game you wish to use(duh
![tongue.gif]( "tongue.gif")
)
Second Step(Download): Download SoftTH Here(newest is 2.05 as of writing of this Tutorial). Extract to the location of your choice.
Third Step(Install): Navigate to the folder that holds your games executible(exe). Then Navigate to the location you extracted SoftTH(DXD9.dll) to(if you plan on playing multiple games using this method i suggest you make copies of DXD9.dll file.
Forth Step(Install Cont.): Run the game.If you get an error stating you are missing dx DLL's you need to update your directX Here. It will pop up a message stating it cannot fint the config file and ask you if it can make one. When the game is run for the first time it creates a configuration file in the exe folder called config.SoftTHconfig.
Fifth Step(configuration): Open config.SoftTHconfig with the text editor of your choice. If wanted Indepth information of the options listed see to the Readme file that was in the zip file.
You will need to see the locations and deviceid #'s set by windows, to do this go to:
Windows XP:Right click on the desktop and click display properties(i think, i havent used XP in years) then settings tab.
Windows Vista:Right click on the Desktop and click Display Settings(Once again, I think).
Windows 7:Right click on the Desktop and click Screen Resolution.
You should see Your monitors connected and listed.
In the Config,SoftTHconfig file you should see renderResolution. This is the resolution you will see in your resolutions list in-game. Change this to the resolution you want... to find the max resolution take your monitors "native" resolution and multiply the Width times 3(i.e... 3x 17" monitors with the native resolution of 1280*1024 it should be 3840*1024 as the max resolution)
Here comes the "fun" part.
I will demonstrate with the previous statement of 3x 1280*1024 monitors
For renderResolution i will do:
renderResolution=(3 times monitors width)3840x (this should be your monitors highth, DO NOT MULTIPLY THIS)1024
In the Config for the [head_primary] section it should be
[head_primary](middle monitor)
sourceRect=1280,0,(monitors width),(monitors highth)
and then for Head 1(Left monitor)
[head_1]
devID=X(X is the id of your left monitor, your main monitor Id is 0 so this should be 1)
sourceRect=0,0,(monitors width),(monitors highth)
For your right monitor it should be
[head_2]
devID=X(X is the id of your right monitor, your left monitor Id is 1 so this should be 2)
sourceRect=2560,0,(monitors width),(monitors highth)
AND there you have it.
My config for Call Of Duty 4
![10dw6l0.png]( "10dw6l0.png")
Feel Free to post your questions and/or comments.
Thanks for Reading
![smile.gif]( "smile.gif")
-kill
I will help you setup a basic configuration file for SoftTH.
FAQ
What is SoftTH?:SoftTH is basically a software version of Matrox TripleHead2Go. It spans your gameplay to all 3 monitors using set resolutions you define. I will get into this more later on.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of SoftTH?:Well I will start with the disadvantages first.
Disadvantage #1:It does require you to have morethan one video card. You CAN use your motherboards IGP if you have one.
Disadvantage #2:Is NOT compatable with DirectX 10 or 11 games. DirectX 10 games that can run in DirectX 9 may work.
**Notice**: It is recommended that you have 2 GB RAM or more.
Disadvantage #3:Some games are unsupported(I will make a list of working and non-working games after the FAQ)
Advantage #1: Videocards DO NOT need to be the same.
NOTICE: It is recommended that you have a PCI-e videocard as your main card.
Advantage #2: Is not that hard to setup.(ok maybe a little time needed but not difficult)
Advantage #3: No annoying Drivers to install.
Advantage #4:FREE
Is SoftTH the right choice for me?:SoftTH is not for everyone. If you are someone who can afford 2 matching videocards, I suggest that instead as SoftTH does not have the best compatability for some games. If you cant afford matching videocards and just have a spare PCI videocard lying around then yes.
Game List
WORKING(Will be updated):
Battlefield 2(Odd FOV/Icons)
Battlefield:Bad Company 2(DX9 Mode)(tested)
Call Of Duty 2
Call Of Duty 4(tested)
Call Of Duty:Black Ops
Crysis(DX9)
Fallout 3
Half-Life 2(ep1&2?)
Halo 1&2(tested)
Lord Of The Rings Online
Oblivion
Warhammer Online
X3:Terran Conflict
Non-Working(Will be updated):
Orange Box(Steam)
Torchlight
Will Work with Tweaking(Will be updated):
World of Warcraft
Tutorial
****Disclamer Notice****: This is my tutorial but i have nothing to do with the software. The Software was programmed and released by Keijo "Kegetys" Ruotsalainen. His Homepage
Before I begin i will explane a little more of what SoftTH is/does.
SoftTH uses your Main videocard to render the frames and at the same time uses your RAM to transfer rendered frames to your Secondary videocard. Your main videocard does all the work while your secondary vdeocard just "displays" the images.
Your Secondary videocard can be anything that you see fit. I used an old ATi X1300 256mb PCI card(secondary) i had lying around with a 6800GT as my Main(an old pentium 4 rig).
First step(Obvious): Be sure you meet the requirments of the game you wish to use(duh
Second Step(Download): Download SoftTH Here(newest is 2.05 as of writing of this Tutorial). Extract to the location of your choice.
Third Step(Install): Navigate to the folder that holds your games executible(exe). Then Navigate to the location you extracted SoftTH(DXD9.dll) to(if you plan on playing multiple games using this method i suggest you make copies of DXD9.dll file.
Forth Step(Install Cont.): Run the game.If you get an error stating you are missing dx DLL's you need to update your directX Here. It will pop up a message stating it cannot fint the config file and ask you if it can make one. When the game is run for the first time it creates a configuration file in the exe folder called config.SoftTHconfig.
Fifth Step(configuration): Open config.SoftTHconfig with the text editor of your choice. If wanted Indepth information of the options listed see to the Readme file that was in the zip file.
You will need to see the locations and deviceid #'s set by windows, to do this go to:
Windows XP:Right click on the desktop and click display properties(i think, i havent used XP in years) then settings tab.
Windows Vista:Right click on the Desktop and click Display Settings(Once again, I think).
Windows 7:Right click on the Desktop and click Screen Resolution.
You should see Your monitors connected and listed.
In the Config,SoftTHconfig file you should see renderResolution. This is the resolution you will see in your resolutions list in-game. Change this to the resolution you want... to find the max resolution take your monitors "native" resolution and multiply the Width times 3(i.e... 3x 17" monitors with the native resolution of 1280*1024 it should be 3840*1024 as the max resolution)
Here comes the "fun" part.
I will demonstrate with the previous statement of 3x 1280*1024 monitors
For renderResolution i will do:
renderResolution=(3 times monitors width)3840x (this should be your monitors highth, DO NOT MULTIPLY THIS)1024
In the Config for the [head_primary] section it should be
[head_primary](middle monitor)
sourceRect=1280,0,(monitors width),(monitors highth)
and then for Head 1(Left monitor)
[head_1]
devID=X(X is the id of your left monitor, your main monitor Id is 0 so this should be 1)
sourceRect=0,0,(monitors width),(monitors highth)
For your right monitor it should be
[head_2]
devID=X(X is the id of your right monitor, your left monitor Id is 1 so this should be 2)
sourceRect=2560,0,(monitors width),(monitors highth)
AND there you have it.
My config for Call Of Duty 4
Feel Free to post your questions and/or comments.
Thanks for Reading
