The DualHead2Go: External Multi-Display Upgrade from Matrox.

Final Words

The DualHead2Go is an interesting concept, but frankly, we can't help but think that it's going to be more or less useless for the average PC user. To its credit, the device does exactly what it claims to do without any problems, and the effect of the dual projection displays with Age of Empires 3 was quite impressive. However, using this for creating an extreme display setup for gaming, regardless of how great the idea sounds, is problematic.

First of all, the $169 (suggested retail) price tag is pretty hefty for something of this type, and chances are, people buying this to have a multi-display setup will also be dropping some extra cash on monitors as well. This alone is a minus, but if you want to use this setup for gaming, two monitors side-by-side won't really cut it. The big problem with having two monitors next to each other is obviously that your monitors will create a break in the middle of the display, and we just don't see this as being acceptable for gaming, especially for types of games like first-person shooters.   

We've shown that using two projectors instead of monitors to achieve a seamless wide screen image works very well, and with this setup, the effect is truly stunning. Being able to play your favorite PC game on a 2560X1024 display projected against your wall is a scenario of pure gaming nirvana, and the idea will tantalize anyone. But the reality is that the money necessary to achieve this is extreme, and unless you are filthy rich, you won't be able to even entertain the notion of upgrading to this level. However, if you are able, then you should also be able to afford the dual link DVI version of the DualHead2Go (when/if it comes out), and the pricier projectors to run the higher resolutions that the box should then allow you to do. You would then have attained the holy grail of gaming displays and officially be the envy of all who know you.

Practically though, those who would ultimately benefit most from this device are business people with laptops who require multiple monitors for presentations or extra desktop space for applications. While we can think of a couple of different multi-display setups for this kind of thing, we couldn't imagine that they would be much more useful than a single display setup; at least not enough to warrant the high price of the DualHead2Go peripheral.

The bottom line is that there will be some people who absolutely must have this for business or other reasons, and those people will find the DualHead2Go useful. But for the average laptop owner, the price will probably be too high to justify doing whatever he/she would really like to do with it. And because, as we've said, most current desktop hardware already has support for multiple monitors, desktop users will have even less need for this box. Still, Matrox might be on to something here. For what it is, the DualHead2Go is nice, and certain applications have potential, but most will find this external multi-display upgrade impractical.