A Closer Look

The DualHead2Go is constructed of steel, which makes it very sturdy. There are air vents all over the device, but it does not heat up at all during use. The top mentions the name of the device as well as the website URL of Matrox. The underside is covered in different stickers and air vents as well.


You will find one D-SUB input and USB 2.0 connection in the front. There is also a dual LED, which shows you if the LCDs are on, in standby or up and running with red, orange or green color respectively. The USB connection is used exclusively to supply the DualHead2Go with power. On the opposite side, you will find two DVI connectors, which can handle a resolution of 1920x1200 each. making for a huge desktop of 3840x1200 with two appropriate monitors.


The PCB is quite packed, but you will find very few chips on the PCB. Each DVI connector has a Chrontel CH7301C-TF DVI Transmitter chip. The Chrontel website mentions support up to 1600x1200, but the page may have not been updated for the wide screen ratios and the chip used has "-TF" at the end of the name. This one is not listed anywhere explicitly. The other side of the PCB has two larger chips. The biggest one is the Altera Cyclone II chip, while the smaller one is the Intersil ISL98001-275, which is a Advanced 275MHz Triple Video Digitizer with Digital PLL.


To test the device, I will be using two brand new, DVI equipped 19 inch LCDs. The entire system is set up on an antique table. Connecting everything is very straight foward and takes about five minutes. There is no order in which you have to connect every. Just plug 'em in and install the software.