Matrox TripleHead2Go Analogue Edition Graphics eXpansion Module (In: 1 VGA, Out: 2 VGA, 1 GPU)

There are a few things you need to be aware of before buying this product;

This is not the same as connecting two monitors to a dual-head VGA card and extending your desktop onto the second monitor with Windows. Your two monitors are presented to your graphics card as a SINGLE display with double the normal width.

In order to be able to do this, both monitors need to be able to display the same size screen at the same refresh rate. There is an important point in the instructions that says you need to set your moniotr resolution to 1024x768@60Hz BEFORE beginning the installation. Take heed! I also had to download the latest driver for my video card and the latest version of the Matrox Powerdesk software - I suggest you do this too. Don't rely on the software supplied on the CD.

There can be some limitations if the amount of memory in your graphics card is quite low. I only have 32Mb in the onboard card in my PC, so the maximum resolution available is 2048x768 (each monitor running at 1024x768@85Hz). This is not so bad for games, but causes some blurring in Windows because this is not the native mode for these monitors - they are clearest at 1280x1024 but to run them at this size would require more graphics memory. If you're going to have to buy a new graphics card, then you may as well get one with dual outputs anyway and save having to use this extra external box.

For some reason when you maximise applications in Windows, they only fill the monitor they are on - as they do with the Windows dual monitor solution. I was expecting them to fill both monitors. (you can do this if you want by dragging them across both monitors in windowed mode) When you are playing videos, there is no blacking out as you drag them from one monitor to another, and full-screen mode in windows media player expands across both monitors seamlessly - I don't think this is possible with the windows dual monitor setup, so it's probably a better solution for watching movies.

This solution can be used for games that do not normally support multiple monitors, however it isn't great to have the split right in the middle, so you might be better off with the Triple head box. Again you are going to need a monster amount of memory to run at full resolution on multiple monitors, so if your on-board or existing VGA card has less than 128Mb RAM, forget it.

The box is powered from a USB port, this is better than having yet another three pin plug tangling up behind your desk.

Apart from the problems I had because I was trying to use too high a resolution to start with, it was fairly easy to set up. There's no risk if you are not a hardware engineer because you don't have to take the lid off the box. Although if you're not careful you can get into a bit of a pickle where neither monitor can display the screen. If this happens press F8 while windows is booting up and select the "VGA mode" option, you can then try a different desktop setting.

You should make sure both your monitors are the same size, spec. and preferably the same make and model because it's difficult to match the brightness, contrast and tone otherwise. Also you want the thinnest frame you can get If you're going to play games or watch films across both monitors.

If you're looking for an easy solution, that does what it says on the tin, this could be the one.