OK, this is the dilemma I had with setting up surround screen scenery and using the remaining ports on the graphics card for the instruments in the cockpit.
When you're projecting onto a curved screen you need to use warping software. I found out that with the graphics card I'm using - the GeForce GTX 980 - you can enable a surround option. This effectively joins two or more monitors or projectors together to form a continuous image. This then enabled me to use the warping software (Nthusim) across the whole screen. The diagram below shows my original thinking on the setup.
However, as soon as I turned on the surround option I lost the use of the remaining ports on the graphics card. Disabling the surround option gave me back the other ports, but then prevented the warping software from working - it only appeared on one screen.
It took a lot of research; this included looking at a number of YouTube videos on extending your desktop whilst having surround scenery. These suggested using two graphics cards (assuming your system allows this). Further investigation, including an on-line chat with Nvidia suggested the only way was to use two SLI (Scalable Link Interface) cards......by this time I had already bought a second card - the GeForce GTX 1050ti (not SLI compatible). I was a bit gutted thinking I had wasted quite a few dollars!!
I took the card back to PB Tech where I spoke with Karl, a very helpful support and service technician. After about 20 minutes of discussion and looking on line, we agreed I would try the card. This diagram shows the configuration of two cards in the one machine - not using SLI.
When you're projecting onto a curved screen you need to use warping software. I found out that with the graphics card I'm using - the GeForce GTX 980 - you can enable a surround option. This effectively joins two or more monitors or projectors together to form a continuous image. This then enabled me to use the warping software (Nthusim) across the whole screen. The diagram below shows my original thinking on the setup.
 |
| One option was to consider adding another networked computer |
However, as soon as I turned on the surround option I lost the use of the remaining ports on the graphics card. Disabling the surround option gave me back the other ports, but then prevented the warping software from working - it only appeared on one screen.
It took a lot of research; this included looking at a number of YouTube videos on extending your desktop whilst having surround scenery. These suggested using two graphics cards (assuming your system allows this). Further investigation, including an on-line chat with Nvidia suggested the only way was to use two SLI (Scalable Link Interface) cards......by this time I had already bought a second card - the GeForce GTX 1050ti (not SLI compatible). I was a bit gutted thinking I had wasted quite a few dollars!!
I took the card back to PB Tech where I spoke with Karl, a very helpful support and service technician. After about 20 minutes of discussion and looking on line, we agreed I would try the card. This diagram shows the configuration of two cards in the one machine - not using SLI.
 |
| Two GPUs in the one machine - one for surround scenery and one for the instruments |
Having set up the second GPU and juggled a bit with the Nvidia software (I'll discuss this in another blog), I'm please to say I now have full screen surround scenery and monitors displaying the flight and engine instruments. This is what it's looking like - still a bit to do to get the images right, but at least they are there.....I'm quite chuffed 😊!
In the end, thanks to Karl in PB Tech and also Marek Marciniak for his YouTube videos on Home FSX cockpit with multiple monitors in Nvidia Surround everything is now connecting the way I want it to as the image below shows - I have since added a third monitor below the flight and engine instruments for flight management etc.
In the end, thanks to Karl in PB Tech and also Marek Marciniak for his YouTube videos on Home FSX cockpit with multiple monitors in Nvidia Surround everything is now connecting the way I want it to as the image below shows - I have since added a third monitor below the flight and engine instruments for flight management etc.
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