I dont know....

[OldAirmail]

May you live in interesting times.


Some may have noticed that I've been, more or less, absent for a while.

Work is (literally) killing me.

I was fighting the Prepar3d V2.4 installation & re-setup of my controls.

And I bought a new video card. And THAT meant that I had to rip apart my desktop case to make room for the over sized card (Band-Aids not included).



So.....
The good - I just bought a AMD R9 280X.
The bad . - I just bought a AMD R9 280X.


I first bought a AMD Eyefinity graphics card because it was the cheapest way to control three monitors. And I must say that it did it extremely well.

Until then, I'd had NVIDIA cards. Controlling three monitors with NVIDIA, back then, meant buying the fastest NVIDIA card that you could afford (plus a little more), and Triple Head 2 Go. WAY TOO MUCH MONEY!



Before now, every time that I'd tried upgrading the software I'd spend anywhere from an hour to four hours getting it to work.

This time, after two days, I still can't get the software - Catalyst Control Center - to install & work.

Oh, the speed is there. The drivers installed with no problem. Just not the controlling software.

This'll be my last AMD card. Hopefully, the NVIDIA software will be a bit better.

The video card works, and much of Prepar3d V2.4 is set up the way that I want it (excluding all of the scenery & aircraft).



What I don't know is if the following is based on my AMD card or the V2.4 version of Prepar3d.

IT'S FANTASTIC ON A MULTY-MONITOR SETUP!

This picture isn't going to show much (and to be able to post a viewable picture, it's only two screens wide). It's pretty basic P3d. But switching from single to multi-monitor is Simple, Smooth, and Fast, in windowed or full screen mode.

Aeronca 11AC


It's amazing when something works as simple as you think that it should. Working in multiple windows has never been so simple.

[OldAirmail]

Here's another one just for the heck of it.



So simple.

I used to set the two/three monitors up on my video card software before starting a flight. True it was just a hotkey series, but it had been required for smooth integration.

Now it's as simple as ALT+ENTER.

[pete]

Very interesting. That was a bit of a gamble! Glad it worked out well for you! I really hope it continues that way after all that!!


I'd love to see a photo of the 3 monitors with it all running.

[Fozzer]

Having always been used to using nVidia G-Force Cards in the past, and using the nVida Control Centre, my latest computer has the AMD graphics card now installed, and having installed the latest AMD Drivers, I could not locate the "AMD Catalyst Control Centre" amongst any of my programs!
Googled the problem, and found that I needed to locate and install the file: "AMD CCC Install" (amongst the installed AMD Driver files) which then appeared in my Desktop Start Menu display under the title: "1 AMD Catalyst Control Centre"
Note that after clicking on it, it seems to take AGES before the actual Catalyst Control Centre window appears on the desktop!
(The first time I have had a Computer which DOESN'T have a "HDD indicator light" to tell me that something is actually happening!)

I'm using FSX, and I presume that it will be the same for P3D?

Having got the Catalyst Window display up, the usual mods can be carried out, similar to the nVidia Control Centre.

A funny old do!

Paul.... ...!

[boromir125]

I too have an AMD card, and the catalyst control center does not, will not and apparently cannot work in win 8. There is supposed to be an on-line fix for the problem(s), but the fix doesn't work. Drivers are fine, but something is amiss...

[Fozzer]

I too have an AMD card, and the catalyst control center does not, will not and apparently cannot work in win 8. There is supposed to be an on-line fix for the problem(s), but the fix doesn't work. Drivers are fine, but something is amiss...

Boro....

I've got Windows 8.1, 64 bit, running FSX, and I managed to get it working OK, after installing the; "AMD CCC Catalyst Control Centre" amongst the latest Driver Files.
The entry now appears in the list of programs in my Desktop Start Menu.
Paul.... ...!

[OldAirmail]

Very interesting. That was a bit of a gamble! Glad it worked out well for you! I really hope it continues that way after all that!!


I'd love to see a photo of the 3 monitors with it all running.

I'd love to see that too! Unfortunately I need to order two cables, or at least miniature adapters for the cables that I have to use all of the ports on this card.

Something that I hadn't noticed until I was about to place the order, is that this card will control up to four monitors without trickery.



If I can't get the Catalyst Control Center running all is not lost - OPUSFSX can make the monitor bezels adjustments. It was just super simple in CCC.



As to the mechanism for filling the monitors - simply drag the P3d "window" so that it is even the least bit covering two (or more I'd bet) monitors. An then, as I said, hit ALT+ENTER

Blink! Prepar3d is now completely filling those monitors.

Did this work in P3d V2.2??? Don't know. I was still doing it the old "Catalyst Control Center" way. THIS is much easier.

[OldAirmail]

Hopefully this will make the process a bit clearer.

I've added a black bar where my bezel would be.


When using full screen it would be MUCH better to have an odd number of screens - 3, 5, 7,etc.

The reason being that sims put you dead center in the screen. Where the bezel is.


At any rate, these are the two monitors with P3d straddling the bezel.




As soon as you hit ALT + Enter you'll see this.


BTW - this is the real Philadelphia, Pa weather at the moment. Would someone please warn Paul. Seeing that much cloud could send hi into a heart attack.



I think that we can all agree that it would be far better like this (without the bezel).

[mustangaroo]

VERY impressive. Now to hit the lottery so I too may have neater toys.

[OldAirmail]

Part of the way to have more toys is to tell EVERYBODY that you know, that you want Amazon, Newegg, Whatever debit cards for your birthday, wedding anniversary, etc. If they give you anything else, start crying and say I HATE YOU!.

After a while they'll get the point.



Next, start following sales. Company B may be planning to introduce a new peripheral. The NEXT BIG THING.

But because of the quantity of "old" NEXT BIG THING(s) still sitting in the warehouse, they'll start offering bigger discounts.

These events occur usually at Christmas time and before the end of the fiscal year.

After that, the sales tend to dry up.



BTW - I don't bother with Black Friday sales. But that's just me.

I mean... When was the last time that you saw SAITEK PRO FLIGHT Combat Rudder pedals on a midnight madness sale?