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Connecting PC to new iMac 27"

with the cost of 30 inch monitor very high now. it is a great idea to use imac 27 screen as a huge monitor, but the resolution is 2560x1400 which is different, would that be a problem when playing game. yes you are right ATI have mini dvi, i guess it can be plug in directly. a great idea, minus the resolution, but for application it is great.


dog299 said:
Hey guys I know the new Target Display Mode is raising many questions and much excitement and I am sorry to start another thread but from what I can see the current ones are focus on Xbox360 and PS3 (which is of great interest to me as well) but I have more PC focused question.

I am thinking about getting one of the new ATI graphics cards for my PC, maybe the 5870 which comes with a display port. The issue is that the iMac only has mini display port in, is there anyway/adaptor so I can use? Does this sound like it should work??

Cheers for any help
Click to expand...
 
I've purchased a cheap-ish Nvidia 9500GT card with DisplayPort output and a DisplayPort to mini-DisplayPort cable. Both should be here early next week, I hope it works! I currently have a GTX260, is it possible to use that to do all the fancy GPU-stuff and output it on the monitor (ie. iMac) which is connected to the other card? Or will anything I do on the iMac need to be powered and fully processed by the card it gets its signal from (the weaker GT9500)?
 
Sorry, I actually cancelled that order and decided to go for the 4890! I thought I might as well use the screen for some gaming as well. Unfortunately, I have had major trouble in trying to source these here in the UK. I ordered two Sapphire Vapor-X editions (for CrossFire) but unfortunately the courier they used (HDNL) was unable to correctly find my house (I live on a major road mere minutes away from their depot so my only conclusion is they must employ poorly-trained monkeys as drivers) and it has now gone back to the retailer. The only other place where I can find them online is with an atrocious retailer who have an appalling record and who I swore never to use again. I'm not sure if its worth caving in on my principles.

If anyone knows where I can pick up a 4890 (or two!) with DisplayPort in the UK I'd be grateful.
 
Well, managed to find some and...success! I am now typing on my PC using my iMac screen.

There are a few niggles though, twice now I've had weird graphical glitches when switching from the Mac mode to target display mode although this is probably a software error given that the problems also occur on my PC screen.

Also, it seems that when you leave Target Display mode it literally cuts off the signal to the PC so as far as your PC is concerned you have unplugged your cable and any windows you had on the Mac screen will shift over to the PC screen - which is annoying if you want to flick between Mac and PC. I'm not sure how it would react using only the one screen though - I think it would be just fine.

About to see what some games are like on this.
 
It looks like the final RV790 dies are being put to use in the HD 4860. It was only supposed to be a product for China but it is now out on NewEgg. It has a Display Port connector and lots of overclocking potential.

It is a little strange that it has two 6-pin connectors though. The original reference from July shows only one.
 
Is it possible to connect a PC laptop without a mini display port to the new imac 27"?

I have a VGA connection on my laptop with the adaptor (VGA - minidisplay port), will this work?

Really want to buy the new imac, but only if this can work as I need to use it for an external monitor too.

Thanks,
 
Any updates on this, or am I missing it in another thread?

Which ati cards will work from pc to imac 27"?

Thank you
 
has anyone else been playing with getting card with Display Port working with a 27" iMac?

I have a ATI 5770 with a DP on and have ordered a Mini DP to DP cable which will be here on Tuesday and I am hoping that this will work.. :)

Will post again on Tuesday
 
Bad news. The 5770 did not work :(

Has anyone seen a list of cards that will work with the 27" iMac

I have read that the 4890 works. Has anyone see if the 58XX or the 59XX cards work

Cheers
 
Minidisplay Port to Display port is the only way the cable will work. Display Port is electrically different from Mini Display Port, imho. That is why you cannot connect a DP Macbook Pro to a MiniDP Screen. Apple said that. Again: DP -> MiniDP will not work. You need an active adapter. The only Graphics Card on PC that you can use without an active adapter comes from Matrox and features a miniDP, it starts at USD 399 or used at ebay from 300. HTH
 
johnrs said:
Bad news. The 5770 did not work :(

Has anyone seen a list of cards that will work with the 27" iMac

I have read that the 4890 works. Has anyone see if the 58XX or the 59XX cards work

Cheers
Click to expand...
According to chili195 the 4890 works but with some glitches.
 
Which Card Work Connecting a PC to a 27" iMac?

OK,
1) Which Card Work Connecting a PC to a 27" iMac?
2) Specifically which "brand" works?
3) Which is the proper cable to get it to work?
4) Is there anything special you have to do to get the software, firmware or settings to get it to work.

I have 27" imac and a Shuttle PC and I don't want to purchase another screen for the shuttle, I just want to use my imac screen for the shuttle.

I've been searching for this solution for a long time now and it looks like some of you have it working.

Thanks for all the help.

Irwin Witzel
 
From what I have read (although I may be wrong so don't quote me on this!) the Radeon 4xxx series should work (it is working fine with my 4890) as should the Raden 59xx series but the other cards in the 5xxx series do not seem to work for some reason.

In terms of cables, I use this one:

http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Mini-Displayport-to-Displayport-Adapter-Cable.html

Further to my earlier comments on the glitches, they don't seem to happen anymore (running 4890 in Crossfire). I can play most of my games on max settings with the iMac's resolution. It's pretty much perfect - the only problem I have is that the only method to switch between the target display modes is to use the CMD+F2 button on the Apple keyboard. As a result, I always have to have the Apple keyboard handy. I've tried making an AppleScript as well, but it seems to be a specific command that is sent by the keyboard as opposed to a combination of keypresses which can be easily simulated.
 
chili195 said:
From what I have read (although I may be wrong so don't quote me on this!) the Radeon 4xxx series should work (it is working fine with my 4890) as should the Raden 59xx series but the other cards in the 5xxx series do not seem to work for some reason.

In terms of cables, I use this one:

http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Mini-Displayport-to-Displayport-Adapter-Cable.html

Further to my earlier comments on the glitches, they don't seem to happen anymore (running 4890 in Crossfire). I can play most of my games on max settings with the iMac's resolution. It's pretty much perfect - the only problem I have is that the only method to switch between the target display modes is to use the CMD+F2 button on the Apple keyboard. As a result, I always have to have the Apple keyboard handy. I've tried making an AppleScript as well, but it seems to be a specific command that is sent by the keyboard as opposed to a combination of keypresses which can be easily simulated.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information, please help me understand.

When I look the ports on a 4890 I don't see a mini display port or any port that would allow you to plug the cable you linked to.

thanks for you help
 
iMac 27" as PC Display

Gents...I can confirm the ATI Radeon 5850 works. It has a DisplayPort, and I used a cable (DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort) and it works fine.

For those having the blank screen issue...I recommend borrowing a monitor from someone, connecting one of the DVI inputs. By doing this, you can get to the control panel to configure the display.

After that you should be able to display just fine.

I do have a question though, some have said command F3 or command F2 will let you shift between iMac display and PC display...this part does not work for me. As long as the PC is on, it takes the display.

If there are any other thoughts on this part, by all means let me know your suggestions
 
Just wanted to let everyone know that I used a ATI HD 5870 Eyefinity 6. It has 6 mini displayport on it. The Version I used was by the company HIS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1336&cm_re=eyefinity_6-_-14-161-336-_-Product

I can confirm it works on the Apple Cinema 24", Apple Cinema 27", and iMac 27".
I used to run eyefinity on 3 ACD 24".

Only issue I had was with controlling brightness on the new 27" ACD, and controlling brightness on 3 ACD 24's. The bright would only work for one monitor although 3 were connected. The 27" iMac bright was controlled by the keyboard so I had no issues with it.
 
henpecked1 said:
Gents...I can confirm the ATI Radeon 5850 works. It has a DisplayPort, and I used a cable (DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort) and it works fine.

For those having the blank screen issue...I recommend borrowing a monitor from someone, connecting one of the DVI inputs. By doing this, you can get to the control panel to configure the display.

After that you should be able to display just fine.

I do have a question though, some have said command F3 or command F2 will let you shift between iMac display and PC display...this part does not work for me. As long as the PC is on, it takes the display.

If there are any other thoughts on this part, by all means let me know your suggestions
Click to expand...
Sorry to bump this older thread.. but is this really true? I can't find any confirmation anywhere on the net for this, other than mostly failure and disappointment. Did AMD recently update their drivers to fix this or something, or is it just the method of using a 2nd device hooked to it to setup the display?
 
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