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Dual U2711 Possible on ATI 5770 display ports?

A

albert1028

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 29, 2007
281
13
Hey All,

It has been hard to find the answer so I thought I would ask it. I bought my wife a 2010 Mac Pro with the 5770. We currently have two 24" ACD and was thinking of surprising her (she's a graphic designer) with two 27" U2711 dell monitors. I have read all over that it requires dual-link dvi, which would necessitate the dual-link adapter, but I know that those monitors also include a displayport. I was hoping that all i had to do was to purchase a mini-displayport to displayport cable for it to work and using both mini-displayports that I would just have two cables rather than using dvi.

Does this work?

Thanks All.
 
I used three Dell U2711 displays with a 5770 and had great success.

The only downside is that you must use a mini-DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter. These cost $100.00 from apple and third party adapters aren't much cheaper. You, of course can run one U2711 off the 5770's DVI and the other off the miniDP with just one adapter.

Using a standard miniDP to DVI adapter will only allow a max resolution of 1080p.

I hope this helps.

I tried a regular displayport adapter and had no luck. There's a chance others would work, however.
 
AKDigital said:
I used three Dell U2711 displays with a 5770 and had great success.

The only downside is that you must use a mini-DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter. These cost $100.00 from apple and third party adapters aren't much cheaper. You, of course can run one U2711 off the 5770's DVI and the other off the miniDP with just one adapter.

Using a standard miniDP to DVI adapter will only allow a max resolution of 1080p.

I hope this helps.

I tried a regular displayport adapter and had no luck. There's a chance others would work, however.
Click to expand...

would have been a LOT cheaper to get MDP to DP adapters for $10 or so.

in a 4,1 or newer would have allowed audio too.
 
albert1028 said:
Hey All,

It has been hard to find the answer so I thought I would ask it. I bought my wife a 2010 Mac Pro with the 5770. We currently have two 24" ACD and was thinking of surprising her (she's a graphic designer) with two 27" U2711 dell monitors. I have read all over that it requires dual-link dvi, which would necessitate the dual-link adapter, but I know that those monitors also include a displayport. I was hoping that all i had to do was to purchase a mini-displayport to displayport cable for it to work and using both mini-displayports that I would just have two cables rather than using dvi.

Does this work?

Thanks All.
Click to expand...

I moved to a Mac Pro from an Apple iMac 24", and I bought the U2711, but I did not find the monitor as nice as the old Apple 24". Many find the matt treatment too fuzzy on the Dell.

You might be better off with two NEC 24" PA monitors, if you wife benefits from stable colour. Evidently the NEC has very nice matt coatings, and is very stable in its colour. They text becomes small on the 27" as well ... the 24" and the 30 have about the same text size.

IF the room is not very bright, I found the Dell too "harsh" ...

The ultimate is two NEC PA 30" monitors !!!! She would love you for sure with those!!!! I think the card issues would be the same for the 30" as for the 27" monitors ...
 
Melbourne Park said:
I moved to a Mac Pro from an Apple iMac 24", and I bought the U2711, but I did not find the monitor as nice as the old Apple 24". Many find the matt treatment too fuzzy on the Dell.

You might be better off with two NEC 24" PA monitors, if you wife benefits from stable colour. Evidently the NEC has very nice matt coatings, and is very stable in its colour. They text becomes small on the 27" as well ... the 24" and the 30 have about the same text size.

IF the room is not very bright, I found the Dell too "harsh" ...

The ultimate is two NEC PA 30" monitors !!!! She would love you for sure with those!!!! I think the card issues would be the same for the 30" as for the 27" monitors ...
Click to expand...

Awesome! Thanks for the advice. Seems like 30" is probably better since it keeps the text size relatively similar to the 24".

So it seems like I would need to upgrade to the newer Geforce cards that are getting a lot of looks from the other large thread in this subforum.
 
albert1028 said:
To run dual 27" or dual 30" displays. But would all I need is the dual link adapter to run one 27" or 30" off one display port and a 30" on the dual-link dvi?
Click to expand...

You can check the maximum output of the card, but it should handle both fine. Dual link is only required with dvi. If it's displayport/mini displayport, one display should run on a single connection assuming it's within the capability of the card.
 
I cannot swear on it, but the Dell 27" had more than one cable in it. I used the DVI one. I got full resolution.

I presume using the other cable suppled I'd have also got full res?

Incidentally, the both 30" and the 27" have the same width resolutions. So the image is larger with the 30", but there is more vertical data, as the 30" though has more pixel resolution going downwards.

After experiencing a 27", I prefer a 24". But a 30 would provide me with my cake which I'd be able to eat too.

Only problem then is the issues with the Dell's matt coatings. The 27" are quite severe IMO. The 30" has the same coatings, but I have not read many complaints about its coatings there.

I understand that colour stability wise, the Dells are a league below NEC. I've also read the Dells do not handle low light as well ... and I am not sure if under all colour modes, they can be fully adjusted.
 
Sorry if this isn't quite the correct thread, but hopefully some of you can help.

I have a Macbook pro 13" (mid 2011) and have just got a Dell U2711 monitor at work. I am struggling with resolution and colours.

What cable do I need to get the full 2,560 x 1,440 res?

I have tried both dvi and hdmi but both just can get 1,080.

Do I need to use the display port connector in the monitor?
Or do I need a dual link dvi adaptor?

I have trawled through forums but can't seem to find what I need.

Also I don't want to get into an argument about Dell v Apple but having used both now, and using the dell at 1080, it is just about useless. I can't get the colours anywhere near useable, there is a green tint to the greys, and the anti-glare coating is terrible on the eyes. Unless if I can get a cable to get the full res, then I think I will have to leave it switched off and just use the 13" screen which, even though it is smaller, it is so much crisper and easier on the eyes and the colours are 'true'.

The only thing that makes me not so annoyed is that this is a company monitor and if I'd had spent the money on one for myself, I would be sorely disappointed.

So if anyone could help with my cable problems and colour set-up then I'd be glad to listen.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
You can use U2711 directly on dvi with the 5770 : Dell includes all needed cables in the package, including the rare dual dvi.

To connect a mbp to the u2711, you only need a mini-dp to dp cable.
Then with a classic dp to dp cable connect the mbp to the screen ;)
 
Collwyn said:
Sorry if this isn't quite the correct thread, but hopefully some of you can help.

I have a Macbook pro 13" (mid 2011) and have just got a Dell U2711 monitor at work. I am struggling with resolution and colours.

What cable do I need to get the full 2,560 x 1,440 res?

I have tried both dvi and hdmi but both just can get 1,080.

Do I need to use the display port connector in the monitor?
Or do I need a dual link dvi adaptor?

I have trawled through forums but can't seem to find what I need.

Also I don't want to get into an argument about Dell v Apple but having used both now, and using the dell at 1080, it is just about useless. I can't get the colours anywhere near useable, there is a green tint to the greys, and the anti-glare coating is terrible on the eyes. Unless if I can get a cable to get the full res, then I think I will have to leave it switched off and just use the 13" screen which, even though it is smaller, it is so much crisper and easier on the eyes and the colours are 'true'.

The only thing that makes me not so annoyed is that this is a company monitor and if I'd had spent the money on one for myself, I would be sorely disappointed.

So if anyone could help with my cable problems and colour set-up then I'd be glad to listen.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

you need dual link dvi or use displayport to get native resolution
 
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