DVI external monitor for iMac 27 5K

[talino]

Hi,

1. Is it possible to attach a DVI 24" monitor (NEC MultiSync EA241WM) to the newest iMac 27 5K with a Thunderbolt to DVI adapter?

2. The adapters I see on Amazon list maximum resolution as 1080p. If #1 is possible, is there a way to go to the native 24" monitor's resolution, which is 1920x1200?

Thanks.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Hi,

1. Is it possible to attach a DVI 24" monitor (NEC MultiSync EA241WM) to the newest iMac 27 5K with a Thunderbolt to DVI adapter?

2. The adapters I see on Amazon list maximum resolution as 1080p. If #1 is possible, is there a way to go to the native 24" monitor's resolution, which is 1920x1200?

Thanks.

get an adapter from monoprice. either hdmi or dvi will give you the full 1920x1200. any display port adapter will do it i think. so display port to hdmi or dvi should be very cheap. less than ten bucks.

 

[talino]

Thank you. At any rate, you confirm that the Radeon M390/395 on the 27 5K can drive an external monitor at that resolution, right?

 

[DeltaMac]

No HDMI on a EA241WM display, just DVI or VGA.

Your 5k iMac will support up to 4096 x 2160 (two displays), or 5120 x 2880 (one display) pixels.
A 1080p range resolution on a single external display will be easy.

Your iMac would provide the 1920 x 1200 for your external display - it's just a difference in the aspect ratio.
1080p is 16x9, and your display is 16x10 - so has somewhat more vertical image space on the screen.

Your display came with a DVI cable, so all you need is a mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter, such as: http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5106

 

[talino]

Thank you DeltaMac. So the 4096x2160 limitation is not DVI-related, it's the maximum the iMac can drive its own screen with an external display attached? No difference between the 385/390/395/395X video chips in this regard?

 

[DeltaMac]

Thank you DeltaMac. So the 4096x2160 limitation is not DVI-related, it's the maximum the iMac can drive its own screen with an external display attached? No difference between the 385/390/395/395X video chips in this regard?

No - 4096x2160 on two external displays - in addition to the 5k (5120x2880) resolution on the internal screen.
So, it's possible to have two external 4k displays attached at the same time, or one 5k external, while the internal is still 5k.

All the graphics cards can support the same levels of resolution.
How well it does that depends on which card you have.
None of those cards would be challenged by your NEC monitor, in any case.
And, of course, none of those cards would improve your NEC display to anything like the internal 5k

 

[talino]

Crystal clear. Thank you very much for taking the time to explains this in detail.