Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Got a Dell Ultasharp. Really like it. Wondering if there is a way to control the brightness from an apple keyboard using the function keys?
 
Just installed Shades. Seems to work well so scrap that last question unless there is a better alternative. One question I have is that the boot logo and option screen is a bit squashed and not showing up correctly on startup. I'm connecting using the mini display port cable that came with the monitor and connecting to the GTX 680. Wondering if this is a common thing with the Ultrasharps? I have the 25" 1440P version. I could live with it but it is a tad annoying.
 
Just installed Shades. Seems to work well so scrap that last question unless there is a better alternative. One question I have is that the boot logo and option screen is a bit squashed and not showing up correctly on startup. I'm connecting using the mini display port cable that came with the monitor and connecting to the GTX 680. Wondering if this is a common thing with the Ultrasharps? I have the 25" 1440P version. I could live with it but it is a tad annoying.

Admittedly, mine is a lot older than yours (U3011, 2560x1600) but I don't have that. GTX 980 Ti via DisplayPort.
 
I'm going mini display port (in) from monitor to large display port on gpu. Would this be a problem? Wondering if mini to large is backwards. The gpu also has hdmi and dvi ports. What is the difference between going display port to display port vs mini display port to display port. I tried an HDMI cable and wasn't able to get that to work but they were older HDMI cables so probably not the correct spec. I could attempt some sort of dp to dvi adapter or mini dp to dvi or hdmi to dvi but it has DVI-I and DVI-D on the GPU. Really in the dark about all this cable stuff.
 
Last edited:
Admittedly, mine is a lot older than yours (U3011, 2560x1600) but I don't have that. GTX 980 Ti via DisplayPort.

Theophany, so DisplayPort to DisplayPort and no mDP in the mix? I'm wondering if going from mDP in monitor to DP in GPU if that is causing the squashed boot screen.
 
I'll keep that in mind. Right now Shades works fairly well. My primary problem is that I don’t really understand the optimal way to connect to the GTX 680 which has an HDMI port, DisplayPort, and a DVI-I and DVI-D port. I'm currently connecting from the monitors mDP port to the gpus DP port which works fine except the boot screen is squashed. Wondering if I should be going into DVI from the monitor using a converter or DP > DP rather mDP > DP.
 
I'm going mini display port (in) from monitor to large display port on gpu. Would this be a problem? Wondering if mini to large is backwards. The gpu also has hdmi and dvi ports. What is the difference between going display port to display port vs mini display port to display port. I tried an HDMI cable and wasn't able to get that to work but they were older HDMI cables so probably not the correct spec. I could attempt some sort of dp to dvi adapter or mini dp to dvi or hdmi to dvi but it has DVI-I and DVI-D on the GPU. Really in the dark about all this cable stuff.

Don't worry, my current GPU also only has DP, and my Cinema Display only support mDP. All I need is just a $1 adaptor to make them work. Highly likely the difference is only form factor.
 
Ok, DP to DP. Why would going mDP to DP cause the boot screen to look like a squashed VGA or something? Weird.
 
Ok, DP to DP. Why would going mDP to DP cause the boot screen to look like a squashed VGA or something? Weird.
Issue likely a bad cable rather than the cable termination.
I would bet an Amazon Basics mDP-DP cable would work just fine. They're generally of very high quality despite the 'Basics' branding.
 
Hey, I switched to a DP-DP cable and am having the same squashed boot screen issue. I don't understand what is going on here. How could I fix this? I've attached a pic of what it looks like.
IMG_3643.JPG
 
You know, i'm gonna try pram reset and see if tgat resolves this. Shoukd have tried this first.
 
Tbh if the issue is only on the boot screen I suspect that the culprit is something as ridiculously simple as the EFI firmware not having a 1440p resolution mode for the bootscreen (as it was not a common resolution when the cMP was first around) and as such it's defaulting to a resolution with a different aspect ratio, which will cause it to look too wide or too narrow.

That's my guess anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squuiid
Tbh if the issue is only on the boot screen I suspect that the culprit is something as ridiculously simple as the EFI firmware not having a 1440p resolution mode for the bootscreen (as it was not a common resolution when the cMP was first around) and as such it's defaulting to a resolution with a different aspect ratio, which will cause it to look too wide or too narrow.

That's my guess anyway.
I can confirm that 1600p works just fine on the GTX 680 ME.
I think your theory might be correct!
 
Ok, PRAM reset didn't do anything. Is there a way to update the EFI firmware to add a new resolution?
 
Hey, I switched to a DP-DP cable and am having the same squashed boot screen issue. I don't understand what is going on here. How could I fix this?
WTF!!! Who cares if the Apple logo is squished as long as it's there? I only ever see a boot screen every few months.
 
Wow. That looks involved. Guess I'll have to decide how important this is to me. Wish there was an easier way.
 
On a 4K screen, what is the difference between using a lower resolution, and using one of the scaling options? Either way, things are larger than native 4K...scaling choices are "retina" but also lower the resolution, right?
 
On a 4K screen, what is the difference between using a lower resolution, and using one of the scaling options? Either way, things are larger than native 4K...scaling choices are "retina" but also lower the resolution, right?
If you set the monitor to other than 4K resolution, things "fuzz" a bit - although at least the newer Dell 4K monitors seem to have some image enhancement smarts the alleviate some of the fuzz.

If you leave the monitor at native 4K and scale in the OS, the results can be much better - especially with operating systems with good resolution independence.

The OS can precisely render vector graphics and vector fonts - so there's no loss of quality from scaling.
 
Wondering what a good display to compliment this setup would be. I currently just use the old school 23" Apple Cinema HD Display which has been fine but time to upgrade. The Dell 24 Ultra HD 4K Monitor – P2415Q looks decent but I would rather the 27" with more of the price point of the 24. What are other people using?

I think PPI is the spec to watch and to use to compare. A calculated PPI close to a Retina screen is good, without going over-board.

But nothing wrong with 4K at around 32 inches. This BenQ 4K BL3201PH is nice for $750 and they have other 4K in their Creative Class.

I think 1440p works nice at 27 inches. We really like the Dell 27" u2717D UltraSharp Infinity-Edge IPS 16:9 QHD Monitor on my wife's new Dell.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.