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patricem

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 18, 2005
492
202
If I were to hook up the latest 2012 mac mini to a 30" ACD would I get the full resolution? Thanks
 
I am not sure if you can get "full" capabilities of your monitor.

For example, a 2012 27'' BTO iMac graphics (1GB or 2GB vRAM) are much better than HD4000 graphics in a 2012 Mac mini....now, compare your results on an IPS 30'' monitor!!!
 
I am not sure if you can get "full" capabilities of your monitor.

For example, a 2012 27'' BTO iMac graphics (1GB or 2GB vRAM) are much better than HD4000 graphics in a 2012 Mac mini....now, compare your results on an IPS 30'' monitor!!!

I'm not sure you are serious.....

Of course the HD4000 can drive a 30" monitor. Lessor GPU's have been doing it for a long time. 2D (i.e. desktop, safari, etc.) is easy for a GPU. Will you be able to game at full rez, of course not. But then again I doubt the OP had this in mind.

So back on topic. As already stated, with the mDP to Dual DVI converter you should be able to power the 30" display with no issues. I would make sure you are running at least 8GB of RAM so OSX allocates the Max System RAM to the GPU just to help out, but beyond that you should be good to go.
 
...So back on topic. As already stated, with the mDP to Dual DVI converter you should be able to power the 30" display with no issues. I would make sure you are running at least 8GB of RAM so OSX allocates the Max System RAM to the GPU just to help out, but beyond that you should be good to go.

I will agree with your statement if this is the only issue. I mean, if someone wants to buy the latest BMW model just to drive his/her kids to school every morning...it's ok! no problem...
 
The first version of the display ran on a G5 with Geforce FX5200
For your interest: that videocard is 50 times slower than a HD4000, and it managed very well.
 
The first version of the display ran on a G5 with Geforce FX5200

The GeForce FX5200 cannot drive the 30" Apple Cinema HD display. It does not have a dual link DVI output. I believe the least powerful Mac card that can drive one via dual link DVI output is the ATI 9600.
 
You probably will have problems with the dual link adaptor. I ended selling the 30" cinema.
 
You probably will have problems with the dual link adaptor. I ended selling the 30" cinema.

Are you referring to the apple adapter, or one of the other manufacturers?

I've been using one for a number of years without much problem on a variety of 2560x1600 or 2560x1440 displays (ACD 30", HP 3065, Auria EQ276W), driven by both a mac mini and a iMac. I had read that some very early versions of the apple adapter had some issues, but mine has working fine.

I did buy a second one off ebay that had problems -- 20% of the time it comes out of sleep screwed up, and i need to put display to sleep & back to fix. Not sure if that adapter was one of the early ones, a knock off, or what, but since I went cheap I couldn't complain too much.
 
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