MP 7,1 Mac Pro 2019 & Apple Cinema Display 30"

[tevion5]

Having barley justified the cost of my lovely new 7,1 Apple's new 6K display is out of the question. I've used my ageing but capable 30" Apple Cinema Display for a while now and it still suits me very well. For audio production I really appreciate all that 16:10 visual real estate and it's one of the few displays out there that really compliments the 7,1 aesthetically. Retina will be a nice upgrade later down the line, but I'm not a graphics or video editor who really needs it.

But to get an explicitly DL-DVI display to work required a bit of a dongle train. My 7,1 only includes x2 HDMI ports on the Radeon 580 and x4 DisplayPort outs via the TB3 ports. To get around this I got this neat little USB-C to MiniDisplayPort adapter on Amazon. Next in the chain had to be a MiniDisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter. Thankfully I already owned the official Apple one for use with my 2011 13" MBP. So together it basically upgraded the Apple adapter to USB-C on one end. I was able to test this configuration successfully with a 2019 13" MBA before my Mac Pro arrived.

Thankfully all went to to plan and the day my 7,1 arrived I was able to boot up with eerie silence using my big beautiful 30" ACD. It might be old but it still manages to look better than most displays on the market today if you ask me. A small touch, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the display is still fully recognised in Catalina as an authentic Apple Display with a link to the manual and all. Brilliant.

 

[MacGarage]

This is really great to know! I bought my 30" ACD new in 2008 and is the one reason why I have never changed to an iMac Pro...this is a great monitor for my purposes too!

 

[Moof1904]

I have the same monitor and a Mac Pro 7,1 and I've been pulling my hair out trying to get this to work. The official Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter is no longer available from Apple so I've tried, painfully unsuccessfully, to try equivalent adapters from StarTech, to no avail.

My only hope is to try and find a Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter on eBay or something. I don't want to lose the usefulness of such a great monitor.

Time passes...

It looks like these can be found on eBay. Yay. I'm bidding now.

Crazy question: If this solution wasn't available, would it be possible to just pull the video card out of my 2008 Mac Pro and use it to drive the 30" Cinema Display from the Mac Pro 7,1?

 

[AlexMaximus]

Having barley justified the cost of my lovely new 7,1 Apple's new 6K display is out of the question. I've used my ageing but capable 30" Apple Cinema Display for a while now and it still suits me very well. For audio production I really appreciate all that 16:10 visual real estate and it's one of the few displays out there that really compliments the 7,1 aesthetically. Retina will be a nice upgrade later down the line, but I'm not a graphics or video editor who really needs it.

But to get an explicitly DL-DVI display to work required a bit of a dongle train. My 7,1 only includes x2 HDMI ports on the Radeon 580 and x4 DisplayPort outs via the TB3 ports. To get around this I got this neat little USB-C to MiniDisplayPort adapter on Amazon. Next in the chain had to be a MiniDisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter. Thankfully I already owned the official Apple one for use with my 2011 13" MBP. So together it basically upgraded the Apple adapter to USB-C on one end. I was able to test this configuration successfully with a 2019 13" MBA before my Mac Pro arrived.

View attachment 884519 View attachment 884521

Thankfully all went to to plan and the day my 7,1 arrived I was able to boot up with eerie silence using my big beautiful 30" ACD. It might be old but it still manages to look better than most displays on the market today if you ask me. A small touch, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the display is still fully recognised in Catalina as an authentic Apple Display with a link to the manual and all. Brilliant.

View attachment 884524 View attachment 884523

View attachment 884526

Wow, look's awesome! The design fits very well, great combo!

 

[weezin]

That is lovely looking! I use the same method to make my 30" work with my 2018 Mini. I love that monitor...love the matte screen, high resolution and physical size. It does suck down power though

 

[pertusis1]

Beautiful! I have a 30" ACD with a 4,1 and a 5,1. I remains a great monitor. Good to know.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I have the same monitor and a Mac Pro 7,1 and I've been pulling my hair out trying to get this to work. The official Apple Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter is no longer available from Apple so I've tried, painfully unsuccessfully, to try equivalent adapters from StarTech, to no avail.

My only hope is to try and find a Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter on eBay or something. I don't want to lose the usefulness of such a great monitor.

Time passes...

It looks like these can be found on eBay. Yay. I'm bidding now.

Crazy question: If this solution wasn't available, would it be possible to just pull the video card out of my 2008 Mac Pro and use it to drive the 30" Cinema Display from the Mac Pro 7,1?

The Apple 30" can use the apple DVI dual link to mini display port adapter, but you can try a dual link DVI to HDMI adapter.

I found these as potential solutions for getting the 30" display working but have not tried them yet:

(1) the days way for those that want a mini display port to HDMI:

Cable Matters DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Adapter, 6 Inches (DisplayPort Male to Mini DisplayPort Female Adapter Cable, DP to Mini DP), Compatible with Apple Cinema Display via Mini DisplayPort

Cable Matters DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort Adapter, 6 Inches (DisplayPort Male to Mini DisplayPort Female Adapter Cable, DP to Mini DP), Compatible with Apple Cinema Display via Mini DisplayPort

www.amazon.com

(2) For those that want a dual link DVI to HDMI I found these 2 to do the job:

Belkin DVI-D to HDMI Male to Female Dual-Link Adapter (Supports HDMI 2.0)

Designed for high-performance data applications, Belkin's DVI to HDMI Adapter provides a superior solution for connecting today's advanced video hardware such as an HDTV/satellite receiver, plasma TV, LCD TV or monitor, DVD player, or projector.

www.amazon.com

Not sure if this is needed (the above shows a male DVI connector but the description reads female)

Your Cable Store DVI D Dual Link Female to Female Adapter Coupler

Your Cable Store DVI D Dual Link Female to Female Adapter Coupler

www.amazon.com

I'm not sure if method 2 will work as I suspect you may need an active DVI dual link adapter that gets power from USB...not clear, both these claim to work:

FOINNEX Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DP to DVI-I Supports Dual Mode Display Conversion up to 4K, Compatible with Surface Dock, AMD Eyefinity Technology

FOINNEX Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DP to DVI-I Supports Dual Mode Display Conversion up to 4K, Compatible with Surface Dock, AMD Eyefinity Technology

www.amazon.com

StarTech.com DisplayPort to DVI Dual Link Active Adapter - DisplayPort to DVI-D Adapter Video Converter 2560x1600 60Hz - DP 1.2 to DVI Monitor - USB Powered - Latching DP Connector (DP2DVID2)

StarTech.com DisplayPort to DVI Dual Link Active Adapter - DisplayPort to DVI-D Adapter Video Converter 2560x1600 60Hz - DP 1.2 to DVI Monitor - USB Powered - Latching DP Connector (DP2DVID2)

www.amazon.com

 

[vel0city]

Still use mine for all of my work on my 5,1, and keep my AirPod Pros in exactly the same place as you OP. One of the finest products Apple ever made, love the proportions and look of the display. Never bettered, by anyone.

 

[zhpenn]

is this one use ips panel? whatis the model number? thanks a lot

 

[avkills]

Guys try this, get the Apple branded USB-C to HDMI (it actually does support dual link output) and then get a adapter. I have verified the dual link output using HDMI to a Barco E2 system @ 3840x1080.

Fullink Gold-Plated DVI-D Dual Link Male to HDMI to Female Adapter - 4K Resolution Ready

Fullink Gold-Plated DVI-D Dual Link Male to HDMI to Female Adapter - 4K Resolution Ready

www.amazon.com

*edit* I gave my 30" to my sister and just realized I believe it has a cable attached* so the above adapter will not work, unless you also get one of these:

VCE 3 Pack DVI Female to DVI Female Coupler, DVI D Dual Link Female Adapter

VCE 3 Pack DVI Female to DVI Female Coupler, DVI D Dual Link Female Adapter

www.amazon.com

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Guys try this, get the Apple branded USB-C to HDMI (it actually does support dual link output) and then get a adapter. I have verified the dual link output using HDMI to a Barco E2 system @ 3840x1080.

Fullink Gold-Plated DVI-D Dual Link Male to HDMI to Female Adapter - 4K Resolution Ready

Fullink Gold-Plated DVI-D Dual Link Male to HDMI to Female Adapter - 4K Resolution Ready

www.amazon.com

*edit* I gave my 30" to my sister and just realized I believe it has a cable attached* so the above adapter will not work, unless you also get one of these:

VCE 3 Pack DVI Female to DVI Female Coupler, DVI D Dual Link Female Adapter

VCE 3 Pack DVI Female to DVI Female Coupler, DVI D Dual Link Female Adapter

www.amazon.com

im not sure why you need the Apple usbc to hdmi plug?

The 580x has 2female hdmi ports. So your first dongle with a regular male to male hdmi cable in between should work, no?

im hopefully getting the Belkin in the next couple of days and will report if it works as single dongle solution for those that don’t have apples duallink dvi to mini display port adapter.

but I like seeing all these thoughts on the best way to hook it up. I figure the fewer dongles between the monitor and the video card, the better, but that might not be right.

Ps I also plugged my oled tv in via hdmi cable that supports arc. Audio of the oled tv shows up with just that one cable. The image was stunning. I think that the Mac might support hdmi. Just the desktop image had this crazy dynamic range. It was so good I wanted to lick the screen. Only 4K but doggone it really was something. I’ve hooked oled up to other Macs before but don’t remember it looking quite this good. Does anyone know if the new Mac Pro or the 580x is pumping out HDR?

 

[uller6]

Looks great! I had one of these 30" monitors, but the backlight uniformity was terrible after ~10 years of heavy use. I replaced it last year with a "cheap" LG 4K 32" screen and while the picture is a huge improvement, I miss the great design of the 30" ACD.

 

[avkills]

I do not need it, I donated my 30" to my sister. Just trying to help out with a solution to those that need it.

 

[windon]

Having barley justified the cost of my lovely new 7,1 Apple's new 6K display is out of the question. I've used my ageing but capable 30" Apple Cinema Display for a while now and it still suits me very well. For audio production I really appreciate all that 16:10 visual real estate and it's one of the few displays out there that really compliments the 7,1 aesthetically. Retina will be a nice upgrade later down the line, but I'm not a graphics or video editor who really needs it.

But to get an explicitly DL-DVI display to work required a bit of a dongle train. My 7,1 only includes x2 HDMI ports on the Radeon 580 and x4 DisplayPort outs via the TB3 ports. To get around this I got this neat little USB-C to MiniDisplayPort adapter on Amazon. Next in the chain had to be a MiniDisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter. Thankfully I already owned the official Apple one for use with my 2011 13" MBP. So together it basically upgraded the Apple adapter to USB-C on one end. I was able to test this configuration successfully with a 2019 13" MBA before my Mac Pro arrived.

View attachment 884519 View attachment 884521

Thankfully all went to to plan and the day my 7,1 arrived I was able to boot up with eerie silence using my big beautiful 30" ACD. It might be old but it still manages to look better than most displays on the market today if you ask me. A small touch, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the display is still fully recognised in Catalina as an authentic Apple Display with a link to the manual and all. Brilliant.

View attachment 884524 View attachment 884523

View attachment 884526

Need further clarification - So if we only have HDMI ports in the base 2019 MacPro where did you plug in the USB-C ? or did you get an additional USB-C to HDMI. Mine is sitting in it's box right now awaiting. I too already have the Apple Mini Display Port to Dual DVI adapter.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

Need further clarification - So if we only have HDMI ports in the base 2019 MacPro where did you plug in the USB-C ? or did you get an additional USB-C to HDMI. Mine is sitting in it's box right now awaiting. I too already have the Apple Mini Display Port to Dual DVI adapter.

Not sure if this is an option, but I pulled out my 580x and put in an AMD WX 9100. It's a faster/better card and has 6 mini-display ports. It works great with the 7,1, you can see boot screens etc. It used only 10w driving 6 of my 30" displays, while the 580x was drawing 26w not driving any screens (and why I ended up pulling it from the machine).

Radeon Pro Wx 9100 Retail

Radeon Pro WX 9100 Retail

www.amazon.com

 

[tevion5]

Need further clarification - So if we only have HDMI ports in the base 2019 MacPro where did you plug in the USB-C ? or did you get an additional USB-C to HDMI. Mine is sitting in it's box right now awaiting. I too already have the Apple Mini Display Port to Dual DVI adapter.

The PCI-E I/O card on the has x2 USB A ports and x2 USB C ports. A DisplayPort connection is routed through these USB C ports so you can just hook a USB-C to MiniDP adapter like I did and use the Radeon Pro 580 through that.

 

[Somian]

I feel like all these dongles are more expensive than just getting an additional cheap AMD GPU that has dual link DVI out. From my experience macOS can handle different GPUs well (I used to run a Mac Pro 5,1 with a GT120 and a 980ti).

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

I feel like all these dongles are more expensive than just getting an additional cheap AMD GPU that has dual link DVI out. From my experience macOS can handle different GPUs well (I used to run a Mac Pro 5,1 with a GT120 and a 980ti).

Yea, sadly true. I cannot wait till everything goes to USBc connectors for everything. Sadly, we are just now getting the ability to handle 8/10k video and USBc, I do not think, has been upgraded to handle that in a single line. Probably not until TB4/USB4 upgrades come out.

 

[gugy]

OP, Thanks for the info.
I do have the ACD 30". Awesome display. Too bad Apple doesn't have a 5k display Nano option to go alongside the XDR. I would buy two in a heartbeat if they were priced @ $2.5k. The display already exists on the iMac, not having a stand alone option is so freaking stupid.
Maybe someday.

 

[avkills]

im not sure why you need the Apple usbc to hdmi plug?

The 580x has 2female hdmi ports. So your first dongle with a regular male to male hdmi cable in between should work, no?

im hopefully getting the Belkin in the next couple of days and will report if it works as single dongle solution for those that don’t have apples duallink dvi to mini display port adapter.

but I like seeing all these thoughts on the best way to hook it up. I figure the fewer dongles between the monitor and the video card, the better, but that might not be right.

Ps I also plugged my oled tv in via hdmi cable that supports arc. Audio of the oled tv shows up with just that one cable. The image was stunning. I think that the Mac might support hdmi. Just the desktop image had this crazy dynamic range. It was so good I wanted to lick the screen. Only 4K but doggone it really was something. I’ve hooked oled up to other Macs before but don’t remember it looking quite this good. Does anyone know if the new Mac Pro or the 580x is pumping out HDR?

Yes you are correct; speculated a bit before receiving my MacPro. I would be very very surprised if the HDMI ports on all the GPUS if they have them are not dual link.

On another note, those thinking about getting a thunderbolt 3 (usb-c) > full size DP port; works just fine also going to a ultra wide Dell or other brand monitor.

 

[PJW73]

The PCI-E I/O card on the has x2 USB A ports and x2 USB C ports. A DisplayPort connection is routed through these USB C ports so you can just hook a USB-C to MiniDP adapter like I did and use the Radeon Pro 580 through that.

Hi, tried your setup with my base configuration Mac Pro 2019 and ACD, but it doesn't work.

Setup:
1. USB from ACD going into minidisplay port to dual link DVI adapter
2. DVI from ACD going into minidisplay port to dual link DVI adapter
3. DVI adapter going into minidisplay port to USBc adapter
4. USBc going into Mac Pro 2019

That leaves the firewire from the display unused, of course.

Is there anything that I'm missing? The display works just fine with my old Mac tower from 2006 or whenever it was built. At a complete loss here. If anyone has any idea of what could be amiss, please let me know

Thank you!

Paul

 

[avkills]

Apple USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapters do not pass video!

PJW73 try this:

Get a HDMI Male > DVI-D Female adapter or cable; and make sure it has all the pins except the 4 analog ones around the large flat one. (You might be able to find a USB-C (TB3) to Dual Link DVI; then just buy a DVI barrel.)

Plug the ACD DVI into the new adapter.
Plug the USB from the ACD directly into a USB on the MacPro
The firewire is useless unless you decide to get a PCI card with FW800 (but why?)

 

[PJW73]

Apple USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adapters do not pass video!

PJW73 try this:

Get a HDMI Male > DVI-D Female adapter or cable; and make sure it has all the pins except the 4 analog ones around the large flat one. (You might be able to find a USB-C (TB3) to Dual Link DVI; then just buy a DVI barrel.)

Plug the ACD DVI into the new adapter.
Plug the USB from the ACD directly into a USB on the MacPro
The firewire is useless unless you decide to get a PCI card with FW800 (but why?)

Hi,

Thanks for the advice - and pardon slow response; hought I'd receive an email to let me know someone had answered my question!

Hooked up the ACD via a USB-C to DVI adapter, plugging the ACD USB directly into the Mac Pro 7. It fires up the display, but there's a purple vertical border on the left and a pronounced ghosting/image burning/lag that is not there when used with my old Mac Pro 5. Maybe I need a powered usb dock to add some juice? Did see some guy who recommended throwing a Henge Stone dock into the mix. P

 

[Trike Mike]

Hi,
i use this one and it works perfect for 30” ACD with Mac Pro 2019:

Club 3D USB Typ C zu Dual Link DVI-D Aktiver Adapter

-

www.amazon.de

importent for all possible resolution list you need to hold the control key when change the resolution.

 

[avkills]

Hi,
i use this one and it works perfect for 30” ACD with Mac Pro 2019:

Club 3D USB Typ C zu Dual Link DVI-D Aktiver Adapter

-

www.amazon.de

importent for all possible resolution list you need to hold the control key when change the resolution.

Yup, I would get the above as it specifically states it is dual link.