New Dell monitor and old MacBook Pro: will the Pro work on it?

[ej88]

Looking at buying this Dell 4k monitor to hook up both my new MacBook Air and a 2008 vintage MB Pro.

27" Dell P2721Q - Specifications

Specifications of Dell P2721Q. Display: 27 in, IPS, W-LED, 3840 x 2160 pixels, Viewing angles (H/V): 178 ° / 178 °, Brightness: 350 cd/m², Static contrast: 1000 : 1, Refresh rate: 24 Hz - 60 Hz, sRGB: 99.5 %, Adobe RGB: 75 %, Dimensions: 611.6 x 360.68 x 53.34 mm, Weight: 5.1 kg.

www.displayspecifications.com

Has HDMI 2.0, USB 2.0 downstream ports, as well as USB 3.2 up and downstream ports.

Question: Will the old MB Pro work on the new monitor? And will it work better or differently depending on the port and cable I use? Should connect directly via USB 2.0, or use my Plugable dongle as an intermediary and use HDMI?

 

[Amethyst1]

Will the old MB Pro work on the new monitor?

Is it an Early 2008 (silver keyboard) or Late 2008 (black keyboard)?

A couple of things to note:

You cannot connect the monitor to the old MBP via USB 2.0 alone (because that doesn't carry a video signal).
You cannot use an USB-C dongle with the old MBP (because it doesn't have USB-C).
You cannot use HDMI with the old MBP (because it doesn't have HDMI).

The following applies to the Late 2008:

1. You have to use (Mini-) DisplayPort.
2. You'll be able to get 3840×2160 at 30 Hz (sharp but sluggish) or 2560×1440 at 60 Hz (blurry but not sluggish). Also, the best HiDPI/Retina-like experience you're going to get is "looks like 1920×1080" which will make everything very sharp but huge (and sluggish due to the 30 Hz issue).

If you have the Early 2008, point 2 still applies but point 1 becomes a bit more complicated:

1. You have to use one of these and connect to the monitors DisplayPort input:

AT-DP400 ***Discontinued*** - Atlona® AV Solutions – Commercial & Education

• • • Discontinued • • • The Atlona AT-DP400 is a DVI to Mini DisplayPort converter designed to convert every Mac or PC computer's with a dual link DVI output to a digital signal over a Mini DisplayPort connector. The AT-DP400 is specifically designed to work with iMac 27" which can support...

atlona.com

 

[ej88]

Thanks for the very helpful and detailed response Amethyst. It's the late 2008 with the black keyboard.

What cable do I use to connect the old MBP to the Mini Display port? Mostly I'd be using the old machine on the new monitor for simple Excel spreadsheets and Word docs so def. wouldn't want blurry images. Perhaps some internet browsing.

Not for movies. I have a brand new Air for HDMI purposes.

 

[Amethyst1]

What cable do I use to connect the old MBP to the Mini Display port?

Mini Displayport (MBP) to Displayport (monitor). Male connector on both ends.

Mostly I'd be using the old machine on the new monitor for simple Excel spreadsheets and Word docs so def. wouldn't want blurry images.

Agreed. But you'll have to make do with the 30 Hz refresh rate then.

By the way - what version of OS X (macOS) are you running on the old MBP? I ask because you need at least Lion (10.7) for the HiDPI (Retina) mode.

 

[ej88]

Mini Displayport (MBP) to Displayport (monitor). Male connector on both ends.


Agreed. But you'll have to make do with the 30 Hz refresh rate then.

By the way - what version of OS X (macOS) are you running on the old MBP? I ask because you need at least Lion (10.7) for the HiDPI (Retina) mode.

Thanks again! Running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 - is Retina mode just an extra feature and will the computer still work with the that cable you mentioned above? Is the MBP Mini Displayport the small one just to the left of the USB 2.0 port?

The MBP I'm using is a slightly later version that I replaced the original with when the shell gave out. Only my MBP hard drive is the original from late 2008.

 

[Amethyst1]

Running Snow Leopard 10.6.8 - is Retina mode just an extra feature and will the computer still work with the that cable you mentioned above?

Yes. But text and UI elements will be small at the monitor's native 3840×2160 resolution. So you may find you need to e.g. zoom in in applications.

Is the MBP Mini Displayport the small one just to the left of the USB 2.0 port?

Yes.