What have you done with an early Intel recently?

[eyoungren]

You might want to list the outputs your cards have so I...uh... we can make sure You'll need either a (mini)DisplayPort-plus-A1306 or a straight dual-link DVI for each 30". HDMI is no good because there's no HDMI-to-DL-DVI adapter, at least not to my knowledge.

Here is the card. It's an Amazon link to the product being sold, but it will show the outputs.

Epic IT Service - Geforce GT 640 for Mac Version, with 1GB GDDR5, PCI Express Gen 3.0, DVI-I DL, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, DirectX 12 (Boot Camp) Light Performance Board - OEM

This GT 640 card is embedded with apple EFI BIOS to support showing Mac OS boot up gray screen. It has adopted efficient Kepler architecture, runs quite and cool; it has moderate performance, great for running photoshop, also good for casual video editing. This card supports Apple Metal API, enha...

www.amazon.com

MODS!! NOT MY STORE/PRODUCT/AUCTION/ETC, I AM NOT SELLING ANYTHING!

In any case, as I do not have the time to do this without rushing stuff I was thinking I'd test the other two ports first just to see. But if you tell me I can't do it then I'll probably hook them up somewhere else.

In any case, that's all the exploring for today. I promised my wife coffee and I haven't eaten yet. And, I also have other things I want to get done. I've waited this long, I can afford to take this leisurely.

 

[eyoungren]

You might want to list the outputs your cards have so I...uh... we can make sure You'll need either a (mini)DisplayPort-plus-A1306 or a straight dual-link DVI for each 30". HDMI is no good because there's no HDMI-to-DL-DVI adapter, at least not to my knowledge.

For the record, I am already using this cable (DisplayPort to DVI-dual link) for the dock connected to the work M2. My MacPro video cards have DisplayPort, HDMI and DVI. I have to assume (unless you correct me) that if the normal adapter I am using for DisplayPort to DVI already does not work this will.

Club 3D CAC-1010-A DisplayPort to Dual Link DVI-D HDCP Off Version Active Adapter M/F for Apple Cinema Displays

This Display DVI-D Dual link Adapter is for certain Apple Cinema Monitors without HDCP support. This adapter does not transmit HDCP signals and works with older Apple Cinema Monitors without HDCP support.

www.amazon.com

MODS, I AM NOT SELLING ANYTHING, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE!

The HDMI ports are already driving two televisions that are larger in pixel size, so I just assumed they'd drive the 30" with the standard adapter. If not, then I'll see if Club has another adapter. So far that company has come through twice for me with adapters.

EDIT: Possibly this?

Anbear HDMI to DVI Cable, Bi-Directional Adapter, 4K DVI to HDMI Converter (1 Pack)

- -Support HDMI to DVI -Connector 1: HDMI Male -Connector 2: DVI-D Female -Supports resolutions up to 4K@30HZ and 1080p@60HZ. Cable Length: 0.5 Feet, approximate 0.15 Meter - HDMI to DVI Male to Female Adapter Limited Lifetime Warranty and Product Support

www.amazon.com

Or this? Very specific on resolution with this one…

AddOn 5PK HDMI 1.3 Male to DVI-D Dual Link (24+1 pin) Female Black Adapters for Resolution Up to 2560x1600 (WQXGA)

HDMI2DVID is a short, simple adapter cable that lets you connect a DVI device to an HDMI device. While the DVI-D connector is female and the HDMI connector is male, this device works in either direction, making it a simple and flexible solution. The 5 pack of HDMI2DVID provides great value on a...

www.amazon.com

 

[Amethyst1]

Here is the card.

It will run two 30"s: one via DL-DVI and one via DP+A1306. Two of these will run four. For a fifth 30", you either need another DP+A1306 or another DL-DVI.
A cheap option is to replace one of your cards with an NVIDIA NVS 510 which is basically a GT 630 with four miniDPs, allowing you to run six 30"s if you want: one via DL-DVI, five via DP+A1306. I've successfully used this card with macOS (not with OCLP installations though).

The HDMI ports are already driving two televisions that are larger in pixel size, so I just assumed they'd drive the 30" with the standard adapter. If not, then I'll see if Club has another adapter. So far that company has come through twice for me with adapters.

They won't, but the resolution isn't the issue. The issue is the adapter is HDMI to SL-DVI. You need DL-DVI. There are no HDMI to DL-DVI adapters (AFAIK) so you'd need to go from HDMI to DP first and daisy-chain the DP-to-DL-DVI adapter to that.

 

[eyoungren]

They won't, but the resolution isn't the issue. The issue is the adapter is HDMI to SL-DVI. You need DL-DVI. There are no HDMI to DL-DVI adapters (AFAIK) so you'd need to go from HDMI to DP first and daisy-chain the DP-to-DL-DVI adapter to that.

I added two edits afterwards. Right now, just in the looking stage but should be able to make some purchases soon if necessary.

 

[Amethyst1]

EDIT: Possibly this?

Nope.

Or this? Very specific on resolution with this one…

Nope.

These are simple passive adapters without any electronics, just with a dual-link DVI connector. The difference between HDMI and DL-DVI is that the former stays single-link (just one TMDS transmitter) all the time whereas DL-DVI requires a second TMDS transmitter to engage over 165 MHz pixel clock. The 30" ACD requires 268.5 MHz pixel clock and is firmly in the dual-link camp. But where does the second TMDS transmitter come from with one of these simple adapters?

If you attach the 30" ACD using one of these adapters, one of two things can happen:

1. You'll only get 1280×800 which is the maximum it will do via SL-DVI. It will look very pixelated since it's pixel-doubled to 2560×1600 without interpolation.
2. You'll be able to select 2560×1600 but half of the image will be missing since the data that goes over the second TMDS link is discarded. You had the same problem here. I don't know how the 30" ACD will react to that.

 

[eyoungren]

Nope.

Nope.

These are simple passive adapters without any electronics, just with a dual-link DVI connector. The difference between HDMI and DL-DVI is that the former stays single-link (just one TMDS transmitter) all the time whereas DL-DVI requires a second TMDS transmitter to engage over 165 MHz pixel clock. The 30" ACD requires 268.5 MHz pixel clock and is firmly in the dual-link camp. But where does the second TMDS transmitter come from with one of these simple adapters?

If you attach the 30" ACD using one of these adapters, one of two things can happen:

1. You'll only get 1280×800 which is the maximum it will do via SL-DVI. It will look very pixelated since it's pixel-doubled to 2560×1600 without interpolation.
2. You'll be able to select 2560×1600 but half of the image will be missing since the data that goes over the second TMDS link is discarded. You had the same problem here. I don't know how the 30" ACD will react to that.

In the box of stuff I got today is a full length Radeon card, looks like the one that was in the 2010 MacPro that I was using in my old job. I'll get some ID on it later on. Also, there's a card with DVI and Mini DP in the MacPro I got today as well. Since this model is the same as my current one, I presume it would work - possibly via OCLP. I'll get some ID on that one later too.

Perhaps, I could realistically get eight displays going again without using DisplayLink. In any case, I'm leaning towards next weekend for this, however it is I do it. Just don't want to disrupt anything with the work Mac. Things are going to get moved around on my tables.

Thanks for helping (as you always do)! I'll get back to you on those two cards later on.

 

[Aoligei]

Yeah..... about that...... I paid money for the ISO of the latest version of Elementary OS (since they charge for their version of Linux) because I thought it might be the answer.....and no matter how many copies of the ISO I downloaded from the official website the program "balenaEtcher" said "Corrupt ISO, can't open".

Nice.



I then attempted to contact the "help" at Elementary OS to try and find another copy and as expected....never a reply.

🤨

Well, back to the drawing board.

Although I haven't attempted to download another copy in the last couple of months so they "probably" have it sorted out and I can try again. Who knows maybe you're right and they are the ones who have Macs figured out. I'll give it a shot again soon and report back if I can get it to work!!

I hope so!

🤪

I attempted to create Ubuntu MATE bootable drive with blenaEtcher and it failed to boot.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

@Aoligei
Try Ventoy.

 

[DCBassman]

Strange, this...balenaEtcher has only ever failed me when the ISO is bad. Both it and Rufus have been excellent tools.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

@DCBassman
Ventoy allows you to drop as much ISOs to USB flash as it can handle in terms of size.

 

[ToniCH]

Strange, this...balenaEtcher has only ever failed me when the ISO is bad.

Are you sure? I started to wonder why so many ISO seem bad with balena. I then tried other etchers with the same files and they worked just fine. Bad ISOs seem very rare to me, people report them right away and they get replaced quickly.

 

[headlessmike]

@Aoligei
Try Ventoy.

Ventoy is not available for macOS unfortunately.

 

[rin67630]

Runs pretty well and all of the drivers installed automatically just fine

Interesting that someone had tagged that post with "Angry". What's going on in his psyche?

 

[rin67630]

Ventoy is not available for macOS unfortunately.

Nor is Rufus. And maybe Balena Etcher Windows Edition would handle the ISO gracefully?

 

[DCBassman]

Are you sure? I started to wonder why so many ISO seem bad with balena. I then tried other etchers with the same files and they worked just fine. Bad ISOs seem very rare to me, people report them right away and they get replaced quickly.

Don't think I've ever had that many bad ISOs, to be honest. Etcher for Mac, Rufus or Etcher for Windows...it just works.
I use Etcher in Macos for Mac stuff. Otherwise, I use either program on Windows for Windows or Linux ISOs. That shouldn't leave any room for anything except bad ISOs...

 

[headlessmike]

Interesting that someone had tagged that post with "Angry". What's going on in his psyche?

Probably frustrated with their installer not working, which I can understand. I didn't mean to gloat when I wrote that, just meant to give a status report. I hadn't tried running Linux directly on an Intel Mac before (only in virtual machines or with PPC Macs) and was happy with how well it worked on my specific machine.

 

[headlessmike]

I attempted to create Ubuntu MATE bootable drive with blenaEtcher and it failed to boot.

If it helps I used the vanilla Ubuntu image and installed Mate after the system was running. But balenaEtcher often causes problems for me too. I used to always use UNetbootin without any issues but that hasn't been updated in a few years by now and I'm not sure if it will work anymore.

 

[Tratkazir_the_1st]

for macOS

No Windows \ Linux system nearby?

 

[DELLsFan]

Does my 2018 Mac Mini count in the discussion?

When I upgraded to the M4 Mini, the 2018 was reset and gifted to a family member over Christmas. Her basic gaming and productivity needs will be adequately met with this heat demon.

 

[Grumpus]

Strange, this...balenaEtcher has only ever failed me when the ISO is bad. Both it and Rufus have been excellent tools.

I've never had Etcher fail. As far as I can tell, fundamentally it's doing what you could do with dd followed by cmp, only with much less chance of writing the wrong drive.

This particular sub-discussion started because someone saw a "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" popup after using Etcher to copy an elementary os iso to a usb stick. This was not a failure by Etcher. The installation documentation on the elementary os web site plainly says this is to be expected. I believe this is because the elementary os iso for macOS isn't a normal hybrid iso and so can't be automatically mounted after the copy is complete.

 

[DouglasCarroll]

I also tried installing Ubuntu on my 2010 MacBook. Runs pretty well and all of the drivers installed automatically just fine. Even the webcam works like normal.

That's great to hear, I'll try that version to see if the webcam works for me, thanks for the info!!

I'm confused though...I thought someone here said it was "against the law" to include the Apple drivers for the webcam with a Linux install and that's the reason they never work...how could your webcam work like normal without the drivers? Did they include "illegal" drivers in their install?

🤫

 

[ToniCH]

This particular sub-discussion started because someone saw a "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" popup after using Etcher to copy an elementary os iso to a usb stick.

Ok, I missed that detail. You get that message almost always after doing a Linux installer as MacOS doesn't read EXT4 format (file system native to Linux). Totally normal.

 

[Amethyst1]

In the box of stuff I got today is a full length Radeon card, looks like the one that was in the 2010 MacPro that I was using in my old job.

If it's a Radeon HD 5770, 5870 or 7950 (one DL-DVI plus two mDPs), it will run three 30"s using two A1306s or equivalent adapters.

Also, there's a card with DVI and Mini DP in the MacPro I got today as well.

If the label is Acura accurate that's a Radeon HD 4870 which will run two 30"s using one DL-DVI and one mDP+A1306.

 

[ToniCH]

@Amethyst1

I am planning to get 2 more ADC 23"s for my cMP with RX580 (connectors: DVI+2xHDMI+2xDP). So, 3 ADCs in total.

Am I good with "stupid" adapters like HDMI-DVI or DP-DVI? HDMI and DVI are basically the same except HDMI's sound channel?

 

[Amethyst1]

I am planning to get 2 more ADC 23"s for my cMP with RX580 (connectors: DVI+2xHDMI+2xDP). So, 3 ADCs in total. Am I good with "stupid" adapters like HDMI-DVI or DP-DVI? HDMI and DVI are basically the same except HDMI's sound channel?

Yes, because the 23"s use single-link DVI (154 or 155 MHz pixel clock).