I currently have two DVI monitors and am thinking of buying the new Mac Pro. Are there adapters the will allow me to use my current monitors?
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Which monitors with new Mac Pro
- Thread starter peterackerman
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Yes, of course. It depends on the resolution of your monitors. If they are <= 1080p, cheap miniDP to DVI cables from Monoprice will get the job done for mere dollars. If you have higher resolution monitors though, you'll need an active adapter to upscale to those resolutions. Do your monitors have any other inputs?
One of my monitors is and HP LP3065 at 2560 X 1600. It uses a dual-link DVI connection. What kind of adapter will that require?
Something like this: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?se...&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CJyl4OHForsCFZKUfgodMnsAkQ
It requires a USB port to power the active adapter since the DVI is dual-link.
that IS thunderbolt (in the sense that it uses the same thunderbolt port on the mac)
I plan on using a Thunderbolt 27" center monitor with two mini-DP 24" Cinema displays on either side. Oops .... I just realized, these are TB 2.0 - will that support mini-DP at all? It must, otherwise you couldn't use a mini-DP to DVI adaptor mentioned above.
At any rate the three Cinemas work beautifully together.
At any rate the three Cinemas work beautifully together.
Actually I think I'd stick with the Dell that is 3500 USD instead. Considering they have the exact same panel. http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cid=271006&lid=4970696&acd=12309188680294295
But yes, nothing less than 3 of these for any nMP buyer. Bare minimum!!
In a direct sense, no, because Thunderbolt carries PCI-e and display, whereas the output of that cable is just DVI. However, it plugs right into the TB port, it just won't carry data.
I run a 1920x2000 display with the cheapest mini-displayport -> dvi adapter I could found, and it does work. So why would I need to buy an expensive adapter?
16:10 1920x1200 like the monitor you have is close enough to 1080p (16:9 1920) so that single link will work. I believe the actual limitation isn't a specific resolution, but rather a maximum number of pixels of 2.75M or something thereabouts. I just generalized to 1080p for simplicity, but it can support other screen ratios so long as its within the maximum pixel count, under which your monitor resolution falls.
To exceed this pixel limit, such as QHD (2560x1440) and QXGA (2560x1600), you generally require dual-link DVI and this conversion cannot be made without an active adapter. This is not unlike using HDMI, which AFAIK is also limited to 1080p by 1.3 spec (though software hacks can enable higher resolutions).
Newer monitors that have miniDP or DP inputs can simply use those cables directly from a graphics card that has them to drive the full resolution.
Hope this helps.
OK, let's try and de-garble some of this.
No, but the Thunderbolt sockets on the computer are backwards-compatible with Mini DisplayPort: the plug is the same, and if you plug in a Mini-DP cable or adapter they will output a MiniDP signal. All of the current Mac display adapters are MiniDP devices, not Thunderbolt.
TB 2.0 shouldn't affect this.
Presumably, you mean 1920x1200.
That works fine with single-link DVI.
Higher resolutions - such as 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 found on decent 27" and 30" displays, at the typical 60Hz refresh rate - need dual-link (but the limitation is total bandwidth, not resolution, so maybe if both computer & display support a low refresh-rate it might work with single-link).
Oh, and don't forget that the new Mac Pro also has HDMI out which ought to be able to drive a 1920x1200 DVI monitor via a HDMI to single-link DVI cable. Don't think there's such a thing as HDMI-to-dual-link-DVI.
No, but the Thunderbolt sockets on the computer are backwards-compatible with Mini DisplayPort: the plug is the same, and if you plug in a Mini-DP cable or adapter they will output a MiniDP signal. All of the current Mac display adapters are MiniDP devices, not Thunderbolt.
TB 2.0 shouldn't affect this.
Presumably, you mean 1920x1200.
That works fine with single-link DVI.
Higher resolutions - such as 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 found on decent 27" and 30" displays, at the typical 60Hz refresh rate - need dual-link (but the limitation is total bandwidth, not resolution, so maybe if both computer & display support a low refresh-rate it might work with single-link).
Oh, and don't forget that the new Mac Pro also has HDMI out which ought to be able to drive a 1920x1200 DVI monitor via a HDMI to single-link DVI cable. Don't think there's such a thing as HDMI-to-dual-link-DVI.
Thanks for being more specific!
Thanks for being more specific!
And yes, I meant 1200px
A treo of these Sharp 4K displays are the only ones really worthy of your new Mac Pro...
I actually have a "trio" of three of the 30-inch Apple displays on my 2007 Mac Pro, and I plan to buy three of these Sharp 4K displays for my new Mac Pro. No kidding! I am excited. I am just waiting to see more reviews of this monitor, because I am worried about the possibility of burn-in / ghosting on the monitor, which is mentioned here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C49R198/
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Complete information is at:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5918
To supplement that information: when they say you can connect up to two DVI monitors, I'm sure they mean if you are using a passive DVI to mini-DP adapter. (Probably a restriction of the graphics card; the 5770 on older Mac Pros has a similar restriction). You could connect up to six DVI monitors if you use active DVI to mini-DP adapters, since the monitors would then look like DisplayPort monitors to the Mac Pro. Active DVI to DP adapters are available for around $25-$35.