Hey guys n gals, Help! I'm considering connecting a 27" mac Cinema screen to my PC which is using a GTX 570. Most of you probably think I'm barmy but can it be done? Looking for adapters.... would a DVI to mini display port do the trick? Thanks in advance!
Well the issue here is easy. The monitor is not compatible with your GTX 570. It is however compatible with my 460.... Joking aside the cable you need will depend on the interface available on the monitor. I know Macs have traditionally been a bit crap when it comes to the video connector they have used, so depending on how old the monitor is will depend on the headache looking for the right adaptor will be. If it has the mini displayport that seems to be the rage with apple at the minute then, yes, it should do the trick. It would help to know the year the display is from and what connector/ports it has on it.
I hate it when people talk crap about something they don't know about. Apple used DVI for years on all their machines, and have only recently transitioned to DisplayPort. Sorry, but both of those appear to be industry standards. The last use of a proprietary port was in 2005 with the ADC connectors...six years ago! All 27" ACDs use MiniDisplayPort to provide video signal, and can also do DisplayAudio to the built in speakers on MDP as well. The USB breakout is for the USB hub and FaceTime camera in the bezel. You can use Apple's BootCamp drivers to get the camera etc. working in Windows, as well as things like brightness controls if you're using a Mac keyboard. The big problem with what you're trying to do is that you need a dual-link DVI to DP (or MDP) adapter, which cost a fair whack - http://www.kvm-switches-online.com/gtv-dvidl-2-mdp.html or http://www.atlona.com/Atlona-Dual-Link-DVI-to-Mini-DisplayPort-Converter-USB-Powered.html The easier solution is to get a GPU that has either DisplayPort or MDP natively. Then it's a case of plug and go for the MDP card, or a simple DP to MDP adapter. ATi cards have been using MDP for a while now, though I think nVIDIA have been sticking with DVI.
Your right. But you're stepping close to the talking crap fence. I bought a late 2009 13" MBP when they came out, and have a Dell 24" display with DVIx2 & Display Port, but I was forced to connect the MBP via DVI because apple used a new mini version of display port and at the time I bought my laptop, nobody made a mini-to-fullsize cable. Well there was one guy in the US who would make them to order for about £50+shipping, but you could not just buy one! Apple created the mini-display port, yes they licenced it for free but it was still introduced by apple and was "proprietary" because you couldn't get any other gear to work with it for bloody ages! But now, it's all part of the happy VESA family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_DisplayPort
Ouch! thanks for your help! I'm guessing changing my graphics card for something like a 6870 then? I have seen A couple adapters DVI to DP and then a DP to MDP for around 10/20 quid each. Would combining these two work?
Guinevere, Apple use adapters because the full size ports are too big for the thin laptops (the last full size one was DVI on the 8600GT based MBPs). That said, they're certainly not alone in using adapters - mini HDMI is reasonably common these days for a start (my 560 Ti came with one). I do agree that it took a while for MDP adapters to be available en-masse, particularly for conversions that Apple didn't offer (such as HDMI or MDP to DP), but the point remains that they still stick to industry standards. Making MDP free was a smart move, and these days the cables are cheap and common. Geoff_Z, if you switch your GPU to a card with MDP on board, then you need no adapters. If you get one with full-size DP, then a simple DP to MDP cable, which should be cheap. DVI to DP and DP to MDP will work, but only if it's dual-link throughout to drive the 2560x1440 resolution. The boxes I linked to are DVI to MDP direct, and definitely dual-link active adapters. Just be careful you don't get the MDP to DL-DVI, as that's the wrong way round! If you haven't got the screen yet, looked at Dell's U2711H?
Trouble is the internet is full of companies selling you cables that will adapt one connection to another, even when there is zero chance of them being of any use to anyone. Doesn't surprise me you can get a connector to convert DVI to DP for a few quid, but for your needs you need something that will convert the signal and not just the plugs at the end of the wire, and it's the signal processing part that costs the money.
