soul_images
Level 1 (4 points)
Desktops

Q: ENHANCE LED CINEMA DISPLAY SHARPNESS

Is there another video card that would enhance the sharpness of my LED Cinema Display. I currently have the following system setup:

Hardware Overview:

 

  Model Name:                                    Mac Pro

  Model Identifier:                               MacPro5,1

  Processor Name:                             6-Core Intel Xeon

  Processor Speed:                           2.4 GHz

  Number of Processors:                   2

  Total Number of Cores:                    12

  L2 Cache (per Core):                       256 KB

  L3 Cache (per Processor):              12 MB

  Memory:                                           16 GB

  Processor Interconnect Speed:      5.86 GT/s

  Boot ROM Version:                          MP51.007F.B03

  SMC Version (system):                    1.39f11

  SMC Version (processor tray):       1.39f11

  Serial Number (system):                  C07JX07PF4MH

  Serial Number (processor tray):      J5********H8C    

  Hardware UUID:                              *****

 

ATI Radeon HD 5870:

 

  Chipset Model:          ATI Radeon HD 5870

  Type:                          GPU

  Bus:                           PCIe

  Slot:                            Slot-1

  PCIe Lane Width:       x16

  VRAM (Total):             1024 MB

  Vendor:                      ATI (0x1002)

  Device ID:                  0x6898

  Revision ID:               0x0000

  ROM Revision:          113-C0780C-211

  EFI Driver Version:    01.00.436

  Displays:

LED Cinema Display:

  Display Type:                    LCD

  Resolution:                         2560 x 1440

  Pixel Depth:                       32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

  Display Serial Number:     2A******6JL

  Main Display:                    Yes

  Mirror:                                Off

  Online:                                Yes

  Rotation:                            Supported

  Connection Type:              DisplayPort


<Personal Information Edited by Host>

Mac Pro, Running EL CAPITAN 10.11.4

Posted on May 16, 2016 11:52 AM

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soul_images

Q: ENHANCE LED CINEMA DISPLAY SHARPNESS

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  • Helpful answers

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM May 16, 2016 9:05 AM in response to soul_images
    Level 6 (13,912 points)
    iPad
    May 16, 2016 9:05 AM in response to soul_images

    I am going to say no.

    If this is one of the earlier LED cinema displays, it is NOT a retina display.

    The display, itself, will not be any "sharper".

    A more powerful GPU card/chip will give you more VRAM to push pixels faster and maybe give you some additional screen resolutions, but this does not translate to a clearer, sharper display.

    It's the technology in the display that determines that.

    If you aren't happy with your Mac's display any longer, you would have to find a "newer", non- Apple display that uses the Apple mini display port or find a better resolution or better technology display that uses your Mac Pro's DVI connection.

     

    Good Luck!

  • by soul_images,

    soul_images soul_images May 17, 2016 9:56 AM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    May 17, 2016 9:56 AM in response to MichelPM

    Thx MichelPM for confirming my suspicion.  Hopefully this next question is not out of scope for this thread.  I'm going to buy an additional monitor (BenQ SW series) to obtain the type of image I need for photo processing and was wondering if I should get a separate video card for the BenQ monitor or run both the Apple LED Cinema and the BenQ monitors from the current video card-ATI Radeon HD 5870?

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM May 17, 2016 10:17 AM in response to soul_images
    Level 6 (13,912 points)
    iPad
    May 17, 2016 10:17 AM in response to soul_images

    Not sure on older Mac Pros what the secondary resolution is off of the same card.

    If your Mac Pro has another, additional slot it can use for another video card, that maybe best.

    You can always try your existing video card, first, with a two monitor setup to see if there is any resolution difference or limitation

    If there is, then get that second video card to drive the new monitor instead.h

    Before you buy, check the specs of the monitor.

    Also,,not owning a Mac Pro, I am not sure if that second video card slot will take a more powerful GPU card or if you have to put in another card that is identical to the Radeon HD 5870 you have, now to drive it.

    You would still need to find, at least, another Radeon HD 5870 card or the Radeon HD 5770 card for that model Mac Pro.

     

    Good Luck

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass May 17, 2016 10:28 AM in response to soul_images
    Level 10 (189,400 points)
    Desktops
    May 17, 2016 10:28 AM in response to soul_images

    The 5870 is a good but old card. Running the new BenQ monitor on another card will not result in better output if the resolution of the BenQ is 2560 x 1440 or less. The 5870 can drive two 2560 x 1440 monitors at 60 Hz with no problem.