New Dual-Link Adapter on Gateway 30" Monitor, Thinks DVI!

You need two things that are dual-link. First, you need this Apple adapter:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571Z/A

Second, you need to use a dual-link DVI cable between the above adapter and the monitor.

It wasn't clear from your post that you have both.

I have the same monitor and late-model MBP. I didn't realize that the adapters were shipping yet, but if they don't work with one of the most popular 30" displays on the market, then clearly they don't work properly.

I hate to ask, but you're certain that it's the dual-link DVI adapter that plugs both into the mini-displayport and a USB port?

Sorry to ask as though maybe you didn't know for sure, but I needed to be certain because my solution is to dump the new MBP and get a previous gen version. I have no qualms about doing it: The dual-link adapter situation (not included, late, expensive, not working properly) is more than enough reason for me to bail.

Thanks for the quick reply, and good luck with your situation.

Have you ever tried running the Gateway from another Mac? I realize it works with a Windows PC but I am wondering if it has ever given 2560 x 1600 from another Mac? It could be a problem with the Plug and Display driver in the Gateway which a Mac needs whereas Windows doesn't.

I meant any other Mac that supports dual-link DVI, so not necessarily another Mac with DisplayPort on it.

Not that it matters, I suppose... But I'd like to know who it is that is diverging from the Dual-Link DVI specification. If the panel works with any brand and model of 'PC' graphics card that supports Dual-Link but does not work with Apple's Dual-Link DVI port, who is really the culprit? That's assuming it's a hardware issue.

If it's a software/driver issue, then I see no reason that this wouldn't be fixed by Apple as other third party hardware support issues are fixed by them all the time. Some might say that Apple ensuring more sales of their own displays is the reason, and they may be right, but I find that a disservice to the end user.

I'm staying steady on with the monitor as on January 9th the real reason for it's purchase will arrive: A Penryn-based PC with 3 Nvidia 1GB GTX 280's running in 3-way SLI. This year I switched to Mac after 20 years of Windows. However, after 20 years of being a hardcore PC gamer, I accepted that my changeover would come with the price of having to maintain two systems: One that can play some games, and one that can play all games, and play them at the top of their performance potential. It will be my first Vista machine, and I enjoy the humor in the fact that it will never be used for anything other than playing games. 🙂 (Anyone who understands what '20 years of hardcore PC gaming' means will know not to bother uttering the word, 'console'.)

I'm going to keep Googling around to see if I can find any evidence of someone running a previous gen MBP with this monitor. If it's a bust, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I may still switch back to a previous gen as I have a couple other issues with the new one, but either way, I'm still super happy that I've made the switch to OS X and I can't imagine ever going back.

Though I'll be making daily visits for things like this:

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/3672/00012hm8.jpg

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/618/00013ys5.jpg

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/5006/29378126jl1.jpg

I can't get over how much those last two images look like where I live:

http://picasaweb.google.com/billymogg/Saba2007# (Not my photos, but a good collection of shots from the 5-square mile island I live on. Not 5 miles square, mind you.

I just realized that I can have an answer to this in a couple weeks if no one else gets a chance to try it. I work at a med school and tons of the students have previous gen MBP's. As soon as they are back from winter break (Jan 5th) I can try this out and find out for sure.

+Gateway support says "Apple does funny things," and that "Gateway is a PC company."+

So Gateway thinks Apple does funny things. I guess they feel that conforming to the VESA Plug and Display standard is a funny thing to do.

If the deficiency is in the Gateway's P&D driver, there is nothing Apple can do about it, so don't hold out for Apple to fix anything with a software update. That can't happen.

You can snoop the P&D driver within the Gateway if you want to. There is a program called SwitchRes X that allows you to do that. There is a button in SRX labeled "Print EDID" that dumps the driver to a text file. You can see if Gateway included the timing for 2560 x 1600 in the driver or not, though it sounds like they didn't. Then, if you want to call Gateway support for yourself, you can ask them to explain this omission in the driver and if there is going to be updated firmware for the monitor.

Also, if you really want to keep the monitor in spite of the shortcoming (assuming the shortcoming is really in the driver, TBD), you can use SRX to build the missing timing and include it in the resolution choices under OS X.

This is all outstanding information.

I'll check out SRX and post the findings. I don't have the dual-link adapter right now, but this will help me decide if I should order it or not.

Thanks!

Info from the pertinent section of the driver:

Established Timings:
--------------------
640 x 480 @ 60Hz
800 x 600 @ 60Hz
1024 x 768 @ 60Hz

Manufacturer Reserved Timings:
------------------------------

Standard Timing Identification:
-------------------------------
#0: 1920 x 1440 @ 60Hz (D140)
#1: 1856 x 1392 @ 60Hz (C940)
#2: 1792 x 1344 @ 60Hz (C140)
#3: 1600 x 1200 @ 60Hz (A940)
#4: 1400 x 1050 @ 60Hz (9040)
#5: 1280 x 960 @ 60Hz (8140)
#6: 1280 x 1024 @ 60Hz (8180)
#7: 1152 x 864 @ 60Hz (7140)

Monitor Description blocks:
---------------------------
Descriptor #0 is Timing definition:
Mode = 1280 x 800 @ 59.810Hz
Pixel Clock............. 83.50 MHz Non-Interlaced

Horizontal Vertical
Active.................. 1280 pixels 800 lines
Front Porch............. 72 pixels 3 lines
Sync Width.............. 128 pixels 6 lines
Back Porch.............. 200 pixels 22 lines
Blanking................ 400 pixels 31 lines
Total................... 1680 pixels 831 lines
Scan Rate............... 49.702 kHz 59.810 Hz

Image Size.............. 640 mm 400 mm
Border.................. 0 pixels 0 lines

Sync: Digital separate with
* Positive vertical polarity
* Negative horizontal polarity

Descriptor #1 is Timing definition:
Mode = 2560 x 1600 @ 59.972Hz
Pixel Clock............. 268.50 MHz Non-Interlaced

Horizontal Vertical
Active.................. 2560 pixels 1600 lines
Front Porch............. 48 pixels 3 lines
Sync Width.............. 32 pixels 6 lines
Back Porch.............. 80 pixels 37 lines
Blanking................ 160 pixels 46 lines
Total................... 2720 pixels 1646 lines
Scan Rate............... 98.713 kHz 59.972 Hz

Image Size.............. 640 mm 400 mm
Border.................. 0 pixels 0 lines

Sync: Digital separate with
* Negative vertical polarity
* Positive horizontal polarity

Descriptor #2 is Monitor name:
XHD3000

Descriptor #3 is Monitor limits:
Horizontal frequency range.......30-110 kHz
Vertical frequency range.........59-61 Hz
Maximum bandwidth unspecified