Not recognizing max resolution of 2560x1600- Dell UltraSharp U3011 Monitor

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Not recognizing max resolution of 2560x1600- Dell UltraSharp U3011 Monitor

I just got a 30" Dell UltraSharp U3011 monitor. For some reason, my MacBook Pro is not detecting that the maximum resolution should be 2560 x 1600. I'm connecting the monitor to the laptop with a DVI cable and Mini Display Port to DVI adapter which the Apple Store rep said would give me the max resolution and best picture quality.

Any thoughts on what I can do to solve this?

MacBook Pro 2/66 GHz Intel Core i7, Mac OS X (10.6.6), 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Posted on Mar 18, 2011 6:26 PM

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Answer 1

iVmichael

Level 6

13,740 points

Mar 18, 2011 6:45 PM in response to BrianGupton

When you open System Preferences/Displays is it showing both an LCD panel and one for the Dell ?
Are you using Mirroring or Extended Desktop ?

If you have an external keyboard and mouse you might try forcing it into Clamshell Mode (connect the keyboard and mouse then close the MBP lid to out it to sleep then touch a key on the keyboard to wake it up) and then open the preference panel from the Dell screen and see if better resolutions are available ?

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Answer 2

BrianGupton Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 18, 2011 7:09 PM in response to iVmichael

Michael - It is showing both LCD panel and one for the Dell. The Dell display is showing a max resolution of 1600 x 1200, while the LCD is 1680 x 1050.

I don't have a keyboard or mouse at home to try it in Clamshell Mode. Any other suggestions?

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Answer 3

BrianGupton Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 18, 2011 7:42 PM in response to iVmichael

I found this that says: "When you connect an Apple Cinema Display (30-inch DVI) to one of the products noted below, you may find that the highest available resolution is 1280 x 800, even though the optimum resolution for the display is 2560 x 1600. The maximum resolution available when this display is connected to a single-link DVI port is 1280 x 800; you must connect the display to a dual-link DVI port to access the higher resolutions available to the display."

I guess that means that I need this dual-link DVI port. It seems odd that I would need a special cable just to hook this up.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3571?viewlocale=en_US

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Answer 4

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Mar 18, 2011 8:12 PM in response to BrianGupton

You do need the mini-Displayport-to-Dual-link DVI adapter:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=MTA4MzU1ODY

Once you get that, you'll be fine. Perhaps you can return the single-link DVI adapter you bought first.

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Answer 5

iVmichael

Level 6

13,740 points

Mar 18, 2011 9:27 PM in response to BrianGupton

Yes it seems that to get that resolution you need the dual-link DVI adapter not the regular one ...

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Answer 6

BrianGupton Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 20, 2011 12:50 PM in response to BrianGupton

The dual adapter fixed the issue.

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Answer 7

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Mar 20, 2011 12:52 PM in response to BrianGupton

Good. Thanks for posting back to confirm.

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Answer 8

Apr 9, 2011 12:04 PM in response to BrianGupton

Instead of the $100 for it from Apple, following works too for $16.

http://www.pchcables.com/184041.html

Also, won't a simple mini-display port to normal display port cable work too, as u3011 has a display port.

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Answer 9

Apr 9, 2011 12:12 PM in response to gammapoint

Or you could use following adapter min-display port male to display port female for $10 and use the supplied display port cable from dell

http://www.pchcables.com/midimatodife.html

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Answer 10

somid3

Level 1

0 points

Aug 3, 2011 9:06 AM in response to BrianGupton

gammapoint -- http://www.pchcables.com/184041.html that does not work. I think the miniDisplayPort to DisplayPort works.

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Answer 11

Nov 20, 2011 7:00 PM in response to BrianGupton

Have you solve the problem yet?

you need to relocate the menu bar to the desired monitor.🙂

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Answer 12

Dec 29, 2011 11:21 AM in response to BrianGupton

I had the same problem. I bought a new dell u3011 monitor, connected the dvi cable to my dvi-to-mini display adapter, plugged it into my macbook pro, and only got 1600 x 1000 (where the max I expexted was 2560 x 1600).

I then tried hdmi through the mini display port and upped the resolution to 1920 x 1200. Close but no cigar.

I ended up having to purchase an adapter to use the display port. This is what I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/DisplayPort-32AWG-Cable-Plated-Connectors/dp/B0034X6SCY/re f=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325182715&sr=8-1

Now I get my 2560 x 1600 resolution! Note: I did not need any drivers to make this work.

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Answer 13

aramjam

Level 1

0 points

Nov 28, 2012 12:28 AM in response to BrianGupton

thunderbolt in MBPs do not seem to behave well with Dell ultrasharp series. http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/peripherals/f/3529/p/19458525/201488 89.aspx

I have a U3011, and my MBP retina 15inch
(10.8.2) only sends YPbPr space to the display via miniDP to DP cable instead of RGB. If I change the settings to RGB, the color is all funny looking. For all professional purposes this is useless. Nobody from Apple or Dell is willing fix this.

U3011 only uses HDMI 1.3, so you won't get the full resolution. I also have used a mini-DP to dual-DVI adaptor. It gets RGB from MBP, the text is all garbled for anything above 1600x1000 .

I am at my wits end.

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Answer 14

Jan 29, 2013 1:39 PM in response to aramjam

Hello. I can confirm that CrypticGuru is correct. I bought this cable which fixed the problem (same cable he lists, straight from the source):

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024606 &p_id=6007&seq=1&format=2

With this I now get beautiful 2560x1600 resolution on the u3011 and without the annoying audio error message from this other forum, where I cross-posted my experience:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4221033?start=0&tstart=0

I am not an image/video guy so I can't comment on color calibration, but it looks right to my eyes.

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Answer 15

CrisCros

Level 1

0 points

Feb 5, 2013 3:00 PM in response to BrianGupton

One dollar solution: http://www.amazon.com/DisplayPort-32AWG-Cable-Plated-Connectors/dp/B0034X6SCY instead of buying the overpriced (Apple style) dual link

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