How to connect new macmini icore 2.7 to TDB 27 and the old Cinema Display 30", DVI

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How to connect new macmini icore 2.7 to TDB 27 and the old Cinema Display 30", DVI

I tried to connect the new macmini icore i7 (*) to the new TDB display 27", and this it's fine.

I tried to connect the new imac mini icore i7 to my old Apple Cinema HD 30" (DVI port) and this is fine (only AND EXCLUSIVELY with a dual link cable, though)

I then tried to connect both monitors to the new macmini icore i7, and this is just impossible.

I spend hours over the phone with the Apple Care support (they all have been very collaborative, but unfortunately no solution found) and went several times to the Apple Shop, and to my local Apple Repair.

The only way (I found) to have both monitors is to connect the Cinema HD Display 30" through a HDMI to DVI port,

BUT then ... the 30" monitor's resolution is reduced to 1280 to 800px !

No way to have its original resolution (2560 x 1600px). The 30" Cinema HD resolution is reduced x 4 ! :-(

So far I haven't found a solution: tried all the existing cables and connections, but always this miserable result on the Cinema HD.

I wonder if there will be whether:

a Thunderbold hub supporting this connection (the Thunderbold port, on the back of the TDB 27" monitor does not support the Dual link cable to DVI, but this would have been a nice solution). I read something about a TDB hub (http://michael.olivero.com/post/2011/09/16/Thunderbolt-Hub-Has-Arrived!.aspx), but would this work ? And if so, when will be this released ?
or simply an HDMI-to-DVI cable but like the dual link one, i.e. supporting the hight resolution required by the Apple 30" Cinema HD.

Thank you !

Pablo

*) Macmini characteristics: Processor 2.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Memory 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM- 2x4GB

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7.2), Thunderbold connection to 2 monitor

Posted on Oct 24, 2011 8:37 AM

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Answer 1

Column

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Oct 26, 2011 9:02 PM in response to pablocass

You'd have to plug the Mac Mini into the Thunderbolt display, then plug the Thunderbolt display into a Thunderbolt peripheral (like the Promise Pegasus Raid Disk, or LaCie Thunderbolt Little Big Disk), then plug the Cinema Display into the peripheral with Mini DisplayPort.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4832/the-apple-thunderbolt-display-review/8

A Thunderbolt hub would need to have at least 2 Thunderbolt ports to run 2 monitors, which doesn't exist yet.

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Answer 2

pablocass Author

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Oct 27, 2011 3:03 AM in response to Column

Thank you so much for this answer. Looks excellent.

Extra question though...

The Promise Pegasus Raid Disk is quite expensive.

Are you pretty sure that the hight resolution 2560 x 1600 (of the Cinema HD 30" with DVI) can be maintained by this connection (do I need to use the Dual-Link, I suppose, for that ?) ?

Other question.

The LaCie ThiunderboltLittle big disk is more affordable, but they say that one of the key point is the "Mini DisplayPort".

But this port ... does it really handle this expected high resolution ?

Thank you again !

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Answer 3

Column

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Oct 27, 2011 5:37 PM in response to pablocass

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if the cinema display will run at full native resolution. However this macworld article someone else posted on here shows them hooking up a cinema display, thunderbolt display, between the Pegasus. The cinema display looks like it's at full resolution, and only connected to the Pegasus with Mini DisplayPort:

http://www.macworld.com/article/162365/2011/09/first_look_apple_thunderbolt_disp lay.html

I'm guessing the USB connector from the cinema display is plugged into the macbook.

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