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I'm getting a MBP Retna and want to use Dell UltraSharp 24" external monitor.

I want to connect a Dell external monitor to the 15" Macbook Pro Retna laptop to use as a second monitor. The dell 2410 monitor has ports for DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA & Composite. What Adapter or adapter(s) do I need to order from Apple? Thank you for your help.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jun 14, 2012 8:48 PM

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31 replies

Jun 14, 2012 10:04 PM in response to melburstein1

I wouldn't use the HDMI. I have the MacBook Pro Retina, and resolution matching has been difficult HDMI because as far as I can tell, you can only mirror with and external monitor with the HDMI (the poster above my know better). If you get a DVI adapter and go to your Dell's DVI port, you can either mirror or have separate views with separte resolutions.

Jun 14, 2012 10:19 PM in response to GTCA

Not sure I know any better because I'm only reading about this as I don't have a Macbook Pro Retina. The tech specs do say:

Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on up to two external displays, at millions of colors.


Of course that doesn't prove either one of us right! Hope to hear form somone who has the machine and tries out the HDMI settings. The reviewers I read were very happy Apple finally included HDMI in the laptop and they did or did not comment on the dual display or mirroring capabilities unfortunately.

Jun 15, 2012 6:23 AM in response to GTCA

The Macworld review of the new Macbook Pro Retina does spport independent settings on the laptop screen and the secondary screen. Since the article refers to a 42" HDTV, I think it's safe to say HDMI was used to connect:


http://www.macworld.com/article/1167286/macbook_pro_with_retina_display_redefine s_the_concept_of_a_pro_laptop.html


"When a second display is connected and set up to expand the desktop, the resolution listing appears, specifically for the external display. When I connected the Retina MacBook Pro to my 42-inch HDTV, it instantly recognized the display, and when I turned off mirroring, I was able to choose one of four resolutions for the HDTV, and set the Retina MacBook Pro to one of the five settings mentioned above."

http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/06/win7_retina-284329.pnghttp://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/06/win7_retina-284329.png

Jun 17, 2012 4:52 PM in response to melburstein1

I've connected my Retina MBP to my 30" Dell 3007WFP using Apple's mini DisplayPort to DVI-D Dual Link adapter, and found that the combination does not work correctly. The display only supports DVI input, and requires DVI-D Dual Link to reach its full native resolution of 2560x1600. The MBP is only sending Single Link, so the display's resolution is restricted to 1280x800. This is contrary to the (above) press releases where it states that 2560x1600 resolution is available. Other people have reported this problem too, on the forums at macrumors.com.

Jun 30, 2012 2:06 PM in response to rob2012102

rob2012102 wrote:


I've connected my Retina MBP to my 30" Dell 3007WFP using Apple's mini DisplayPort to DVI-D Dual Link adapter, and found that the combination does not work correctly. The display only supports DVI input, and requires DVI-D Dual Link to reach its full native resolution of 2560x1600. The MBP is only sending Single Link, so the display's resolution is restricted to 1280x800. This is contrary to the (above) press releases where it states that 2560x1600 resolution is available. Other people have reported this problem too, on the forums at macrumors.com.

Check whether you are mirroring or extending the displays, mirroring would only give 1280x800, extending will give the full range.

I'm getting a MBP Retna and want to use Dell UltraSharp 24" external monitor.

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