2560x1440 (can't get resolution)

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2560x1440 (can't get resolution)

Hi, just bought a shiny new 27" Viewsonic VP2770 monitor to plug into my Mac-Mini (mid-2011) and a bit shocked to find I can't get beyond 1920x resolution.

My fault for not checking if the HDMI connector would support that I guess.

Anyway, before I try and send it back (seems a shame as its a lovely bit of kit) is there a way to make this work via the thunderbolt port any how?

I have heard a mini-Display port cable would do it but Viewsonic's chap said that plugging one of these into the Thunderbolt port would still only give 1920x resolution? Has anyone done this in practice with a non-thunderbolt display 2560x1440 and the Mac-Mini mid-2011?

If it does work, any pointers to the right cable / adaptor?

Cheers

J

Mac Mini, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Nov 9, 2012 6:23 AM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

245,519 points

Nov 9, 2012 11:55 AM in response to SkiesNPies

Hi J,

You need a Dual-Link adapter, assuming it has a DVI port...

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571Z/A/mini-displayport-to-dual-link-dvi-ada pter

Possibly a VGA adapter, not sure what rez it supports...

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB572Z/B/mini-displayport-to-vga-adapter

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3382

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Answer 2

SkiesNPies Author

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Nov 13, 2012 3:07 AM in response to BDAqua

Hmmm, getting mixed messages from Apple here. They told me in store at the weekend that the single adaptor would work (which I am sure is wrong).

My monitor DOES have DisplayPort inputs though so would a simple "mini display port" to "display port" adaptor work like this one :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002XVYZ82/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9557943429&ref=asc_ df_B002XVYZ82

That would save me £60 and a lot of mess?

Again, Apple tell me not as the DisplayPort adaptor is only one way (why would I need bi-directional coms to drive a monitor) ? I really am begining to doubt Apples expertise as they also told me on Friday that it there was no solution to my problem AT ALL ? 3x people at Apple, 3x different answers so far.....

Be interesting to know if the DisplayPort to Displayport cable would allow me to do 2560x1440 though?

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Answer 3

Bradri

Level 1

12 points

Nov 13, 2012 4:53 AM in response to SkiesNPies

Don't know anything about the specific monitor but assuming the monitor has a display port connection a mini-display port to display port cable should support the native resolution of the monitor. So would dual DVI. Single DVI and HDMI do not supporrt that resolution.

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Answer 4

SkiesNPies Author

Level 1

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Nov 13, 2012 5:21 AM in response to Bradri

Thanks Bradri, have ordered a £6 cable to try the theory, fingers crossed you are right - it would make a certain amount of sense to go DP to DP wouldn't it - but Apple say not. Fingers crossed, lets hope both of our suspicions are correct. I will update the question once I know.

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Answer 5

Only XM

Level 2

365 points

Nov 14, 2012 12:02 PM in response to SkiesNPies

Bradri solved your problem. I had the same issue and purchased the DP to Mini DP from Amazon. I have a dell 27 inch monitor and had to go into the monitor's menu system to tell it to use the display port and it worked perfectly. You may have to do the same with yours as well.

Uncross your fingers, it will work!

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Answer 6

SkiesNPies Author

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Nov 15, 2012 7:12 AM in response to Only XM

Your absolutely right both of you, typing this in 2560x1440 res. Its not that sharp but I am about to reboot to hopefully sort that out.

Slightly (well actually more than slightly) concerned about how little Apple appear to know about their own products. 5 different Apple people on tech support or in store told me 5 different solutions, all wrong. Several told me the £8 cable wouldn't work and 2 told me the £70 dual DVI cable would (which has loads of issues according to reviews).

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Answer 7

Bradri

Level 1

12 points

Nov 15, 2012 8:36 AM in response to SkiesNPies

My 27" Dell arrived yesterday. I connected with mini display port to display port. By default the monitor was set to receive a DPI signals. Changed that and the monitor seems to work great at full resolution. The MDP to DP cable is considerably less expensive and more elegant than double DPI. This setup looks very sharp to my old eyes.

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Answer 8

Nov 7, 2013 10:23 AM in response to SkiesNPies

SkiesNPies, considering similar (except cheaper display port monitor), did it get sharp enough on reboot? Or did you go another solution in end? Likewise saw DVI dual cable dodgy reviews and fighting shy of that solution. Thanks, Tom

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Answer 9

SkiesNPies Author

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Nov 8, 2013 2:11 AM in response to SkiesNPies

Hi Thomas, yes, been using it and quality is good. The cheap cable is fine. The only issue I have is makign the mac wake up is sometimes a bit dodgy (sometimes ahve to switch moniotr on/on again before Mac talks to it) but its a minor irritation really and its been problem free otherwise.

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Answer 10

Mar 5, 2014 6:42 AM in response to SkiesNPies

I had the same problem but the viewsonic model supports the DisplayPort. I bought a DisplayPort to Thunderbolt cable and it works great ...and the cable is fairly cheap.

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Answer 11

Jun 16, 2014 7:08 PM in response to Head Techie

I just got a Mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable for cheap ($5 USD), and it technically solved the problem with my new 2560-wide monitor, but it looked so bad that I went back to 1920 with the DVI cable. It looked like a badly interpreted analog signal or something, not a digital signal. Looked decent on images, but terrible on text, was giving me a headache.

I used my iPad to take pictures of some pixels. (Yes, this is Visual Basic code, one works with the code one is given...)

This is with the DisplayPort cable - notice the lightening above the letters, against the green background, and the blurring on some horizontal lines, such as the capital D's. Also there's a sense that the green from the green text on line 12 is blurring generally - nearby pixels pick up a green glow. [NOTE: These are automatically scaled - you can see the original image if you click on it.]

Here's with the DVI cable - only 1920, but much prettier text:

Maybe I'm spoiled by Retina displays, but there's no way I can put up with that stuff on top. (The HDMI output from my MacBook Pro also works at 2560, but looks even worse.) I've sprung for Apple's $100 USD "Dual Link" adapter; it'll either work well, or I'll send it back and make do with 1920.

If anyone has an idea about getting better quality for less - maybe there's a slightly better Mini-DP to DP cable out there that works better? I'd love to know about it.

-Apollo

Message was edited by: ApolloGrace to improve fidelity of attached images.

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Answer 12

Jun 17, 2014 12:01 AM in response to ApolloGrace

I recommend a Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter. From documentation it looks like that resolution is designed for Dual-Link DVI.

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Answer 13

Jun 17, 2014 1:29 AM in response to ApolloGrace

Hi Appollo Grace!

I understand the dislike of the text sometimes on the full scale res. I have noticed sometimes a blue/red/green tinge to edge of text, which can be slightly frustrating... but overall I adore the 2560x1440 and would never go back! I've got a BenQ BL2710 at work, which is significantly better text wise than my Viewsonic VP2700 at home, but the you don't need Dual-link DVI. Mini display port to display port is what you are after... The DGM monitor is also better at full res (just popped over to look at a colleagues) than VP2700 on text (displayport too).

Spend a few more quid on a cable if you want, but it shouldn't matter too much. If you're getting signal it is digital and it's just a reflection of the monitor's abilities sadly.

Grace & peace to you! 😉

Tom

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Answer 14

robm100x

Level 1

0 points

Jan 7, 2016 7:44 AM in response to ThomasSeidler

I just got a new 27" Samsung S27D850 monitor for my mid-2015 MacBookPro 15" Retina with AMD Radeon R9 M270X 2048MB. The monitor came with 3 video cables: 1) HDMI to HDMI, 2) DVI to DVI, and 3) hybrid HDMI with Thunderbolt adapter.

The S27D850 is awesome and capable of 2560x1440 with correct video cabling.

Only the DVI cable with Apple DVI adapter did not yield high resolution; I think the max was like 1080p (1920x1080)

The other 2 video cables work great but I'd prefer not to use the HDMI slot on the right-side of my MacBookPro, so I'm purchasing a Thunderbolt to HDMI but for DisplayPort 1.2 (not DisplayPort 1.1a) like MDP2DPMM1MW from BestBuy or Amazon. I guess this cable also supports audio through Thunderbolt as well. So on my MacBookPro, I use an Ethernet to Thunderbolt adapter and will use this new cable to Samsung S27D850 monitor. Hope it works!

YMMV

-Rob

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