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problem with External Dell LCD & MBP

post #1 of 6
1/6/08 at 12:08pm
Thread Starter 
Hey folks!

I purchased a Dell SP2208WFP 22-inch Widescreen for use with my MBP. Of course, it is connected via DVI.

When running mirrored mode, text looks good...decently sharp...But, I am apparently limited to the resolution of my MBP - 1440x900. When running the MBP in "closed-lid mode" - which turns mirroring off - I can run the Dell at its native resolution of 1680x1050..but the text just looks awful! If I bump the resolution down a notch, to 1600x1000, text appearance improves somewhat.

Is this to be expected from working with _any_ LCD and my MBP?

I use this monitor for graphic design/photo work/watching film - works perfectly for those applications.

thanks in advance
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post #2 of 6
1/6/08 at 2:31pm
Of course the external monitor's going to be limited to whatever your desktop is when mirrored. The mirrored resolution is always limited to the lower resolution available.

As for the bad looking text at full resolution, is it a font smoothing issue? Or... How does it look bad?
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post #3 of 6
1/11/08 at 9:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by user23 View Post

Hey folks!
When running mirrored mode, text looks good...decently sharp...But, I am apparently limited to the resolution of my MBP - 1440x900. When running the MBP in "closed-lid mode" - which turns mirroring off - I can run the Dell at its native resolution of 1680x1050..but the text just looks awful! If I bump the resolution down a notch, to 1600x1000, text appearance improves somewhat.

I have a 20" that runs 1680 x 1050 and the text looks great. That just may be a drawback of getting the bigger panels. In the displays settings in the system settings window, open that up and do a "detect displays". Play with some of the settings there to see if you cna fine tune it.
15" MacBook Pro 2.4 Ghz Unibody | MacBook 2.4 Ghz Unibody | AirPort Extreme - Gigabit | "Sawtooth" PowerMac G4 in B&W (G3) case, 1.2Ghz, 1TB Mirrored RAID
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15" MacBook Pro 2.4 Ghz Unibody | MacBook 2.4 Ghz Unibody | AirPort Extreme - Gigabit | "Sawtooth" PowerMac G4 in B&W (G3) case, 1.2Ghz, 1TB Mirrored RAID
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post #4 of 6
1/11/08 at 10:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by user23 View Post

Hey folks!

I purchased a Dell SP2208WFP 22-inch Widescreen for use with my MBP. Of course, it is connected via DVI.

When running mirrored mode, text looks good...decently sharp...But, I am apparently limited to the resolution of my MBP - 1440x900. When running the MBP in "closed-lid mode" - which turns mirroring off - I can run the Dell at its native resolution of 1680x1050..but the text just looks awful! If I bump the resolution down a notch, to 1600x1000, text appearance improves somewhat.

Is this to be expected from working with _any_ LCD and my MBP?

I use this monitor for graphic design/photo work/watching film - works perfectly for those applications.

thanks in advance

How about not mirroring your image, but extending it, mirroring doesn't give you any more work space. If you are going to keep your monitor open extended desktop gives more workspace and allows you to run your secondary monitor in full resolution, if you keep lid closed, it doesn't really matter does it?
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post #5 of 6
1/12/08 at 4:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kmac1036 View Post

I have a 20" that runs 1680 x 1050 and the text looks great. That just may be a drawback of getting the bigger panels. In the displays settings in the system settings window, open that up and do a "detect displays". Play with some of the settings there to see if you cna fine tune it.

I'm inclined to agree with this....drawback of bigger panel...BUT - as more people review this monitor on Dell's website http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...9&sku=320-6252
I see more & more complaints about poor text quality. Interesting to note that this monitor is now selling for only $238 US. Wish I had picked it up at that price.

Whatever. The monitor still serves me more than well enough mirroring 1440x900 and the text issues, while still present, are only somewhat annoying...

for those considering this monitor: It is BRIGHT! Color is excellent, all around, I have no trouble calibrating for accurate color output between the displays built-in color settings & Apple's calibration tools...Watching DVDs is a pleasure..and while I'm not a gamer, the couple I've tried out look nice.

text issues you can expect are: artifact-like noise (a bit of coloring appearing on/around letters...especially with narrower fonts) running at 1400x900...and a general all-around disconcerting "fuzziness" which makes it a bit annoying to use for word-processing/e-mail. Of course, if you just bump your font size up to..oh...24-48 points everything looks nice & smooth

running at the monitor's native resolution & text-viewing = forget about it! You'd be better off with a VT100 dumb terminal.

Thanks for the replies.

Probably, I think I'm going to sell this thing soon as I can find a decent 22" replacement..because, I feel like I"m actually hurting my eyes by reading this BAD looking type.
an aye for an eye, the truth is a lie; a fish cannot whistle & neither can I.
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an aye for an eye, the truth is a lie; a fish cannot whistle & neither can I.
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post #6 of 6
1/15/08 at 12:08pm
Me personally, just about any other 22" is going to do the same thing. The OEMs get the LCDs from the same mfrs and so they all share the same native res. You're running the same native res as my 20" but just stretching the pixels another 2". Either go 20 or 24, if you try the 22" route, the same thing is probably going to happen.

Mine is a 20" and it's great. Only reason I would need a 24" is for 1080 HD playback. 20" will do 720 HD and it looks nice.
15" MacBook Pro 2.4 Ghz Unibody | MacBook 2.4 Ghz Unibody | AirPort Extreme - Gigabit | "Sawtooth" PowerMac G4 in B&W (G3) case, 1.2Ghz, 1TB Mirrored RAID
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15" MacBook Pro 2.4 Ghz Unibody | MacBook 2.4 Ghz Unibody | AirPort Extreme - Gigabit | "Sawtooth" PowerMac G4 in B&W (G3) case, 1.2Ghz, 1TB Mirrored RAID
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