23" Display & 12" Powerbook.... HELP!

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'm considering buying a 12" Powerbook and plugging it into a 23" Cinema Display when I'm home and take advantage of the small size on-the-go.



My question...



I was curious if when I hook the powerbook up to the display if I will be able to take advantage of the 1920 by 1200 pixel resolution.



Or will I be restricted to the powerbook 1024-by-768-pixel resolution.





THANKS~





PS>> If there is a limitation, do you think the new Powerbooks will ever aleviate the resolution compromise. Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    macusersmacusers Posts: 840member
    You know you cant plug a 12" PowerBook into an Apple Display directly right? You need some kind of third party adapter that I saw once
  • Reply 2 of 10
    The 12" PB has an analog out - not a DVI. It's possible to connect it to a 23 inch display, but the output won't be nearly as sharp as if it were DVI. Gefen makes the conversion box. See it here .





    I hope the next rev. has DVI, it's most definitely a highly missed feature.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    So if I understand you comment correctly. If the "NEW" Powerbook 12" has a DVI port, then you'd be able to connect it to the 23" monitor and have no problem with the resolution limitations (ie. the 23" wouldn't display an expanded version of 1020 x 860 like the 12").
  • Reply 4 of 10
    cesarocesaro Posts: 10member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dr_Holistic

    So if I understand you comment correctly. If the "NEW" Powerbook 12" has a DVI port, then you'd be able to connect it to the 23" monitor and have no problem with the resolution limitations (ie. the 23" wouldn't display an expanded version of 1020 x 860 like the 12").



    Yes if a newer 12" Powerbook came out that had a DVI or for that matter if the current 12" Powerbook had a DVI then you could connect any of the Apple LCD's with the right cable adapter. The video card in the current 12" Powerbook is a nVidia 420 Go and has no troubles reproducing higher resolutions in both spanning and mirroring configurations.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    gordygordy Posts: 1,004member
    I hate to get tangled in alphabet soup, but the Apple 23" display is ADC, not DVI. AFAIK, no current Apple display is DVI--well, it's a DVI signal, but it's carried via ADC. The 12" PB has VGA, so you would need a VGA --> ADC adapter in order to use a current PB with the Apple 23" HD display. If the new 12" PB was DVI, you'd need a DVI --> ADC adapter [I believe that PowerBooks with DVI come with this adapter anyway, so that may be moot].
  • Reply 6 of 10
    cesarocesaro Posts: 10member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by gordy

    I hate to get tangled in alphabet soup, but the Apple 23" display is ADC, not DVI. AFAIK, no current Apple display is DVI--well, it's a DVI signal, but it's carried via ADC. The 12" PB has VGA, so you would need a VGA --> ADC adapter in order to use a current PB with the Apple 23" HD display. If the new 12" PB was DVI, you'd need a DVI --> ADC adapter [I believe that PowerBooks with DVI come with this adapter anyway, so that may be moot].



    Your right, I think that you have clarified the thread nicely. The VGA --> ADC converter would be the Gefen one mentioned earlier I think. I hope that has answered all of the original posters questions.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    You'll be able to use the Cinema Display assuming that the new one has more than 32 MB of GPU RAM.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    Would 64MB of GPU memory be enough... or would it work best with 128MB.



    Thanks.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    agent302agent302 Posts: 974member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Dr_Holistic

    Would 64MB of GPU memory be enough... or would it work best with 128MB.



    Thanks.




    Actually, 32 MB should be fine, as Apple lists all Powerbooks with DVI video-out as compatible with the 23" Cinema HD Display (when using the ADC -> DVI adapter).
  • Reply 10 of 10
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Consider getting the Sony. It works out of the box. Give Apple a little pain for not shipping the 12" with ADC.
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