Apple Cinema 30" Solution?

pocketninespocketnines
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hi, I need some advice. I am not much of a computer guy, even less of a Mac-knowledgeable guy. I am trying to learn, though, so please don't flame. I'm hoping someone here will give my problem a little thought and help me figure out a good solution.



My investigation of the Apple Cinema 30" monitor led me to this forum. I am a full-time poker player. I have been using a borrowed 21" CRT monitor which gives me 1600x1200 resolution, so I can get 4 tables up simultaneously with no overlap (a table is 800x600). I need to build my own setup in the near future.



When I read that the Apple Cinema 30" offered 2560x1600 resolution, I started salivating. That's nearly 9 tables (yes there is great value in being able to see 9 tables vs. 4 tables). I am also aware that the monitor itself is very high quality and would have some nice secondary uses.



Now, here are the two major issues. First, all the poker sites have clients that run off of Windows. It's just a fact of life. Second, I travel around the country and internationally, meaning there is great value in portability. I also go over to other poker pros' places to relax and play, and just want to bring a notebook in those instances.



Thus, my best solution, if such a solution exists, would be to find a notebook that can support such high external monitor resolution, one that also runs Windows.



Before I consider desktops, I want to eliminate the possibility that this can be done using a notebook and some kind of graphics adapter (he said, vaguely). I basically need to know that there is no way to get a notebook to support such high resolution on an external monitor. And if there is a solution, what is it? Or, who would know these things?



If an Apple notebook would support the 30" (even if adapters are required), is it possible to run some kind of virtual windows program on said Apple notebook that would allow me to use the clients from poker sites? I am ignorant about this, so use subdued laughter.



Help me out so I can be portable in time to move to a swing state and vote against people who say, "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."



Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    ijerryijerry Posts: 615member
    Well, I don't think there is a way to run the 30" off of a laptop as of yet, the graphics card needed to do this task is a biggie. So, then you are left with two choices...You can get a 17" Powerbook(1440 x 900) and a 23" display(1920 x 1200) and run them side by side to fit approximately 9 tables(2 high x 4-5 across), or you can look for a PC laptop that supports monitor spanning and has a DVI port for the 23" Apple Display, and that will have enough screen real estate and resolution on its own to help with the 9 table goal...There is Virtual PC available for the Mac G4s from MS, so you will be able to run windows on a Mac. So now the choice is yours.





    disclaimer:"I am just waking up, so I may be a little off on my speculations of real estate."
  • Reply 2 of 5
    ipodandimacipodandimac Posts: 3,273member
    even the 20 inch display (apple or 3rd party) is too big to haul around. you really should get the 17 inch powerbook and be happy with it. dont get me wrong--the new apple displays are incredible, but theyre not designed to be hauled around like a laptop.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    pocketninespocketnines Posts: 7member
    Thank you for the replies. My roommate knows a fair amount about computers, but he didn't know the answer to his specific issue. However, there apparently is some big convention in LA at the moment, and he is there for his company. He learned some things that I might as well mention here.



    Apple claims that the Cinema 30" display, which runs off the big NVIDIA graphics card, can only be used with the PowerMac G5. The Apple salesman/consultant person at the convention told him this also, which is apparently a lie. At the NVIDIA area, they had the Apple Cinema 30" running off a PC (my roommate was very dialed in to this issue). In fact, they had two 30" displays side by side, apparently. Anyway, I don't know the specs of the PC, just that it was using the NVIDIA card and it was working fine.



    He also assured me that any hard case used for airplane travel with the 30" monitor could also fit the desktop piece, so I will probably go in that direction, rather than go for the laptop plus 1600x1200 (the 23" 1900x1200 for more than double the price of the 21" 1600x1200 was never worth considering for my purposes).



    Anyway. thanks for the replies. I'm hoping to get all this done in the next month, I'll post a follow up when I have the whole setup going.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    altivec_2.0altivec_2.0 Posts: 995member
    If you can find another graphics card that has a dual link DVI port, then you can run the 30" off of that card.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    nguyenhm16nguyenhm16 Posts: 203member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Altivec_2.0

    If you can find another graphics card that has a dual link DVI port, then you can run the 30" off of that card.



    NVidia just announced some Quadro cards (professional versions of their gforce cards meant mainly for OpenGL) that have dual-link DVI. Stick one of those in a Shuttle XPC and you should be all set. Only stickler is that these cards are expensive (I think the Apple 6800 is the cheapest dual-link DVI card available in the near future).
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