MacBook Pro Graphics Card

skierskier
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hi



I am about to buy the entry level MacBook Pro with the Radeon X1600 graphics card and I am trying to establish if this purchase will be future proof for home cinema purposes.



I have just purchased a 1080p home cinema projector but at the moment only have a DVD player that is capable of producing either 720p or 1080i. My question is will a MacBook pro output 1080p native from its DVI out? I have checked the technical specs which state "2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display", but having searched the net it looks as if the maximum is 1440 by 900 but that may be to the internal screen.



Furthermore I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on Apple eventually selling an external Blue Ray Hard Drive that could be firewired into a Mac.



Any thoughts appreciated.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    leonardleonard Posts: 528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Skier View Post


    Hi



    I am about to buy the entry level MacBook Pro with the Radeon X1600 graphics card and I am trying to establish if this purchase will be future proof for home cinema purposes.



    I have just purchased a 1080p home cinema projector but at the moment only have a DVD player that is capable of producing either 720p or 1080i. My question is will a MacBook pro output 1080p native from its DVI out? I have checked the technical specs which state "2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display", but having searched the net it looks as if the maximum is 1440 by 900 but that may be to the internal screen.



    Furthermore I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on Apple eventually selling an external Blue Ray Hard Drive that could be firewired into a Mac.



    Any thoughts appreciated.



    To do 2560 x 1600 you need a monitor that can do that, like the 30" Apple Cinema Display. 1440 x 900 is the internal screen's resolution. Of course it's unlikely to produce 1080p to a TV as most TVs aren't 1080p.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    skierskier Posts: 16member
    Thanks Leonard



    I have a 1080p projector so it is very interesting what the Mac can output.



    Been having a rethink today, from an external screen point of view purely for watching either DVD or DivX is there any benefit in purchasing a MacBook Pro over a MacBook, apart from another 2.1 inches of portable screen and the £470 price tag?
  • Reply 3 of 5
    s.metcalfs.metcalf Posts: 972member
    Not true, the MacBook Pro can support a 23-inch Apple Cinema Display, though you need the 256 Mb X1600 to run the 30". I have not seen any high-def television or projector come close to running at that resolution however, so you should be fine with the 128 Mb. However, if you anticipate getting a 30" CD go with the higher video RAM.



    As for getting a MacBook over MacBook Pro there are loads of discussions on it but I'd suggest several reasons for getting the MacBook Pro: better build quality, better screen, looks better, better video performance, FW 800...the list goes on!



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Skier View Post


    Hi



    I have checked the technical specs which state "2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display", but having searched the net it looks as if the maximum is 1440 by 900 but that may be to the internal screen.



  • Reply 4 of 5
    wjhmhwjhmh Posts: 55member
    This the same card I have in my MBP, it's good to know I can run the 30" Cinema Display but I wanted also to know the limitations to 1st person shooter gaming software.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by WJHMH View Post


    This the same card I have in my MBP, it's good to know I can run the 30" Cinema Display but I wanted also to know the limitations to 1st person shooter gaming software.



    Any portable you buy that will be used for gaming should have the best graphics and specs you can afford. Beyond that, there is no way to future proof a purchase. The tech development cycle just moves too fast.
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