Two Displays with a laptop?

hledgardhledgard
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I currently have an older 13" macBook Pro with a 24" display and the laptop as the second display. I would like to have a full second display.



I notice the 15" and 17" laptops have two video cards, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 256MB. Does this mean I can use another display?



If not I think there is no simple solution. True?



Thanks all of you for your great help to all of us !



Henry Ledgard

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    rokcet scientistrokcet scientist Posts: 962member
    Current MBPs can run one extra screen. Apple.com's spec sheet says: "Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on one external display (like Apple's 30" Cinema Display), at millions of colors".

    iMacs also support one external screen (2560x1600; 30").

    MacPros support up to eight external screens (2560x1600; 30")!
  • Reply 2 of 5
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,326moderator
    DisplayPort was supposed to have the ability to support multiple screens on one connection but I haven't seen it in practice. I have seen USB display adaptors like this one:



    http://sewelldirect.com/USB-to-DVI-E...Resolution.asp



    They do work but they lag because USB 2 bandwidth isn't that high. I heard they'd improved them though, which is why they can now support higher resolutions so maybe they don't lag so much. I'd still only use the solution for emails or application palettes.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    rokcet scientistrokcet scientist Posts: 962member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    DisplayPort was supposed to have the ability to support multiple screens on one connection but I haven't seen it in practice. I have seen USB display adaptors like this one:



    http://sewelldirect.com/USB-to-DVI-E...Resolution.asp



    They do work but they lag because USB 2 bandwidth isn't that high. I heard they'd improved them though, which is why they can now support higher resolutions so maybe they don't lag so much. I'd still only use the solution for emails or application palettes.



    I'm guessing that's pretty useless. They not only lag: their highest resolution is 1600 x 1200. I don't think either is what users look for in a second (or third, fourth, etc.) display...
  • Reply 4 of 5
    jupiteronejupiterone Posts: 1,564member
    Hey everyone, sorry if this is a bit off topic....



    My 2006 MBP thinks there are two displays. Occasionally when it wakes from sleep, it will have some huge 800x600 resolution set. If I hit Fn+F7 (I think), it switches back to the correct resolution. In System preferences, it shows two displays too.



    Is there a way to get rid of this phantom 2nd display?
  • Reply 5 of 5
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,326moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JupiterOne View Post


    Hey everyone, sorry if this is a bit off topic....



    My 2006 MBP thinks there are two displays. Occasionally when it wakes from sleep, it will have some huge 800x600 resolution set. If I hit Fn+F7 (I think), it switches back to the correct resolution. In System preferences, it shows two displays too.



    Is there a way to get rid of this phantom 2nd display?



    Try plugging a display into it and unplugging. You can also try deleting your display prefs, /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist.
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