big ass monitors

[slinky0390]

... just wondering what size monitor you guys are running with your 12" g4 powerbook. i want to get a 27'' lcd tv and use that but im not sure if the powerbook can support that much screen

[Bear]

... just wondering what size monitor you guys are running with your 12" g4 powerbook. i want to get a 27'' lcd tv and use that but im not sure if the powerbook can support that much screenIt's not the screen size, it's the resolution of the screen that matters.

[slinky0390]

the resolution is 1280 by 768.. i think thats what it is... i noticed that that resolution isnt listed on the display options.. will my powerbook detect the monitor and change to that resolution or am i just **** outa luck

[bousozoku]

the resolution is 1280 by 768.. i think thats what it is... i noticed that that resolution isnt listed on the display options.. will my powerbook detect the monitor and change to that resolution or am i just **** outa luck

If the PowerBook is connected to the display, it should detect it and display the resolution.

[adk]

that is gonna look like crap. A 15" powerbook is 1440x960. Have fun with that.

[jayscheuerle]

I've been using my iBook G4 spanning to a HDTV 1280 x 720 for about a year. Type's a little small from the coffee table with the wireless keyboard and mouse. Your VRAM gets split in half. With my iBook, that means I miss out on some graphic effects. My TV is a Westinghouse, and when I plugged it in, the resolution not only came up, but there was a 27" Westinghouse color profile available to select in the Displays Control Panel.

[jayscheuerle]

that is gonna look like crap. A 15" powerbook is 1440x960. Have fun with that.

Looks like HDTV. From TV viewing distance it looks great AND slideshows in iPhoto look phenomenal. Yes, the resolution is a little low for palette-heavy apps, but it's great for web-surfing and email.

[Josh]

http://www.shopzoo.com/images_large/0333286.jpg


oh...

[slinky0390]

I've been using my iBook G4 spanning to a HDTV 1280 x 720 for about a year. Type's a little small from the coffee table with the wireless keyboard and mouse. Your VRAM gets split in half. With my iBook, that means I miss out on some graphic effects. My TV is a Westinghouse, and when I plugged it in, the resolution not only came up, but there was a 27" Westinghouse color profile available to select in the Displays Control Panel.

if i got a 19 or 20 inch will the vram sill have a significant loss, cus i want to get this monitor for editing video

[jayscheuerle]

if i got a 19 or 20 inch will the vram sill have a significant loss, cus i want to get this monitor for editing video

Mirroring the display means no video loss, but you're stuck with your portable's resolution. Spanning displays halves the VRAM. Half for each.

[Merf]

Ass Monitors smell the worst.

Merf

[jayscheuerle]

oh...

Hah... Took me a second.

[slinky0390]

Mirroring the display means no video loss, but you're stuck with your portable's resolution. Spanning displays halves the VRAM. Half for each.

what if i was going to run the powerbook with the lid closed

[ITASOR]

what if i was going to run the powerbook with the lid closed

Then you use all your VRAM on the other screen. That's what you wanna do!

[jayscheuerle]

Then you use all your VRAM on the other screen. That's what you wanna do!

Unfortunately, with mirroring, the only option will be to display the powerbook's resolution on the external monitor. Seeing that the powerbook's display is 3:4 and the HDTV is 16:10, you'll either have black bars or a stretched out image.

[slinky0390]

kk.. well instead of just kinda getting half answers that confuse me.. lol.. im planning on using the monitor as the primary display when im at my desk, and i want to use the powerbook with the lid closed. what size monitor would you reccomend for a 12" g4 powerbook, or a monitor that would work flawlessly with a 12" powerbook. a dell 19" lcd tv with the resolution of 1280x768, a westinghouse 27" lcd tv with the resolution of 1280x768, or a 20" apple display with the resolution of 1680x1050. oh by the way the all have 6.7 million colors.

[jayscheuerle]

what if i was going to run the powerbook with the lid closed

From what I can tell in Apple's Support, you're still losing VRAM if Mirroring is activated. It sounds like you'll be wanting to span instead of just mirror, because of the aspect ration differences. Turn down the resolution and bit depth and refresh rate on your powerbook so that it demands as little VRAM as possible.

[aquajet]

Mirroring the display means no video loss, but you're stuck with your portable's resolution. Spanning displays halves the VRAM. Half for each.

Mirroring also requires splitting VRAM between both monitors.

[jayscheuerle]

Mirroring also requires splitting VRAM between both monitors.

I can't find anywhere that says it does so in clamshell mode, where ONLY an external monitor is driven. I've been looking around for a bit..

[jayscheuerle]

kk.. well instead of just kinda getting half answers that confuse me.. lol.. im planning on using the monitor as the primary display when im at my desk, and i want to use the powerbook with the lid closed. what size monitor would you reccomend for a 12" g4 powerbook, or a monitor that would work flawlessly with a 12" powerbook. a dell 19" lcd tv with the resolution of 1280x768, a westinghouse 27" lcd tv with the resolution of 1280x768, or a 20" apple display with the resolution of 1680x1050. oh by the way the all have 6.7 million colors.

VRAM isn't as important to Video work as it is to games, so you should be fine with the higher VRAM Powerbook even if you have to split it. Again, with mirroring, your external monitor will have the same resolution as your powerbook. I only have an iBook, so I don't know if in clamshell mode you can use a higher resolution. If you are using this machine as a work machine, I would go with the higher resolution Apple Display. You'll appreciate the extra space. 1280 x 720 doesn't leave me much room for palettes.

[slinky0390]

VRAM isn't as important to Video work as it is to games, so you should be fine with the higher VRAM Powerbook even if you have to split it. Again, with mirroring, your external monitor will have the same resolution as your powerbook. I only have an iBook, so I don't know if in clamshell mode you can use a higher resolution. If you are using this machine as a work machine, I would go with the higher resolution Apple Display. You'll appreciate the extra space. 1280 x 720 doesn't leave me much room for palettes.

ok.. im under the assumption that when an external monitor is plugged into the powerbook, the monitors optimal resolution comes up in the display pane. correct me if im wrong.. im just kinda concerned about all of this because its a pricey purchace and i dont want to screw up. the whole reason for the larger monitor is because i have been doing tons of video and photoshop editng and ive been getting eyestrain headaches mainly because im sitting 2 inches from my laptop so i can see every detail

[jayscheuerle]

That's my GUESS from what this non-Powerbook owning user can read.

I'd go to Apple's Powerbook forums if you're concerned.

My own personal knowledge base is exhausted. Good luck! :)

[aquajet]

I can't find anywhere that says it does so in clamshell mode, where ONLY an external monitor is driven. I've been looking around for a bit..

When I use my Powerbook in clamshell mode, all VRAM is used by the external monitor.

[slinky0390]

When I use my Powerbook in clamshell mode, all VRAM is used by the external monitor.
hmm.. im getting confused, im gonna sound like a newb but, what is the definition of VRAM and what is it used for

[aquajet]

hmm.. im getting confused, im gonna sound like a newb but, what is the definition of VRAM and what is it used for


Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_RAM out

Your 12" PowerBook should have either 32mb or 64mb VRAM. If it's 1.33 Ghz or faster, then it has 64mb. Slower than that, 32mb.

[jayscheuerle]

When I use my Powerbook in clamshell mode, all VRAM is used by the external monitor.

Sweet! Can you select resolutions higher than your powerbook's native display size?

[aquajet]

Sweet! Can you select resolutions higher than your powerbook's native display size?

Of course...not sure what the maximum supported resolution is, but on my old Radius CRT it'll go up to 1600x1200.

[Bear]

Sweet! Can you select resolutions higher than your powerbook's native display size?Yes. The exact resolution depends on what model powerbook you have.

Using VGA or DVI, PowerBooks from the past few years (at least) can go up to 1920x1200. The recent PowerBooks that have dual-link DVI can drive the 30" display (2560x1600) as well.

[Blind Buzzard]

I'm jumpin into this thread off a whim, but will I get good resolution hooking my fairly new iBook 12in laptop up to a 2405FPW 24-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD from Dell?

Will I get full resolution with the laptop closed and using just the external Monitor/keyboard/mouse?

[atari1356]

I'm jumpin into this thread off a whim, but will I get good resolution hooking my fairly new iBook 12in laptop up to a 2405FPW 24-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD from Dell?

Will I get full resolution with the laptop closed and using just the external Monitor/keyboard/mouse?

iBooks were not designed to be used with the lid closed... that's only a feature of PowerBooks:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88199
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86286

[robbieduncan]

iBooks were not designed to be used with the lid closed... that's only a feature of PowerBooks:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88199
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86286

Also you need the well known spanning hack (http://www.rutemoeller.com/mp/ibook/ibook_e.html) to use an iBook in anything but mirror mode.

[buryyourbrideau]

I'm jumpin into this thread off a whim, but will I get good resolution hooking my fairly new iBook 12in laptop up to a 2405FPW 24-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD from Dell?

Will I get full resolution with the laptop closed and using just the external Monitor/keyboard/mouse?

If you use your iBook in clamshell mode then say goodbye to your computer.

Might as well just cook an egg on the mother board

FRIED!

[jayscheuerle]

I'm jumpin into this thread off a whim, but will I get good resolution hooking my fairly new iBook 12in laptop up to a 2405FPW 24-inch Wide Aspect Flat Panel LCD from Dell?

Will I get full resolution with the laptop closed and using just the external Monitor/keyboard/mouse?

You can use Screen Spanning Doctor (see hack above) to enable spanning to your Dell at its native resolution. There is also a hack that enables clamshell mode, but since your iBook releases heat through the keyboard, this is not recommended, BUT if you look in the forums for SSD, you'll find that there is a way to have your iBook ONLY use the external monitor (with all VRAM allocated to it) with the iBook open. It involves waking the iBook from sleep via an external USB or Bluetooth device while it's closed and then opening it. Hunt around.

[Blind Buzzard]

Hmmm.......

Seems I should have done a little more research. I may have been better off with a PB!!!!

[jayscheuerle]

Hmmm.......

Seems I should have done a little more research. I may have been better off with a PB!!!!

In terms of the 12", the general consensus is that the Powerbook isn't worth the dollar difference. I keep my iBook on end, A-frame style, open about an inch, on a shelf under my HDTV, which it powers as a 2nd monitor via screen spanning. Hasn't been a lick of trouble.

[nykansukee]

The Dell 24" has been going for less than $500

[slinky0390]

yeah im pretty sure the ibook vents from the keyboard.. so it would make it impossible to run it in any sort of clamshell mode with out doing dammage to the mobo or built in lcd

[Koodauw]

Hah... Took me a second.

I don't get it. Clue me in?

[jayscheuerle]

I don't get it. Clue me in?

That's a picture of a Big Ass Monitor... Lizard. :D

[jmufellow]

That's a picture of a Big Ass Monitor... Lizard. :D
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_lizard