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Incendo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2007
6
0
Vancouver, Canada
Hi

I currently have a 17" G4 PowerBook which I LOVE. The only problem is that I'm a graphic designer and need more screen real estate. I've been considering purchasing a 30" ACD and waited for MacWorld hoping that an upgraded version with higher specs would be announced. Sadly, it wasn't and I don't want to keep waiting indefinitely for Apple to update their displays. I've heard some good reports about HP's new 24" monitor (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/e...2136-12142136-12142136-12142200-12401740.html) and on the surface, the specs seem to be a lot higher than Apple's 23" monitor and the price is cheaper. Currently, I can purchase the HP for $999 CDN while the 23” ACD is $1,099. Also the HP comes with a three-year on-site warranty while the ACD only has a 1-year warranty. I'm considering purchasing 2 of HP displays, which would give me acres of screen space. Soooooo . . . a couple of questions:

1. Is my 1.67 GHz, G4 PowerBook capable of driving 2 x 24" monitors simultaneously?

2. Does anyone have any experience with the HP monitors and if so, would you recommend them?

As a loyal Mac user for the last 12 years, it irks me to even consider purchasing a product from HP. However, I just can’t justify spending more money for a product with lower specification. Any advice / assistance would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

:)
 

rogersmj

macrumors 68020
Sep 10, 2006
2,161
1
Indianapolis, IN
Do you see two graphics connectors on your PB? No. To my knowledge, no notebook is able to drive more than one external display. There's hackish ways around this, such as Matrox's DualHead2Go or whatever it's called, but it's a nasty solution, requires you to use VGA, costs a lot, and doesn't work well with Macs.
 

oceanmonster

macrumors regular
Jan 15, 2007
152
0
I don't think that you can drive two external monitors at the same time. I have a thirteen inch macbook with a 17 inch viewsonic lcd. I'd wait a few more weeks for apple to see if they update their monitor line. Especially if they put iSight cameras in them. I'd save up and get one of apples big cinema displays.
 

Incendo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2007
6
0
Vancouver, Canada
Dual 24" displays for G4 PowerBook?

Many thanks to both of your for the quick response. Well, I guess its back to the waiting game for an updated 30". I've heard that Samsung has just released a higher spec 30" and also a 27" but I don't think they are available yet. Hmmmmmmm . . . this waiting is killing me!

Thanks again for your help.
 

Lord Blackadder

macrumors P6
May 7, 2004
15,662
5,496
Sod off
Yes, it is possible to run dual external displays (giving a total of three including the PowerBook's built-in screen) on many Powerbooks using a PCMCIA slot video adapter - it ain't particularly cheap, but if you're a professional that exclusively uses the laptop it may well be worth it.

I guess the price really isn't all that horrible, considering how much "Mac Edition" video cards cost - when you can find them.
 

Fuchal

macrumors 68030
Sep 30, 2003
2,603
1,057
You can, however, drive the one 24" display and use the 17" powerbook display simultaneously like two monitors.
 
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