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Dual monitor with PB 12

O

oSCho

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hi all!

I have a little question...
Does anyone know how the PB 12 handles 2 monitors?
Does it slow it down a lot (with what resolution) or can the graphic card handle the second monitor with a high resolution with no problems?

Thank you all in advance!

🙂
 
the new 12 inch has a mini dvi connection and you technichally should be able to get a mini dvi to dvi(normal) then get a dvi to adc (I have done this) and connect any flat screen to your 12inch...I haven't actually done the mini dvi to dvi but it should work. or you can just use a vga monitor....that might be more cost effective.

N
 
I have a 12" with a 20" cinema display, It works just great for general working playing dvds, videos a little final cut express and photoshop etc.

I dont play games on it but I would expect the graphics card to struggle to play newer games on the 1024x768 PB screen, let alone on the cinema display.

EDIT: For reference I have 768MB of RAM and it makes a big difference over the original 256MB.
 
i am running the first 12" G4 (867mhz) with the mini VGA out and have a 2nd CRT 17" flat face monitor. i love it, doesnt seem to slow down at all. i have noticed the fan comes on a little more often, probably because the vid card is working.

otherwise it works great and was a breeze to setup in System Prefs - Display.

i've been running the resolution on the 17" at 832 x 624 (120hz) which is pretty low but the reason i am using a 2nd monitor is for music appz where i need to see things much bigger than the 12" screen will allow.

it will handle high resolutions fine, the 17" can go up to 1600 x 1200 but 65hz is the highest refresh rate at that res. you can get higher refresh rates (i.e. less flicker) with lower resolutions. for instance at 832 x 624 i am running at 120hz, and 1024x768 will run at 100hz. i've noticed the higher the refresh rate the less it hurts your eyes and the longer you can look at the screen, and the more it will feel as comfortable as your 12" LCD
 
i am running an 800mhz g3 ibook with the spanning hack enabled. the only thing that i notice slowdown with (i don't play games) is expose which used to run smooth as silk. i'm sure on a newer, faster machine even this would not be a problem.

::edit::
i am also running the secon monitor (17" flat screen CRT) at 1600x1200 if that matters)
::edit::
 
I run my 1GHz 12" PB on an external 21" CRT at 1600x1200. It works very well. Admittedly, it's not nearly as smooth as the built-in display. Expose has a hint of choppiness, while on the internal display, it's buttery smooth.

Whenever I use dual monitor mode, with the CRT and the internal display, I do not notice much of a decrease in performance on either display. I do not play games however. Not even the iTunes visualizer drops much in performance. I also run 768MB RAM, which I assume makes a pretty big difference from the stock 256MB. Suffice to say, unless you're going to be gaming, dual monitors with the 12" PB is quite good.
 
Thank you very much everybody!

(My friend kind of scared me by telling me that he had read on the internet that the pb 12 was too slow on dual monitor...)

I'm convinced that it is a perdect computer again!
 
It handels it great :-D

I have used it with an 17"LCD from Acer 1280*1024 and it doesn't slow it down and with a TV watching DVD or avi. The Quality was stunning on both,cristal clear.
What should I say else 😉
 
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