17" performance on dual displays

Discussion in 'MacBook Pro' started by inertiat, May 29, 2010.

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  1. inertiat, May 29, 2010

    inertiat macrumors member

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    May 9, 2008
    #1
    Hi,

    I'm thinking about ordering the 17" Macbook Pro and wondering if anyone has had any experience running it with an external display as a second monitor.

    The 330M only has 512Mb of RAM which worries me for a 1920x1200 screen to begin with. Does anyone run it with a second display? If so, what resolution do you use and how smooth is window dragging and video playback?

    I plan on editing video in After Effects using both the screen and a 1680x1050 external monitor but I'm worried it may lag due to the not so great amount of video RAM. Does anyone have any honest, non-salesperson, real-world experience on the issue? :)
     
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  2. mingoglia, May 29, 2010

    mingoglia macrumors 6502

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    Dec 10, 2009
    #2
    I haven't hooked my new 17" MBP to an external monitor yet but I do have a Mac Mini with dual 23" LED's at my office as my primary machine. I know it's not what you're asking but I figured I'd mention that since the MBP has superior graphics to the mini and if the mini can do it I'd say the MBP would be great as well. My Mini works awesome with dual monitors. Oh, I'm running ????x1080 on my office monitors. I forgot what the first number is and I'm at home... but you get the idea.

    Mike

     
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  3. inertiat, May 29, 2010

    inertiat thread starter macrumors member

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    May 9, 2008
    #3
    Cheers Mike, that's very helpful. Do you ever watch HD videos when both monitors are plugged in? If so what is the playback like? Thanks
     
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  4. go.mouse, May 29, 2010

    go.mouse macrumors newbie

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    Vancouver, BC
    #4
    My 17" is running with a 30" Cinema Displaly (2560x1600) just fine. You will be okay :)
     
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  5. inertiat, May 30, 2010

    inertiat thread starter macrumors member

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    #5
    Thanks for the replies, that makes me feel much more confident in putting down an order! :D
     
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  6. ciaran00, May 30, 2010

    ciaran00 macrumors 6502

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    Mar 11, 2010
    #6
    My 13 runs a cinema 30 like a champ. I have a 6 audio channel 1080p H.264 streaming from a Drobo over an Airport Extreme playing Quicktime X in full screen and it's very smooth.

    Unbelievable.

    I can't believe I didn't switch to the 13 as my home "desktop" for this long.

    The 13 also plays Half Life 2 smooth as silk in 2560x1600 but only in my Win7 boot camp. The Mac version is a bit slower, unfortunately :(

    Edit, however I haven't tested the Mac version with just the Cinema being driven. Might have been slower because I also had my laptop screen on.
     
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  7. inertiat, May 30, 2010

    inertiat thread starter macrumors member

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    May 9, 2008
    #7
    Wow, cool! I didn't realise the you could stream video so smoothly over wireless, that's awesome. Thanks
     
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