30" Cinema Display to PC Connection

[Mott's]

Hi All,

I've unfortunately been issued a work PC, so I'm wondering if there is a way to take advantage of the real estate (not resolution) of my 30" ACD. The only way I think this will work is by doing the following:

1. Connecting the MiniDisplay cable from the Dual-Link DVI adapter into:

2. Mini DisplayPort Coupler (Female to Female)

3.Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter

Is this a solution or should I prepare myself for failure? Is there a better way to do this?

Thanks!

 

[Transporteur]

The 30" requires a dualLink DVI connection, not mini DisplayPort, so forget ALL the adapters you've got there.

Basically all PCs these days have a dualLink DVI port, so no adapter required, it's just plug and play.

 

[Mott's]

The first adapter is what I use to connect to my MB i7 now (i.e., going from Dual-Link to MiniDisplay). Unfortunately, the PC is a laptop with a VGA port (no Dual-Link DVI). So I guess that offers a second option, which using a Dual-Link DVI female to VGA mail adapter. Would that work?

 

[innominato5090]

The first adapter is what I use to connect to my MB i7 now (i.e., going from Dual-Link to MiniDisplay). Unfortunately, the PC is a laptop with a VGA port (no Dual-Link DVI). So I guess that offers a second option, which using a Dual-Link DVI female to VGA mail adapter. Would that work?

no, for at least a couple of reasons

i) the mini displayport to VGA adapter is passive, it means that it's designed to hook up vga displays to a mac with mini displayport and nothing else.
ii) VGA resolution is limited to 1920*1200, while the cinema display is 2560*1600

plus, if your video card has only one VGA port, it's probably too old to push so many pixels smoothly. Consider an upgrade.
EDIT: I've just read that you want to connect your laptop, not a desktop. sorry, there no solution in this case.

 

[alust2013]

You won't be able to get full res, but you could get a VGA-DVI adapter and try that.

 

[Transporteur]

The Cinema Display doesn't work with VGA. It requires a digital input, which is either single link DVI (1280x800) or dual link (2560x1600).

There is no way around this but to buy another display or different computer.