Dual External Monitors

[Tochill]

Hello, first post!
I was wondering if it was possible to utilize dual external monitors with the Macbook pro's. With my thinkpad and a port rep I can use dual monitors as long as I keep the lid closed on the laptop. Is this possible with the new macbook's that were released today?
Thanks,

 

[spinnerlys]

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/



+ http://mroogle.*************/MRoogle.gif

 

[2contagious]

Matrox DualHead2Go
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/

There's also a TripleHead2Go version for connecting 3 screens:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/

 

[Tochill]

Matrox DualHead2Go
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/dh2go/

There's also a TripleHead2Go version for connecting 3 screens:
http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/products/gxm/th2go/

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.... Do you know if it extends your desktop or just stretches.

From reading it looks like it just stretches the display across three monitors.
Thanks again!

 

[archdelux]

Does anyone know if there is a cheaper option out there?

Also, just want to confirm since this is a bit unclear..if I were to get the dual output module, I can connect the MBP to two external monitors and use an extended desktop across all three, correct?

 

[Eddyisgreat]

From reading it looks like it just stretches the display across three monitors.
Thanks again!

If using the new Macbook Pro, You may want to investigate the DisplayPort versions rather than the DVI based version , which should allow you to operate all the monitors independently vs DVI which will stretch the display.

However you'll have to ask Matrox if they know whether or not the new Macbook Pro's utilize the DisplayPort 1.2 specification which handles daisy chaining. I can't find any information on it.

 

[kayloh20]

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.... Do you know if it extends your desktop or just stretches.

From reading it looks like it just stretches the display across three monitors.
Thanks again!

I wouldn't call it stretching per say. But basically the box combines the external monitors. So if you have two 1920 x 1200 screens, then your Mac will think you just connected a 3840 x 1200 screen and will handle it as a 3840 x 1200 screen.

The only alternative to true extension is either the USB video cards (terrible) or the ExpressCard video cards (expensive and limited to the 2.5 Gb/s ExpressCard cap...so high-end graphics cards won't do any better than the mid-range ones).

 

[klee261]

i got the matrox dualhead2go dp edition (with the displayport cables) and have had no luck getting my MBP to even detect the screens.

i'm trying to connect 2 24" dell monitors. Has anyone had any luck setting this up?

I've installed the Mac Drivers from Matrox and am running 10.6.3

 

[gagaliya]

$200 wtf, i cant just connect 2 cables from mbp output to 2 monitors?

 

[gawin]

i'm trying to connect 2 24" dell monitors. Has anyone had any luck setting this up?

I am successfully running two 1920x1200 monitors attached to a 13" MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.1.

I've installed the Mac Drivers from Matrox and am running 10.6.3

Apple decided to lower the output voltage on the DisplayPort to save power since 10.6.2. This causes the Matrox DualHead2Go DP edition to no longer function correctly. Matrox and Apple are aware of the problem since november 2009, but are not actively working on a solution.

DualHead2Go DP is therefor not compatible with 10.6.2 and 10.6.3, which is not stated on the Matrox product information website.

Apple's position: Matrox made external hardware that fails, it is their problem.
Matrox's position: Apple changed OS X, Apple will need to fix it.

As a developer I need the latest version of OS X, for example to install Xcode, test iOS 4 and Safari 5 etc. It is quite frustrating that I can not upgrade OS X, since it will make the DH2G DP useless.

 

[Bill Gates]

I am successfully running two 1920x1200 monitors attached to a 13" MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.1.



Apple decided to lower the output voltage on the DisplayPort to save power since 10.6.2. This causes the Matrox DualHead2Go DP edition to no longer function correctly. Matrox and Apple are aware of the problem since november 2009, but are not actively working on a solution.

DualHead2Go DP is therefor not compatible with 10.6.2 and 10.6.3, which is not stated on the Matrox product information website.

Apple's position: Matrox made external hardware that fails, it is their problem.
Matrox's position: Apple changed OS X, Apple will need to fix it.

As a developer I need the latest version of OS X, for example to install Xcode, test iOS 4 and Safari 5 etc. It is quite frustrating that I can not upgrade OS X, since it will make the DH2G DP useless.

Reading the footnote here, it appears that it works fine provided that "Higher Performance" is selected. I don't know if the problem affects the newest models.

Mac Mini, iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro systems equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics running Snow Leopard 10.6.2 or 10.6.3 may display image corruption at dual screen resolutions above 2880x900 (2x 1440x900). To work around this problem, re-install Snow Leopard 10.6.0 from the original install disk (then optionally install the 10.6.1 update from Apple's website. Note that MacBook Pro users can avoid the display corruption by going into System Preferences, Energy Saver, and selecting the "Higher performance" option (if available).

 

[gawin]

Reading the footnote here, it appears that it works fine provided that "Higher Performance" is selected. I don't know if the problem affects the newest models.

The footnote also said "(if available)", and unfortunately the Higher Performance mode is not available on my 13" MacBook Pro...

 

[Bill Gates]

The footnote also said "(if available)", and unfortunately the Higher Performance mode is not available on my 13" MacBook Pro...

Of course since you have the previous model with the 9400M. My post was primarily directed in clarifying that the problem you mentioned does not affect all models, and may not affect the newest 13" MBP at all, which is what the OP has, and also does not appear to affect the 15" and 17" models if "higher performance" is selected.

 

[mousouchop]

Does anyone know if there is a cheaper option out there?

Also, just want to confirm since this is a bit unclear..if I were to get the dual output module, I can connect the MBP to two external monitors and use an extended desktop across all three, correct?

You could do something like this... Kensington Universal Multi-Display Adapter http://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Un...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1276047656&sr=8-11

All of the reviews are 5 or 4 stars, and many of them confirm compatibility with Mac. I would buy one if it wasn't for the fact that i don't have a second monitor to hook up to it, nor the desk space to place said monitor. Don't think you could watch videos or play games on the external monitor connected to this device... but you could do essentially anything else.