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Can MBP Adequately run 30" Display?

zer0tails

zer0tails

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Mar 23, 2008
1,224
0
Canada
I have a question, that i hope you guys could help me with.

I want to use a 30" monitor Apple/Dell/Samsung with my macbook pro 2.4, penryn, with 4 GB Ram.

Can this MBP adequately run the 30" monitor? I know technically it can, but I am looking for anyone to share first hand experience.

I am afraid the MBP 2.4 will not be powerful enough to play HD movies on the 30" and there'll be significant lag, or being slow etc.

thanks, I appreciate the advice! :)
 
30" screen

I've seen a crappy dell dimension 4300 with a standard SVGA connection running a 30" LCD monitor, surfing and running office apps., without problems. I didn't check resolution because I was disgusted because the monitor was really nice but the computer was so crappy.

The dell monitor model: 3007WFP runs at 2560x1600 on DVI, but I don't think that'll be a problem for the MBP when just surfing, office apps. or playing videos and DVDs. You may just encounter a few stuttering problems running heavy 3D applications, like video games, at that high resolution, but then again the MBPs in the apple store right now run the nvidia 8600m which is a pretty powerful card for a laptop.

My opinion is to recommend getting a Samsung LCD if you can. They come with superblack, which is really nice. I have a 22" Samsung Syncmaster 220wm and used a pantone huey to calibrate it. The Samsung comes out of the box out of gamut and is wayyyy too bright. I think all LCDs come out of the box with crappy color and brightness. The samsung LCDs don't have a glossy screen either. The ultrasharp dells usually have that stupid glossy screen coating that reflects every light source in the room and detracts from image quality.

If you really have the money though, get the LG LCD monitor. I like the image quality, speed and brightness the most on those but they are almost always the most expensive LCDs in comparison to Apple/Dell/Samsung. YMMV

The reason why I haven't said anything about the apple monitors is because I haven't used them for any significant period of time and I absolutely hate monitors with white frames.
 
fuzorsilverbolt said:
The dell monitor model: 3007WFP runs at 2560x1600 on DVI, but I don't think that'll be a problem for the MBP when just surfing, office apps. or playing videos and DVDs. You may just encounter a few stuttering problems running heavy 3D applications, like video games, at that high resolution, but then again the MBPs in the apple store right now run the nvidia 8600m which is a pretty powerful card for a laptop.
Click to expand...

Also the Dell 3007WFP is all S-IPS panels so you get excellent color reproduction out of the box.

You should have no issues with the video playback because that's taken care of by the PureVideo HD decoder. Gaming is another story.
 
It runs the 30" display beautifully. It's designed to do it.

We've run it here in the store and it's works just fine. More than enough grunt to run it.
 
I think the reason I asked this question in the first place was because I read in some other thread on MacRumors, where some posters said the MBP 2.4 penryn's 256 VRAm and 3 MB L2 cache, would not work too well, be laggy on a 30" monitor. Something about it being split to 128 between the MBP and 30" monitor.

Good to know some of you have no problems with it. I'm definitely aiming for an S-IPS panel, not too many options there. But main thing was finding out this MBP can handle a big monitor.
 
zer0tails said:
I think the reason I asked this question in the first place was because I read in some other thread on MacRumors, where some posters said the MBP 2.4 penryn's 256 VRAm and 3 MB L2 cache, would not work too well, be laggy on a 30" monitor.

Good to know some of you have no problems with it. I'm definitely aiming for an S-IPS panel, not too many options there. But main thing was finding out this MBP can handle a big monitor.
Click to expand...

It's absolutely fine.

Hell, the PowerBook G4's were able to use the 30" towards the end of their life and they ran it just fine too.
 
zer0tails said:
lol the G4's really? Ok, well, that settles it then :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, they came with dual-link DVI card first as an option then standard and they ran them no worries.

The graphics card in them and the MacBook Pros was designed to be able to cope with the 30" out of the box.

You will be splitting the VRAM between the two screens unless you run the MBP with the lid closed (keyboard, mouse and power adapter attached) in which case all the VRAM is directed to the external display.
 
I have a Dell 3008WFP and I tested out a mates latest model mid range 15" MBP on it recently and it is great for general use. It was all very smooth.

However, while we didn't test any games, I am sure there is no way the 8600 will handle any moderately recent game at 2560x1600... the 9800GTX and 9800GX2 are only just getting there now...
 
I just bought a used 3007wfp for $800. Pretty good deal.

I gotta say... for not being an Apple product... I still love it!

Damn me :)

What a difference when video editing!
 
I have the 3007WFP from Dell and it runs with my MacBook Pro 17" fine. I have the first Core Duo 17" MBP with the X1600 256MB graphics card also. Windows were smooth, no tearing visible it ran fine. I'd expect newer models to work just as well as my older model.
 
It will run, yes, but resolution is a bit rough for the internal gfx of mbp.

For example:

I have a 2.6Ghz 17" MBP connected to 30" and as soon as I hit 15 or more open windows, expose gets very choppy.

To compare: A Mac Pro with 8800 gfx easily handles 30 windows expose.
 
Don.Key said:
It will run, yes, but resolution is a bit rough for the internal gfx of mbp.

For example:

I have a 2.6Ghz 17" MBP connected to 30" and as soon as I hit 15 or more open windows, expose gets very choppy.

To compare: A Mac Pro with 8800 gfx easily handles 30 windows expose.
Click to expand...

But does the display mode you're using make any difference or is it the same? For example is it any better if you use the MBP in clamshell mode thus meaning the video card (chip) only has to render to one display and can also allocate all the video RAM to the ACD?
 
Don.Key said:
It will run, yes, but resolution is a bit rough for the internal gfx of mbp.

For example:

I have a 2.6Ghz 17" MBP connected to 30" and as soon as I hit 15 or more open windows, expose gets very choppy.

To compare: A Mac Pro with 8800 gfx easily handles 30 windows expose.
Click to expand...

that's really gotta be the drivers and osx..not the card. I mean..if I can play Oblivion on medium-high settings at 1440x900, it can handle a 2d animation of windows moving around the screen.......I refuse to believe that you need a 8800GT to do something that simple.
 
well everyone. I'm gonna go pick up a cinema display tomorrow, unless Steve announces some new cinema displays then I'm going to wait till they start shipping.:D but gut feeling says he won't.

Anyways, anyone care to help me?

I'm still undecided as to whether i should get the 23" or 30" as some people say they run them well, and others say expose gets choppy with 15 windows running.

I always have some video/itunes running and spread sheets, and photoshop on, in addition to a bunch of webpages. So i know i will not like the choppiness in expose. But having so many apps/pages open is the reason why i want the 30" since I won't have to switch between different windows but can have it all nicely in one.

I know some people say to run the mBP in clam shell mode. I have no problems with doing that but just running it open..it already gets pretty hot..what will happen if its closed??

decisions, decisions..decisions..
 
zer0tails said:
well everyone. I'm gonna go pick up a cinema display tomorrow, unless Steve announces some new cinema displays then I'm going to wait till they start shipping.:D but gut feeling says he won't.

Anyways, anyone care to help me?

I'm still undecided as to whether i should get the 23" or 30" as some people say they run them well, and others say expose gets choppy with 15 windows running.

I always have some video/itunes running and spread sheets, and photoshop on, in addition to a bunch of webpages. So i know i will not like the choppiness in expose. But having so many apps/pages open is the reason why i want the 30" since I won't have to switch between different windows but can have it all nicely in one.

I know some people say to run the mBP in clam shell mode. I have no problems with doing that but just running it open..it already gets pretty hot..what will happen if its closed??

decisions, decisions..decisions..
Click to expand...

apples are way overpriced and have only 1 dvi input vs a lot of others have additional inputs to plug in an xbox or a dvr to get live tv or something
 
Freyqq said:
apples are way overpriced and have only 1 dvi input vs a lot of others have additional inputs to plug in an xbox or a dvr to get live tv or something
Click to expand...

you're absolutely right, I won't argue. But a few reasons I want it: goes with my mbp. it has an s-ips panel. it just looks good. I don't own an xbox or dvr, or ps3 so won't be needing the inputs anyways.

The thing is..i convinced myself once that apple displays were overpriced and bought a 22" samsung. I enjoyed it for 6 months but all the time regretted I didn't get a cinema display. So I know i won't be satisfied unless i get one..only issue is which size to get. :)
 
zer0tails said:
you're absolutely right, I won't argue. But a few reasons I want it: goes with my mbp. it has an s-ips panel. it just looks good. I don't own an xbox or dvr, or ps3 so won't be needing the inputs anyways.

The thing is..i convinced myself once that apple displays were overpriced and bought a 22" samsung. I enjoyed it for 6 months but all the time regretted I didn't get a cinema display. So I know i won't be satisfied unless i get one..only issue is which size to get. :)
Click to expand...

fair enough but just so you know apple isn't the only company that has s-ips 30" screens
 
I ran this type of setup (MBP with 30") for a while, and often had many windows open. I now run it with a Mac Pro, but did not replace the MBP due to any problems with it running a 30".

It is true that if you are extremely critical, have a ton of windows open, and have dual screens going (MBP and the 30") there may be a bit of choppiness with the graphics. However, I personally did not find that this had any substantial impact on workflow / efficiency / productivity.

Additionally, clamshell mode allow all the graphics card RAM to be allocated to the one display, and this pretty much eliminated any minor issues that I noted. The MBP is designed to work in clamshell mode, but may get a little hotter, and I found the founds did rev up a bit. However, this can be addressed by using "clamshell" mode, but opening up the lid to allow ventilation.
 
Scottyk9 said:
I ran this type of setup (MBP with 30") for a while, and often had many windows open. I now run it with a Mac Pro, but did not replace the MBP due to any problems with it running a 30".

It is true that if you are extremely critical, have a ton of windows open, and have dual screens going (MBP and the 30") there may be a bit of choppiness with the graphics. However, I personally did not find that this had any substantial impact on workflow / efficiency / productivity.

Additionally, clamshell mode allow all the graphics card RAM to be allocated to the one display, and this pretty much eliminated any minor issues that I noted. The MBP is designed to work in clamshell mode, but may get a little hotter, and I found the founds did rev up a bit. However, this can be addressed by using "clamshell" mode, but opening up the lid to allow ventilation.
Click to expand...

thanks Scotty9 :) for sharing your experience. That last suggestion is rather ingenious! If you don't mind me asking, how much VRAM did your MBP have? And, is there a noticeable difference now that you're running it on your mac pro?
 
zer0tails said:
thanks Scotty9 :) for sharing your experience. That last suggestion is rather ingenious! If you don't mind me asking, how much VRAM did your MBP have? And, is there a noticeable difference now that you're running it on your mac pro?
Click to expand...

256 of vram

The last question is difficult to answer, as there are likely many other reasons for performance gains with the MP unrelated to the vram (I had a 4200 rpm drive in the MBP as at the time this was the only speed that would offer 200gb of space).
 
Scottyk9 said:
256 of vram

The last question is difficult to answer, as there are likely many other reasons for performance gains with the MP unrelated to the vram (I had a 4200 rpm drive in the MBP as at the time this was the only speed that would offer 200gb of space).
Click to expand...

good answer. I didn't think HD speed mattered though.

I think what I'll do is bring in my MBP to the store and ask if they'll let me connect it to a 30" for a hands on test.
 
I have a 17" CD MBP running a 30" ACD in clamshell. This is my permanent set-up. I've had it for about 18 months, no complaints at all. The only problem I have is that the gfx card in the MBP is crapping out which is causing some problems -freezes, choppiness, rogue lazy pixels which leave tracers if the window is moved, artifacting, sparkleing in black areas of the screen. All these problems are mirrored on both screens if I use mirroring in the display preferences, hence I am certain it is the gfx card. Again, this is because the gfx card has a problem, not a problem of a MBP running a 30" display. Hopefully this will be fixed next week when I can finally get to an Apple Store.

The only problem you will find is when you have to use a smaller screen after getting used to BIG windows which can be left open and moved around the screen for various multi tasking activities.
 
thanks anttonine.

So...i'm assuming there won't be any predictions of cinema displays at the wwdc? Anyone say it's a good time to buy?
 
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