Connect Macbook Air 2011 to DisplayPort Monitor

[CasperCL]

I'm struggling to connect my MacBook Air from 2011 (running 10.11.2) to my Acer XB270HU G-Sync. My monitor carries a DisplayPort and has no other ports except USB.

I've tried a passive (male) mini-DisplayPort to (female) DisplayPort adapter, in combination with a male to male DB cable. However my monitor remains black and does not detect any signal from my MacBook. I've also tried a mini-DP to DP cable and again with the same results. The 'Displays' menu in System Preferences shows no external monitors.
I've been trying to make this work for quite some time now, searched all fora, but could not find a similar issue.
What is the correct setup to connect my MacBook Air from 2011 to my DP Display?

 

[cruisin]

Monitors are plug and play so there isn't much you can do. It either works or it doesn't.

Does this monitor work with anything else, are you sure it works? Did you select DisplayPort as the input on the monitor? Is the monitor actually on? Most monitors show "No Input" if they are on and nothing is connected.

If you are sure the cable is ok, then either the monitor is not set to DisplayPort for input or you have a broken monitor port on your Mac. Do you have a local store with demo monitors (Apple store, Best Buy, etc)? They might be able to let you try one out.

 

[CasperCL]

Hi cruisin! First of all, thank you for your reply : )

Does this monitor work with anything else, are you sure it works? Did you select DisplayPort as the input on the monitor? Is the monitor actually on? Most monitors show "No Input" if they are on and nothing is connected.​

Yes when I hook it up to my PC running Windows 10 with a GTX 970, it just works. I never had to install drivers either.
Maybe worth mentioning: when I boot into Yosemite on the PC (it's a hackintosh) the screen remains black (NVidia drivers installed), something that does not happen with my old DVI screen.

If you are sure the cable is ok, then either the monitor is not set to DisplayPort for input or you have a broken monitor port on your Mac. Do you have a local store with demo monitors (Apple store, Best Buy, etc)? They might be able to let you try one out.​

I've bought two cables (mini-DP to DP) and both produce the same result, so it's definitely not the cable. The MacBook is capable of outputting to my old old screen via a mini-DP to VGA adapter, so it could not be the case that the port is broken : (

 

[cruisin]

when I hook it up to my PC running Windows 10 with a GTX 970, it just works.

Just to confirm, Windows with DisplayPort works?

when I boot into Yosemite on the PC (it's a hackintosh) the screen remains black (NVidia drivers installed), something that does not happen with my old DVI screen.

Mac is really iffy about supporting unofficial GPUs. You might need to check if you have a supported card for your hackintosh.

That said, there is some evidence that the screen has a terrible DisplayPort implementation: http://community.acer.com/t5/Monitors/XB270HU-DisplayPort-issues-quot-No-Signal-quot/td-p/390385

Re: XB270HU DisplayPort issues - "No Signal"
October
Hey,
I'm getting a similar problem with my XG270HU, it works fine out of the box with a HDMI cable, but shows no signal when i plug in a Disply port one. Unless i get it all up and running with HDMI and the plug the display port cable in and manually change input from HDMI to DP.

You might get the screen to work with HDMI instead.

 

[CasperCL]

Thanks again for your reply, cruising. Yes it works on Windows. My monitor only has a DisplayPort and no HDMI so I guess my MacBook doomed D:

 

[CasperCL]

Turns out it was indeed my MacBook; probably the GPU. I've tried my MacBook Pro early 2015 and MacBook Air early 2015 (from work) and they both were able to output to the display..