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Dell Monitor...

acearchie

acearchie

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2006
3,264
104
I was just wondering if someone could clarify if this sort of monitor would work with my PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz 512mb Ram 64MB Graphics Card...)

I want to be able to final cut express and maybe a little gaming and movie watching...

Thanks

Also are there any connection problems?
 
Ok so Ive changed my criteria:

Im now looking for a full 1080p HD Screen so 24" (and up although my budget wont allow it!)

It should be compatible with my powerbook G4 and soon to be Macbook Pro...

I've seen this Dell (TrueColour E248WFP) display which takes my interest mainly because of its large screen and the fact that I have managed to source it under £300, it also has a DVI and VGA inputs so it will run with my VGA Powerbook before the DVI MacbookPro

Any further ideas?
 
It will work and should be a good monitor.

BTW, your PowerBook is DVI as well. All G4 Powerbooks had DVI ports and if you wanted VGA you needed an adapter. So you really only need the DVI.
 
Yes that's actually a very nice monitor and there should be no problems just know that you will only be able to play 720p on your Powerbook as the processor is not powerful enough to handle 1080p but your forthcoming MBP will.
 
yippy said:
It will work and should be a good monitor.

BTW, your PowerBook is DVI as well. All G4 Powerbooks had DVI ports and if you wanted VGA you needed an adapter. So you really only need the DVI.
Click to expand...

Well actually the 12" Powerbook G4 actually has no DVI as it is too small to have this componant. I do however have a mini VGA slot which I have a VGA adapter for!

Thanks for your kind help so far!

Thanks

Its ok about the processor since I will be using it mainly for other things than full HD video until the Macbook Pro!

Thanks again!
 
The only worthwhile product Dell makes, IMO, is LCDs.

The 24" - providing you have the HD source for it - WILL do 1080P in spades. The 24" my roomie has, includes a ton of inputs and card reader / USB hub.

I was in a similar situation to you a couple years ago. I had a laptop that would only handle up to a 20" LCD (1680 x 1050 max resolution) so I did NOT get the 24", as it wouldn't have worked that well with my setup.

In hindsight - I SHOULD have gotten the 24", and dealt with the "fuzzy" resolution. As my laptop was near the end of it's useful life, and LCDs tend to span longer than computers do. There have been many instances since that I COULD have used a 24" instead of a 20".

Oh well. Live and learn.
 
Big-TDI-Guy said:
In hindsight - I SHOULD have gotten the 24", and dealt with the "fuzzy" resolution. As my laptop was near the end of it's useful life, and LCDs tend to span longer than computers do. There have been many instances since that I COULD have used a 24" instead of a 20".

Oh well. Live and learn.
Click to expand...

Thanks I think this has won me over! But I still have a few final questions...

1. All this 1600x900 fuzzy business, how bad is it really... and
2. Are you saying that because of my graphics card or general powerbook configuration Iwill be unable to have the full 1080 x 1200?

Thanks
 
If you check your specs I think you will find that the 12" PowerBook actually has a mini-DVI port. Apple offers both a mini-DVI->DVI and a mini-DVI->VGA adapter which must be what you have.

I thought you should have gotten both adapters with your PowerBook but maybe not. Either way, you can have DVI from it for only $20 by buying Apple's adapter.

I got my information from Apple here:
http://support.apple.com/specs/powerbook/PowerBook_G4_12-inch_1_5GHz.html
if you don't believe me.
 
yippy said:
If you check your specs I think you will find that the 12" PowerBook actually has a mini-DVI port. Apple offers both a mini-DVI->DVI and a mini-DVI->VGA adapter which must be what you have.

I thought you should have gotten both adapters with your PowerBook but maybe not. Either way, you can have DVI from it for only $20 by buying Apple's adapter.

I got my information from Apple here:
http://support.apple.com/specs/powerbook/PowerBook_G4_12-inch_1_5GHz.html
if you don't believe me.
Click to expand...

Oh sorry, I had assumed different!

Are you saying that there is an advantage of this method (mini DVI -> DVI) rather than my current method? (mini DVI -> VGA)

Thanks
 
Yes, mini-DVI->DVI will give you a slightly sharper image and will need fewer adjustments on the monitor to make it look perfect. This is because DVI is all digital where VGA has to be translated from digital to analogue for the VGA cable and then back to digital to be displayed on the screen.

Each conversion looses a little bit of quality which is why you should use DVI whenever possible. That said, many people can't tell the difference without a direct side by side comparison.
 
You should be able to tolerate the fuzz-business no problem. If you're unsure - try running your laptop at a lower resolution - if you can deal with the clarity (ignoring the larger fonts and smaller workspace) it should work just fine down the road.

My laptop was old - and not even Apple - because of it's relatively weak video card, max supported resolution was 1680 x 1050. That is why I got a 20" over a 24".

FYI - resolution is Horizontal X Vertical - what defines 720 or 1080 - is the vertical resolution. So a 20" 1680 x 1050 LCD will NOT support 1080p - because it physically does not have enough pixels in the vertical scale. It will support 720p, 720i and anything lower.

It sucks that my LCD is only 30 pixels away from 1080p - especially with my PS3 / blu-ray.

Most 24" LCDs (and with Dell) support 1920 x 1200 -- 1200 is obviously larger than 1080 - so you've got "ultimate HD" display, as well as a great computer monitor. With decent staying power down the road, should you upgrade your Apple. Not to mention, the 24" gives you additional inputs (so you can use even more sources with it), and a card reader to boot.

A 24" running a lower res won't be at it's sharpest - but providing you're running a close "Ratio" to your native resolution - it should be tolerable. (for a 24" 1920 x 1200 is native - so something smaller - but approximately the same ratio will yield the best clarity) And you'll be treated when you move up to native resolution down the road.
 
So to conclude....

1. A DVI cable will be better quality
2. The maximum supported resolution for my powerbook is 1600x1200 but my Macbook Pro will be 1900x1200?

Thanks!

EDIT: Found this on the Apple site for my Powerbook
NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 graphics processor with AGP 4X support and 64MB of DDR SDRAM video memory (12-inch models)
Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports up to 1024 x 768 pixels on the built-in display and up to 2048 x 1536 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
Click to expand...

So surely I can run it 1024x768 on my laptop and 1900x1200 on my screen whilst working with both?

Thanks
 
Nice! Thanks for that.

But now Im a little confused as to what point Big-TDI-Guy was trying to make...

Surely it wont buzz if its full resolution?

Thanks
 
At native (full resolution) ANY LCD will look best and be sharpest.

So at 1920 x 1200 - (if that is the native resolution) your external LCD will look great. If you run your external LCD at a resolution LOWER than 1920 x 1200 - it won't be as sharply defined.

I'd say go DVI for your input - EXCEPT for the situation where you have a HDDVD / BluRay player or a Game console you would like to connect to it. Here is why:

The Dell monitor offers a standard VGA input, and a DVI input (along with coax/component and s-video inputs)

PERSONALLY - I have yet to actually see any difference running up to 1920 x 1200 between DVI and the regular VGA connector. I tried several times with motion, stills - and other people can't really see it. This likely would change quite a bit if I had a really long cable going to my monitor - but with your typical 6 foot run - nothing.

WHY I would use VGA for my LCD input and NOT DVI? Because that frees up the DVI input for my game console (or other HD device). Most hi-end systems now use HDMI interface (PS3 / 360 / HDDVD) - and an adapter to go from DVI to HDMI is cheap, and very common. If you're using the DVI from your monitor - you need either a switch (100 bones or so) or you have to swap plugs. If you're running the VGA connector from your laptop - and you want to use a DVI source - you just toggle inputs on the LCD.

If you don't have any desire for using a PS3 or 360 or what not on your LCD - then get the DVI connector for your laptop. But if otherwise - I'd suggest using the VGA adapter from your laptop.

My .02
 
Perfectly understood and Im very greatful to you for your information.

It is very worthwhile and I have definitely taking it into consideration.

I think for the time being I will use my Powerbook G4 -> Mini DVI -> VGA -> to screen at 1900x1200!

And in the future it will be:

Macbook Pro -> DVI -> Screen

Thanks for all your kind help!
 
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