External Monitor Connections on MBP

[bmastudent]

Hi,

I just picked up a monitor with HDMI, VGA, DVI, Displayport connectors. What's the best way to connect the MBP to it? There are already VGA, DVI, and Displayport cables included with the monitor. I also occasionally connect my MBP to projectors. Would there be any advantage to getting a mini display port to display port cable or or would i get the same quality image through a mini displayport to dvi connector which I could conceivably also use with the projector.

 

[Queso]

Depends on the monitor size you're wanting to drive. Displayport and miniDisplayport interfaces have much more bandwidth than DVI and HDMI, so can drive a bigger or higher-resolution display. This of course makes it more future-proof. Displayport, like HDMI, also incorporates the sound channel into the same cable for less clutter.

However, go with the DVI for the moment if it's more versatile for you. The video signal is pure digital in both so there's no difference in the picture quality. DVI is also pretty universal at the moment so you'll find a lot more equipment supports it if you carry the MBP around.

 

[scottness]

I use DVI most of the time. Depends on what I'm connecting to.

 

[kasakka]

Unless it's a 30" 2560x1600 display, go with DVI.

 

[bmastudent]

Is there even any advantage in connecting through displayport? The mini displayport doesn't support audio anyways.

 

[johnnj]

I also have monitors with DVI/Displayport/HDMI.

I swapped the MiniDP-DVI adapter for a miniDP-DP cable from Monoprice. I like it because it's a lot sleeker than having the blocky DVI adapter and it makes my cable bundle less cluttered.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6007&seq=1&format=2

And hey! It's more than 5x cheaper than a DVI adapter!

John

 

[Gabriel GR]

if you don't need audio in your monitor, go with displayport. It's the thinnest cable and since your monitor has an input it's pretty much ideal.

 

[kasakka]

Is there even any advantage in connecting through displayport? The mini displayport doesn't support audio anyways.

Only with 30" displays, since the Apple Dual Link DVI adapter doesn't work well and mini-DP to Displayport works just fine.

 

[dusk007]

A really nice advantage of Displayport on Notebooks comes with the next revision. It allows you to daisy chain multiple Displays like harddrives on a firewire port.
Since most notebooks have only one external output (if you don't count analog) that is nice feature for some people. Probably not many.