Hook my Studio Display to a P-book?

[Shacklebolt]

yes! I just got a new 15" 1.67/1gb/100gb/128vram Powerbook. I can't wait for it to get here. And yeah, I did spend the extra 9.95 on just buying tiger separately. Why? Because the model I got was bto, so wouldn't be available directly in an apple store. If I were to wait until the 29th of April to order my powerbook, that would be 10 days that I could be using a laptop but I didn't, because I wanted to save ten dollars. To me, being able to use my powerbook 10 days longer is worth a buck a day. I'm a student, and having a laptop for a week and a half more is always good.

But now, I still have a 15 inch studio display, with an ADC-DVI cable. I was wondering, is there any way for me to hook it up to my new powerbook to create a "dual screen"? That is, I would ostensibly have two 15 inch monitors next to one and other? That could be really, really useful - a DVD running on one screen, the rest of my apps on the other, or two PDF files on two screens.

So just to say it again, is it possible for me to have the powerbook opened, powered on, with the screen functioning, while at the same time having my 15 inch studio display connected to the p-book, and functioning also? as a superwidescreen type thing?

 

[virtuapimp]

Yeah - powerbooks allowing mirroring and dual displays.

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/graphics.html

 

[Shacklebolt]

Ah, great. Thanks.

 

[indigoblu]

Do the current iBook's allow for the same feature - i.e. watching a DVD on the external moniter and using the laptop desktop for other work like word processing?

It's standard on all current PowerBook models? Do I need the video ram upgrade for this feature on a 15" PB?

Thanks!

 

[Mechcozmo]

Do the current iBook's allow for the same feature - i.e. watching a DVD on the external moniter and using the laptop desktop for other work like word processing?

iBooks and iMac do not allow for dual screens. Just mirroring. There is a hack around this, however the iBooks do have a lower amount of VRAM that now is split across two displays. Instead of my 64MB being split into 32MB per monitor, the iBooks would have 32MB that is split into 16MB per monitor.

When I am dual-screening, and have a lot of windows open, sometimes Exposé is a bit choppy. Not too bad though.

The PowerBooks can do this. But the extra VRAM is a good idea so that you have extra room (Tiger, anyone?) and also because you cannot upgrade it later.
Get it now, appreciate it later.

 

[indigoblu]

Good point. I didn't even think about that. Thank you! I plan on having this computer for a while - through the next few releases (to Lion, Cougar, or Tweety Bird releases). If they keep adding graphic features, I'll be happier with more vram. Boy this gets expensive real fast. But I've had my iBook for 5 years now - and it's mostly lasted pretty good - from OS 9-10.3 - lost a few keys - survived a few drops and splashes. And about 2 years ago I was so frustrated b/c I maxed out on RAM and everything is slow, not to mention I'm out of Hard Drive space and have to be selective about what I save or archive.

Thanks, and thank god for a hefty tax return this year.

 

[Mechcozmo]

Good point. I didn't even think about that. Thank you! I plan on having this computer for a while - through the next few releases (to Lion, Cougar, or Tweety Bird releases). If they keep adding graphic features, I'll be happier with more vram. Boy this gets expensive real fast. But I've had my iBook for 5 years now - and it's mostly lasted pretty good - from OS 9-10.3 - lost a few keys - survived a few drops and splashes. And about 2 years ago I was so frustrated b/c I maxed out on RAM and everything is slow, not to mention I'm out of Hard Drive space and have to be selective about what I save or archive.

Thanks, and thank god for a hefty tax return this year.

With a laptop, its always best to get the non-upgradable stuff maxed out. RAM can always be added later.