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Macbook + 2nd Monitor Question

L

Luigi239

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2007
529
0
After alot of changing my mind and going back and forth, I deciding that I am going to get a 2.4ghz Macbook, and hook it up to my Dell 20" monitor. However, I want to be able to use both the Macbooks 1280x800 screen, and my Dell's 1680x1050 screen at the same time at their full resolutions (not mirrored). Is this possible, or will the 20" screen have to be maxed at 1280x800?

Thanks!
 
MacBooks support spanning. It'll work fine (although you may see some slowdown from driving both screens via the integrated graphics)
 
Luigi239 said:
Oh, ok. How much slowdown are you talking about?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Driving monitors is all based on fill-rate. Meaning how many pixels the GPU can draw. The GMA 950 and X3100 have fill-rate to spare. They just suck at 3D graphics. You don't need to worry.

It's just annoying that it's not easier to turn off the MacBook display and use the external display only.

I mean, in Windows Vista, when you connect an external monitor while the system is on you're prompted with a screen that asks you want you want to do. You can click "use external display only" and it will remember that from that point on. Why OS X doesn't do this is beyond me.
 
mosx said:
Driving monitors is all based on fill-rate. Meaning how many pixels the GPU can draw. The GMA 950 and X3100 have fill-rate to spare. They just suck at 3D graphics. You don't need to worry.

It's just annoying that it's not easier to turn off the MacBook display and use the external display only.

I mean, in Windows Vista, when you connect an external monitor while the system is on you're prompted with a screen that asks you want you want to do. You can click "use external display only" and it will remember that from that point on. Why OS X doesn't do this is beyond me.
Click to expand...

Uh, you just close the lid. Or make the secondary monitor your main in SysPrefs, turn the brightness off. Whatever. Non-issue, man.
 
jnc said:
Uh, you just close the lid. Or make the secondary monitor your main in SysPrefs, turn the brightness off. Whatever. Non-issue, man.
Click to expand...

Non-issue? Not quite. This is something that Windows has done right since Windows 98.

I DO have my secondary monitor set as my primary monitor. What happens when I close the lid? Oh the system goes to sleep. Whys that? Because I don't have an external keyboard and mouse hooked up. All I want to do is be able to use the Mac on my HDTV but I have to both leave the system open and leave the screen on but with the brightness turned off. Silly. Why can't "the world's most advanced operating system" do something thats been available in Windows for the past decade?
 
mosx said:
What happens when I close the lid? Oh the system goes to sleep. Whys that? Because I don't have an external keyboard and mouse hooked up.
Click to expand...

Yes.

All I want to do is be able to use the Mac on my HDTV but I have to both leave the system open-
Click to expand...

Whoaaaaa, well let's stop you right there. You don't have any other method of input, so of course you have to leave your system open. How on earth you've managed to somehow work that into being part of your complaint, I'll never know.

anyway...

...and leave the screen on but with the brightness turned off.
Click to expand...

I struggle to find the words here. Basically you know exactly what you have to do - there's even a workaround - but instead you refuse, and even go on to whine about the workaround. That's the general air you're projecting. Incredible.

Here's a really expensive workaround - buy a Mac mini or a Mac Pro. Then there's no fiddly, inconvenient built-in screen for you to worry about.
 
jnc said:
Yes.



Whoaaaaa, well let's stop you right there. You don't have any other method of input, so of course you have to leave your system open. How on earth you've managed to somehow work that into being part of your complaint, I'll never know.

anyway...



I struggle to find the words here. Basically you know exactly what you have to do - there's even a workaround - but instead you refuse, and even go on to whine about the workaround. That's the general air you're projecting. Incredible.

Here's a really expensive workaround - buy a Mac mini or a Mac Pro. Then there's no fiddly, inconvenient built-in screen for you to worry about.
Click to expand...

Or Apple can just catch up to Windows from 10 years ago. Let me plug in the external monitor and disable the built-in monitor in software. No turning the brightness down or having to hook up a keyboard and mouse and close the lid (which is bad for heat, and we all know how bad Macs are with heat).

Seriously, is that so hard? With my HP notebook with Vista, the first time I plugged the cable in for my HDTV a prompt showed up. I clicked "use external display only" and all was good. Every time I connect the HDTV the built-in display shuts off.
 
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