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Macbook Pro 15" & Dell Ultrasharp u2713hm monitor

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pixelmason

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 2, 2013
3
0
Macbook Pro 15" 7200 RPM
Native screen resolution of 1680x1050
OS X 10.8.4

Hi guys,

I just bought a Dell Ultrasharp u2713hm monitor and can not get a crisp resolution on my screen. The highest resolution setting I'm allowed to choose from is 1920x1080. Upgraded to Mountain Lion from 10.6.8. to solve this, but not help. I've tried various "force native resoution" scripts through my prompt input to no avail. Messed with the com.apple.Boot.plist file but no improvement.

Took my macbook pro to the apple store and connected it to a 27" Apple display monitor and everything was crisp and sharp showing me a resolution of 2560x1440 in the System Preferences.

Tried both mini Displayport to HDMI and mini Displayport to DVI. Mini Displayport to DVI allows for a much better resolution but far from crisp. I see faint crisscross lines on dark gray colors, blurry/fuzzy text and Apple's native icons are fuzzy.

Please, has anyone run into this issue and if so is there a solution or workaround for this. I basically don't even mind having a few pixels of black screen on any side of my monitor in exchange for the Apple crispness we all love. Thanks.
 
simsaladimbamba

simsaladimbamba

Guest
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
28
located
MDP to DVI will not give you a resolution of 2560 x 1440 or 2560 x 1600 pixel.
MDP to HDMI will also not give you that resolution.

Either you use a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable/adapter or you get the much more expensive MDP to DUAL LINK DVI adapter from Apple or Monoprice.

Mini DisplayPort (MDP) / Thunderbolt
Mini DisplayPort is the current digital standard on all current Macs to transfer video to an external display or TV. It has been introduced in 10/2008 with the release of the Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pros and has gradually been adopted on all other Macs.
MDP is capable of transmitting video, and since 2010, audio too. MDP is a miniaturised version of DisplayPort. It is also license free and can support resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600, which Mini DVI and Micro DVI are not able to do.
Since 2011, all Macs come with a Thunderbolt port, which is meant for fast data transfer and also as means to connect to an external display device to mirror or extend the Mac's screen.
To learn more about Thunderbolt (TB) and its compatibility with Mini DisplayPort (MDP): Introducing Thunderbolt​
MR_video_out_Mac_Mini_DP.png
MDP adapters and cables can be bought online from:


Also of interest: "What is "Mini DisplayPort"? Is it an industry-standard? How is it different from or better than Mini-DVI and Micro-DVI?"
​
Click to expand...
 
P

pixelmason

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 2, 2013
3
0
Macbook Pro 15" & Dell Ultrasharp u2713hm monitor

Thanks Simsaladimbamba! I'll get the miniDisplayport to Dual link DVI and update the thread with my results.
 
C

ColdCase

macrumors 68040
Feb 10, 2008
3,213
219
NH
The text will be a little fuzzy due to font smoothing things, but graphics should be clear and sharp. Not quite as clear as the glossy Apple monitor perhaps because the non glare coating degrades clarity just a tad.
 
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pixelmason

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 2, 2013
3
0
Success!

The miniDisplayport to Dual link DVI did the trick. Thanks for the advice simsaladimbamba.
 
R

raptor402

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2011
399
2
pixelmason said:
The miniDisplayport to Dual link DVI did the trick. Thanks for the advice simsaladimbamba.
Click to expand...

Hey, PixelMason

Congratulations on your working display. Where did you obtain the adapter from and how much did you pay for it?

Regards
Raptor
 
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