My Dell screen and rMBP are confusing me

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Forkjulle

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Original poster
Aug 1, 2012
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I have a Dell UltraSharp (2500 x 1500px) screen. It's lovely and is a nice safety net for the rMBP's blurry Photoshop resolution.

Well, I THINK it is.

Because I'm confused. The rMBP has a HDMI port on the side. The Dell's HDMI plug is really bulky and doesn't fit.

Is there an adapter for this? How does one make these two play nicely?
 
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gentlefury

macrumors 68030
Jul 21, 2011
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Los Angeles, CA
Forkjulle said:
I have a Dell UltraSharp (2500 x 1500px) screen. It's lovely and is a nice safety net for the rMBP's blurry Photoshop resolution.

Well, I THINK it is.

Because I'm confused. The rMBP has a HDMI port on the side. The Dell's HDMI plug is really bulky and doesn't fit.

Is there an adapter for this? How does one make these two play nicely?
Click to expand...
Are you sure its HDMI and not a Display Port plug? Display port looks like a fat HDMI...but they are not the same.



HDMI on the left, displayport on the right.
 
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Forkjulle

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Original poster
Aug 1, 2012
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I just took this photo. This is the cable leading out from my Dell.



What plug is that?
 
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gentlefury

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Jul 21, 2011
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make sure if you get a DVI cable that you get the right one. At that resolution the $30 apple DVI cable will only give you half res. Better to get a display to mini display port.
 
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Oofie

macrumors regular
Jul 25, 2006
160
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Bay Area, CA
Forkjulle said:
I'm a newbie. Say that all again, but dumb it down for me. I don't want to misunderstand, which I think I am...

EDIT: Just to be clear, this is the exact monitor I have: http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/dell-ultrasharp-u2711/4505-3174_7-33913833.html
Click to expand...
since the link you posted says that the monitor should have an hdmi input, disregard the cable coming out of the monitor (the one you pictured) and look for an input that corresponds to the hdmi from your rmbp.

You will be looking for a smaller input at the back of your monitor. Once you find it, just plug hdmi from your rmbp to the monitor and switch inputs on the monitor menu (if the monitor doesnt automatically switch to available inputs).
 
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Forkjulle

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2012
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Oofie said:
since the link you posted says that the monitor should have an hdmi input, disregard the cable coming out of the monitor (the one you pictured) and look for an input that corresponds to the hdmi from your rmbp.

It will be a smaller input, just plug your hdmi from your rmbp to the monitor and switch inputs (if the monitor doesnt automatically switch to available inputs).
Click to expand...
I don't have the rMBP yet. (It's on order.) But I played with one yesterday and got worried when I saw the ports.

Thanks for the (fast) advice.
 
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Oofie

macrumors regular
Jul 25, 2006
160
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Bay Area, CA
Forkjulle said:
I don't have the rMBP yet. (It's on order.) But I played with one yesterday and got worried when I saw the ports.

Thanks for the (fast) advice.
Click to expand...
Gotcha! In any case, from images I found on the internets, the HDMI input on the back of your monitor should be labeled. :D
 
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Forkjulle

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Original poster
Aug 1, 2012
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Oofie said:
Gotcha! In any case, from images I found on the internets, the HDMI input on the back of your monitor should be labeled. :D
Click to expand...
I just found. It has no cable in it, which means that I've been thinking, all along, that my bulky cable is a HDMI.

Obviously, all is on track. Does the rMBP come with a HDMI cable? Or is it something that should have come with my Dell. (I might have to dig up its box and look through the contents of it.)
 
O

Oofie

macrumors regular
Jul 25, 2006
160
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Bay Area, CA
Forkjulle said:
I just found. It has no cable in it, which means that I've been thinking, all along, that my bulky cable is a HDMI.

Obviously, all is on track. Does the rMBP come with a HDMI cable? Or is it something that should have come with my Dell. (I might have to dig up its box and look through the contents of it.)
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if it Dell provides you with one, but manufacturer's usually just include a DVI cable (like the one you pictured) and a VGA cable. My monitor (ASUS) only came with the two I mentioned. I dont think the rmbp also comes with one.

They're pretty cheap if you get them from amazon or monoprice.com.
 
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ScholarsInk

macrumors regular
Apr 3, 2010
203
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Forkjulle said:
I just found. It has no cable in it, which means that I've been thinking, all along, that my bulky cable is a HDMI.

Obviously, all is on track. Does the rMBP come with a HDMI cable? Or is it something that should have come with my Dell. (I might have to dig up its box and look through the contents of it.)
Click to expand...
I can confirm that the only cable the new MBP comes with is the power cord.
 
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terraphantm

macrumors 68040
Jun 27, 2009
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Pennsylvania
OneEyedJack said:
The HDMI port of the rMBP will only support resolutions up to 1920x1200. You will need to get a minidisplay==>HDMI adaptor to get your monitor's 2560x1440.


Something like this:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1824ZM/A/Moshi_Mini_DisplayPort_to_HDMI_Adapter?fnode=51&fs=m.productKind=video_cable
Click to expand...
This isn't entirely true. I've used my rMBP's HDMI port to drive a monitor at 2560x1440@60Hz. But it only worked in Windows. Apple's drivers seem to limit the HDMI port to 165MHz. It is an HDMI 1.4 port so it *should* allow the port to run at 340MHz. But we won't see any changes there until 2560 HDMI monitors become more common.

However, I am not sure if that particular dell is capable of receiving a 2560 signal over HDMI. So mdp -> DP is a safer bet.

OP: Buy the cable I linked you to in my earlier post.
 
Interstella5555

Interstella5555

macrumors 603
Jun 30, 2008
5,219
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Forkjulle said:
I just took this photo. This is the cable leading out from my Dell.

Image

What plug is that?
Click to expand...
DVI, same one that's currently hooked up to my work MBP to my 24" external. It probably looks bulky because it's not a HDMI cable.

----------
Forkjulle said:
I just found. It has no cable in it, which means that I've been thinking, all along, that my bulky cable is a HDMI.

Obviously, all is on track. Does the rMBP come with a HDMI cable? Or is it something that should have come with my Dell. (I might have to dig up its box and look through the contents of it.)
Click to expand...
Really doubtful that either came with an HDMI cable. you can pick up up for less than $10 online, or, if you feel like it, can pay Monster $200 for the same thing.
 
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OneEyedJack

macrumors member
Aug 21, 2010
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terraphantm said:
However, I am not sure if that particular dell is capable of receiving a 2560 signal over HDMI. So mdp -> DP is a safer bet.

OP: Buy the cable I linked you to in my earlier post.
Click to expand...

Ah. I did not know that the OPs's Dell monitor had a DP option. Should have read the thread closer. My bad and I stand corrected.
 
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Stetrain

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2009
3,548
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Forkjulle said:
I'm a newbie. Say that all again, but dumb it down for me. I don't want to misunderstand, which I think I am...

EDIT: Just to be clear, this is the exact monitor I have: http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/dell-ultrasharp-u2711/4505-3174_7-33913833.html
Click to expand...
The specs for that monitor say that it has a Displayport input.

The Displayport connector should look sort of like HDMI but is a bit different:


If your Dell monitor has Displayport, I think that this connection option will provide the best resolution compatibility.

The Retina Macbook Pro supports Mini-Displayport connections on each of it's two Thunderbolt ports.

You would need a cable like this to convert from the Mini-Displayport connector to the full size Displayport connector that your Dell should have:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6007&seq=1&format=2
 
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Forkjulle

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2012
211
1
Stetrain said:
The specs for that monitor say that it has a Displayport input.

The Displayport connector should look sort of like HDMI but is a bit different:


If your Dell monitor has Displayport, I think that this connection option will provide the best resolution compatibility.

The Retina Macbook Pro supports Mini-Displayport connections on each of it's two Thunderbolt ports.

You would need a cable like this to convert from the Mini-Displayport connector to the full size Displayport connector that your Dell should have:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024606&p_id=6007&seq=1&format=2
Click to expand...
Now I'm confused. Is your link the same as the one listed a few posts up (http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1...=video_cable)?
 
T

terraphantm

macrumors 68040
Jun 27, 2009
3,740
552
Pennsylvania
Forkjulle said:
Now I'm confused. Is your link the same as the one listed a few posts up (http://store.apple.com/us/product/H1...=video_cable)?
Click to expand...
My god, it's not that hard.

Your dell is a 2560x1440 display. It can accept that resolution over two interfaces only: Dual-link DVI and displayport. Your rMBP can natively only output mini displayport (electrically identical to displayport) and HDMI (which for our purposes is equivalent to a single-link DVI port).

So your only option is displayport. What you want is a cable that is mini-displayport on one end, and displayport on the other end. That is what the guy posted, and it is not the same as the adapter you linked to.

Plug the small end into one of your thunerbolt ports (which also double as minidisplayports), and the other end into the monitor.

I personally own this cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XVYZ82/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0GCP7TEBZYFXY8RCCPAZ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

It can also transmit audio in my experience, if that matters to you.
 
F

Forkjulle

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 1, 2012
211
1
terraphantm said:
My god, it's not that hard.

Your dell is a 2560x1440 display. It can accept that resolution over two interfaces only: Dual-link DVI and displayport. Your rMBP can natively only output mini displayport (electrically identical to displayport) and HDMI (which for our purposes is equivalent to a single-link DVI port).

So your only option is displayport. What you want is a cable that is mini-displayport on one end, and displayport on the other end. That is what the guy posted, and it is not the same as the adapter you linked to.

Plug the small end into one of your thunerbolt ports (which also double as minidisplayports), and the other end into the monitor.

I personally own this cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XVYZ82/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0GCP7TEBZYFXY8RCCPAZ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

It can also transmit audio in my experience, if that matters to you.
Click to expand...
I will go with that cable. Thanks for the advice.
 
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