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New MP, classic 30" Cinema Display

M

Maury

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I have a 30" CD that I won't be replacing any time soon. What do I need to drive it's bizarre connector with the new MP? I guess a TB to DVI connector, right?

But I hear all sorts of rumbles about these connectors doing evil things. Can anyone fill me in?
 
RoastingPig said:
this is the correct adapter you need. it needs to be mini displayport to dual-link dvi
Click to expand...

Dual Link adapter. if you use the cheap one, it will only top display at 1900 x 1200...The Dual Link adapter gives you full capabilities of the 30" ACD at 2560 x 1600. If less than resolution is OK for you, then go cheap one. If you want everything that the ACD can give you, you need the Dual Link adapter. FYI-i am using one on my nMP and yes, there have been multiple write-ups. Only issue i have is it doesn't like waking up from display sleep. I'll unplug it from the brick the ACD has and plug it right back in. no issues even after hours of hours of use, just wake up from display sleep.
 
Maury said:
After very little Googling, I found that Apple's own web page on the store is literally *filled* with complaints about this device.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Then hopefully after just a little more googling, the solution will appear.
 
I saw megamacs.com selling a refurb 30" ACD for $650 today. I know we have some fans of that product on here...
 
SuperMatt said:
I saw megamacs.com selling a refurb 30" ACD for $650 today. I know we have some fans of that product on here...
Click to expand...

I just checked and they only have one at $1,099, please could you provide the link, thanks
 
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It is imperative that you use the DUAL-LINK to DVI adapter and not the standard DVI to Thunderbolt or MiniDisplayPort adapter. The special Dual-Link adapter is necessary to drive the 30" monitor at 2560x1600 resolution. If you only use the standard (single-link) adapter, you will only be able to drive it at 1920x1200 max. The Dual-Link to Thunderbolt adapter is about a $99 adapter from Apple.
 
WardC said:
It is imperative that you use the DUAL-LINK to DVI adapter and not the standard DVI to Thunderbolt or MiniDisplayPort adapter. The special Dual-Link adapter is necessary to drive the 30" monitor at 2560x1600 resolution. If you only use the standard (single-link) adapter, you will only be able to drive it at 1920x1200 max. The Dual-Link to Thunderbolt adapter is about a $99 adapter from Apple.
Click to expand...


My almost 10-year old 30" ACD works just fine on my nMP with the Dual-Link adapter.
 
brosenz said:
I just checked and they only have one at $1,099, please could you provide the link, thanks
Click to expand...

http://www.megamacs.com/index.php?action=frameview&id=405186340&utm_source=BlastMM&utm_medium=email&utm_content=405186340&utm_campaign=Blast62812&BL=1
 
FYI, I have ben running two 30" CDs off my nMP for a couple of months now using the Apple adapter. Zero problems.

Only issue I have experienced (which I think is due to the beta AMD drivers) is that when I boot into Windows 8.1 via Bootcamp, only one monitor is detected. The fix is to plug/unplug-- then all is fine.

On the OS X side, all is good. I have dreams of 4K, and will eventually go there--but I am in no hurry and find my current real estate and DPI to be fine for my purposes.
 
The Apple MiniDisplayPort to Dual Link DVI adapters are hit & miss.
I've had one that worked perfectly with a Macbook Pro, but when hooked up to the nMP, i got all sorts of snow and glitches. So I got it exchanged. Problem is ALMOST gone, glitches only appear rarely now (as opposed to all the time).

It's hardly perfect. Thinking about another switch.
 
Funny that you mention this. I just yesterday noticed some snow on one of my screens. It was minor, and only really noticeable when the image was near black.

I just unplugged the TB cable and put in different TB port and that seemed to fix it. I will be paying closer attention now.
 
Check the firmware version of the Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter. There is information at http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3232
 
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I use 4 x 30" ACDs and had three of my adspters 1.03 and one was 1.02. An awesome manager at the Apple Store in Omaha swapped it out for a new one for free. Wanted to be all set before my nMP came in this week. all work perfect without a hitch 🙂
 
rasputin666 said:
Dual Link adapter. if you use the cheap one, it will only top display at 1900 x 1200...The Dual Link adapter gives you full capabilities of the 30" ACD at 2560 x 1600. If less than resolution is OK for you, then go cheap one. If you want everything that the ACD can give you, you need the Dual Link adapter. FYI-i am using one on my nMP and yes, there have been multiple write-ups. Only issue i have is it doesn't like waking up from display sleep. I'll unplug it from the brick the ACD has and plug it right back in. no issues even after hours of hours of use, just wake up from display sleep.
Click to expand...

Try disabling all the display touch buttons from system preferences. It should fix your issue.
 
rasputin666 said:
Dual Link adapter. if you use the cheap one, it will only top display at 1900 x 1200...
Click to expand...

The cheap one is a single link adapter. While 1900x1200 is possible for DVI single link (anything with a pixel clock less than 165 MHz), the Apple 30" Cinema display has a single link resolution of only 1280 x 800.

The VGA display port adapter has a pixel clock max of 180 MHz. The hardware might be capable of 240 MHz with 6bpp instead of 8, but I don't think the drivers will allow it. Graphics card RAMDACs for their built-in VGA output can go up to 400 MHz (2048x1536 x 87Hz) but nobody uses CRTs anymore...

HDMI 1.3 can go up to 340 MHz (single link) which is only enough for 4K @ 38 Hz.

DVI dual link is 165 MHz x 2.

4K @ 60Hz requires a pixel clock of 534 MHz which can be done with a couple HDMI 1.3 or dual link DVI connections.

HDMI 2.0 will have a max pixel clock of 600 MHz.
 
SDAVE said:
Try disabling all the display touch buttons from system preferences. It should fix your issue.
Click to expand...

Right now, when i unplug and plug the ACD brick, i have to then touch the power on/off button on the bottom right side of the ACD. If the issue continues, how would i turn the monitor on if i disable the button? it's the only way it powers on after i unplug the brick. are you saying that if i disable the button, the monitor will auto-power on after i plug the brick in?
 
rasputin666 said:
Right now, when i unplug and plug the ACD brick, i have to then touch the power on/off button on the bottom right side of the ACD. If the issue continues, how would i turn the monitor on if i disable the button? it's the only way it powers on after i unplug the brick. are you saying that if i disable the button, the monitor will auto-power on after i plug the brick in?
Click to expand...

I dont have an nMP, but disabling these buttons on a 2008 Mac Pro, the monitor turns on when the computer turns on and turns off when the computer turns off or sleeps.

I would assume with the miniDisplayPort to Dual Link DVI adapter, it should send needed commands. Give it a try. The 30" ACD touch buttons are known to be finicky especially as they get older.
 
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