Question about running an external display

That's true, HDMI won't give you much more than 1080p.

DisplayPort will work fine though.

I have a similar monitor to the one you're planning to buy and it works great with a regular mini-DP to DP cable that I got for ~$6 on Amazon. Not sure if it was Monoprice or not but I'd be surprised if any cable you can buy didn't work.

Word of advice though, I've had a few monitors with built-in speakers and they have all been horrific. Like, unbearably bad. I would buy some computer speakers--anything on the market would probably be a big step up.

I have a 7-port USB 3.0 hub that I got for $35 which I use to "dock" my MacBook. I have a keyboard, mouse, printer, hard drive, etc. plugged into it. You can also get an audio adapter for $8 so you can plug your speakers into the hub and that's one less thing you have to plug in when you dock/undock.

 

I can't speak for the Asus you're planning to buy but right now I have an Acer which looks to be very similar.

I also have a pair of Logitech computer speakers that retail for $30, so, as you can tell, nothing very fancy.

If I go into the control panel and switch the sound between the monitor and the speakers, the difference is absolutely jaw-dropping. And I would say that the monitor's speakers are worse than the MBA's too.

By all means, try out the monitor speakers first, but please do yourself a favor and borrow some computer speakers and do a comparison.

 

Just to confirm what Motrek said, there actually is no such thing as a DP 1.1 or 1.2 cable. Any DP cable that doesn't work is either defective or not certified.

Now the port on the output device may be DP1.1 or DP1.2 capable, though even DP1.1. supports 2560x1600 @ 60Hz. I believe the original Thunderbolt ports only supported DP1.1, while TB2 supports DP1.2, which allows for 4K @ 60Hz.

 

I just checked and this is what I bought, for $10:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7RJQPY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So if you want something that somebody has had personal experience with, you can order this one for a couple dollars more.

As for the Monoprice cable, it might be a case of them not wanting to pay for certain certifications, or maybe they got the cable certified before the newer standard came out, or something like that. I suspect it would probably work fine, it's probably just not guaranteed to work.

But, I would hate for you to get the cable on my "recommendation" and have it not work, so you might be safer getting the one I linked to.

 

Hello,

I have 14 MBA (11 inch) and have been looking into external display for home. Saw it at my buddy's house and Now I am really into getting one.

But what exactly do I get and what screen am I suppose to look at? Will this one work? http://m.ebay.com/itm/271748997920?nav=SEARCH


I really have no clue on what exactly I need to get this started. I can buy speakers so it doesn't have to be inside the monitor.

Thanks for all the help

 

Basically you can get whatever monitor you want as long as the resolution is 1080p or less (i.e., 1920x1080).

So you just have to decide how big of a monitor you want (I would say anything over 20" is good) and what resolution you want (1080p is good). Make sure it's LED backlit. I would recommend "IPS" display technology. I would also recommend it have an HDMI connector. You can also pay attention to glossy vs. matte depending on your preferences.

If you search Amazon for "1080 27 inch ips hdmi monitor" you get a lot of choices. Most seem to be around $260, so the deal you found on eBay isn't bad. Interesting that its logo was covered up. I wonder if it was used on a TV show or something.

If you want a higher resolution display, the next step up is 2560x1440. These cost around $400 although they can go on sale for around $350 sometimes. Make sure whatever one you buy has a DisplayPort port because that's how you'll want to connect to it (vs. HDMI).

 

Not sure what Asus monitors come with, but current Dell monitors with DisplayPort come with a DP to mDP cable in the box so it works directly with your Mac.