MP 1,1-5,1 Quick Quadro K5000 to LED Cinema Display question

[GlynH]

Hi there,

I have a genuine 5,1 cMP fitted with a PNY Quadro K5000 graphics card and have just bought an Apple A1316 27" LED Cinema Display which I thought would just be Plug & Play.

However on digging around a bit more I notice the K5000 has Display Port (I'm assuming full size?) while the A1316 has Mini Display Port?

I am also assuming that sound is transmitted along the single Display Port cable and if I need a Mini Display Port -> Display Port adapter of some sort to connect the two will audio still be transmitted?

Also does the iSight camera depend upon a USB connection from the cMP?

Secondlt what is the length of the captive Display Port & USB cables fitted to the display as I am wondering if they will be long enough from the proposed location on top of my desk to the cMP on the floor to the right of the desk or if I will need to utilise extension cables of some sort?

Any other gotcha's that might be involved in connecting these two devices or are they a good match?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[GlynH]

Well the 27" LED Cinema Display arrived today and looks to be in really good condition.

Pity I can't plug it in and try it as it comes with a mini-display port connector on the captive cable and my graphics card only has full size display ports!

Assume I will need an adaptor and assuming it will pass audio/video but will I still get use of the iSight camera and hear sound with an adaptor or does it need a specific adaptor type?

Anybody?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[GlynH]

Well in the absence of a reply let me close this thread off in case some other soul comes searching for a solution in the future.

Amazon just delivered one of these for the princely sum of £6.99;

Display Port to Mini Display Port

Plugged the full size Display Port on one side of the adaptor into the K5000 and the Mini Display Port from the all-in-one cable from the 27" LED Cinema Display into the other, connected the USB cable into the cMP, plugged the monitor power cable in, hit the space bar and BOOM! up came the desktop.

Checked the display details in System Report just to make sure the displays serial number under the stand matches that reported via software and all the software controls work and everything looks good.

Switched the Sound output from the Line output that I had been using to Display Audio USB and played some music from YouTube and yup that works as well.

So a result all round for the moment but when I buy a second 27" LED Cinema Display the captive all-in-one cable will definitely be too short so I guess I'll have to extend both Display Port and USB.

I know the displays all-in-one cable keeps everything neat and I'm all for that but it's a shame that the Magsafe cable is captive right up until the last foot or so as it holds it close to the back of the cMP down on the floor not up on the desk where my MacBook Pro spends most of its life plugged into its power brick. I haven't seen a Magsafe extension lead but then again I have never had a need to look until now! Just a pity they don't do a 24" version of the adaptor I am using at the moment.

Still I'm pleased with this 11 year old display connected to my 12 year old computer and it should be even better when I get a second display by its side.

-=Glyn=-

 

[GlynH]

It's lonely in here but I'm enjoying a second wind with another 27" LED Cinema Display on the way...I can only hope it is in the same condition as the one I just bought. Hopefully it will be as it's from the same seller.

I've been having a look around to see if there is a possibility I might be able to share one or both of the displays between my HP Spectre X360 15" and the cMP and I've stumbled across this;

DisplayPort KVM

Figured I should be able to connect the two DisplayPorts on the K5000 on the cMP to one side of the KVM and the HP to the other side using a USB-C to DisplayPort adaptor or cable and the outputs to the displays using a couple of the proven DP to Mini DP adaptor I linked to above to connect to the Mini DP cables from the displays.

Looks like I might even be able to share some USB peripherals between the two devices which would save me plugging/unplugging my scanner for example.

Does anybody know if this might do the trick and if not is there a known solution to share both displays between the cMP and the HP Spectre?

There seem to be some more expensive KVM switches such as the TESmart that wold also appear to do what I want but has anybody been down this road before and if so what worked for you?

I'm asking because this seems too easy a solution and things don't normally go this well for me!

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

 

[GlynH]

Seems like it's almost guaranteed to work with Mac and Cinema Display if this screenshot from Walmart is anything to go by;

Fingers crossed it works with the HP Spectre hanging off of one side because if not it seems my only option will be something like the the TESmart 4x2 KVM at over double the price!

Regards,
-=Glyn=-