Trying to figure out why Mac mini isn't playing nice with 1920x1200

[retta283]

Got a 2007 Mac mini running Tiger on it, and I have a Dell 24" monitor. Res is 1920x1200. I plug the monitor into the mini via VGA with the included DVI-VGA brick. I do not have a DVI cord currently to test with, but my honest assumption is that it wouldn't make a difference. When plugged in, it defaults to displaying at 1680x1050, and it looks just fine other than being obviously a lower res than the native monitor res. When I go into my System Preferences and turn it up to 1920x1200, it displays fine other than a bunch of lines going through the screen. They are completely static lines, and it doesn't even appear like pixels. I will try uploading a picture of it later, I don't have access to that monitor for a few hours.

AT first I thought this might be a problem with the GMA 950 somehow. I knew it would do 1920x1200 but thought there might be some oddity that was causing the lines. This it proved not to be, as I plugged in my 2006 Core Duo MacBook and it displays beautifully at 1920x1200 using the DVI-VGA adapter. It also works perfectly with that little brick when connected to my 2006 MacBook Pro 17".

I'm really baffled as to what could be the issue here, it has to be something with the Mini itself because this is the only computer it doesn't like. It's worth noting that it works fine at 1920x1080. I can still see the lines on the Apple boot screen and if I hold Option the boot menu also shows lines, so it's not software.

Other than trying a DVI cable, I'm really at my wits end with this thing because this doesn't add up. Anyone else have experience with similar problems on a Mini, PPC or Intel?

 

[AtaruBarreau]

Quick response because I don't have time to elaborate (others will do so or say something else); I had tons of strange issue with some graphics card (like Rage 128 on my B&W), especially when running Tiger and lower with 1920x1080 resolution. AND also with DVI-VGA with my MDD: when using direct DVI to my monitor it works great but with an adapter it just straight up doesn't show the image on my otherwise fully compatible LCD. I guess you've got to use direct DVI connection.

 

[velocityg4]

Did you check the advanced resolution settings? Just to make sure the frequency is correct. Usually 59Hz on an LCD.

 

[philgxxd]

Bad quality cable?

 

[retta283]

It's unlikely to be a connection problem as all these cables work fine with the 2006 MacBook and MacBOok pro.

 

[philgxxd]

Sure, but still. I can imagine one equipment being more susceptible to a possible bad quality cable than others.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Because the 2007 Mac mini doesn't support 1920x1200 over VGA. Only 1080p max. Using native DVI will let you use 1920 by 1200.

 

[Amethyst1]

Because the 2007 Mac mini doesn't support 1920x1200 over VGA.

Source? And how come the 2006 MB with the same "gpu" does according to the op?

 

[retta283]

Because the 2007 Mac mini doesn't support 1920x1200 over VGA. Only 1080p max. Using native DVI will let you use 1920 by 1200.

It seems very odd to me that this would be the case because the resolution appears in the drop-down menu, is selectable, and is very stable other than the lines. It also works just fine over VGA using the little mini-DVI to VGA adapter, works out of a 2006 MB and a 17" iMac both with GMA 950 chipsets.

However I am not in total doubt of what you have said, it could be an arbitrary restriction that was set on purpose. I will have to acquire another DVI cable soon and try it out.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Source? And how come the 2006 MB with the same "gpu" does according to the op?

everymac.com

Apple doesn't seem to have the tech specs for the 2007 model anywhere on their site but with the Wayback archive I was able to get the 2006 model's which is consistent with everymac.

The 2006 MB supports 1920x1200 with no separation between DVI/VGA. Perhaps it is down to how the Mini converts DVI to VGA vs. it works with the MBs miniDVI?

EDIT: Found 2007 mini specs on Wayback. Confirms it.

 

[Amethyst1]

I will have to acquire another DVI cable soon and try it out.

Since running an LCD via VGA is the most pointless thing ever, that is a good idea. One thing you can try is to lower the refresh rate using SwitchResX - maybe you can find a mode that both the mini and LCD are happy with.

 

[retta283]

Since running an LCD via VGA is the most pointless thing ever, that is a good idea. One thing you can try is to lower the refresh rate using SwitchResX - maybe you can find a mode that both the mini and LCD are happy with.

Only reason I still use VGA is because a few of the servers I have only can connect to displays via VGA, and a lot of the computers I used to get in my shop also were VGA only, so I ended up with an abundance of VGA cables and lost my personal DVI cables when DisplayPort became prominent. I'll be curious to see the difference in quality again when I switch back to DVI. If I give in and pick up an Apple Cinema Display I'll need them for that too.