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Unibody to Dell 2408wfp

K

kuNi

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 27, 2009
6
0
Hey guys,

I have the 17'' unibody macbook pro. Right now, I'm thinking about purchasing an external monitor for it (dell 2408wfp). Before I purchase the monitor though, I would like to hear some of your experiences/problems with this particular type of combination (either through mini dp - vga, mini dp - dvi, etc.) if you own one. Please don't suggest me to get the new ACD as its price tag is a little out of my reach :p Thanks!
 
I don't have the 2408, but I have the 2007wfp. I connect to my MBP through minidp-dvi. Mines's been perfect I really like the rotate feature, as I have mine connected as and extended desktop in portrait orientation... I like this set-up a lot.
IMG_2888.jpg


(click to make bigger)
 
mbpnewbie said:
I don't have the 2408, but I have the 2007wfp. I connect to my MBP through minidp-dvi. Mines's been perfect I really like the rotate feature, as I have mine connected as and extended desktop in portrait orientation... I like this set-up a lot.
IMG_2888.jpg


(click to make bigger)
Click to expand...

that... is.... AWESOME!!!!!!
 
Not trying to turn this into a "post your setup" thread, but I have two E2007WFPs on my desk. The left screen is connected to my PC and also MacBook Pro via the Mini Displayport to DVI adapter. It works great. Don't get the ACD, as it really isn't worth the money for what you get. Dell makes stellar screens anyway.

Excuse the shoddy iPhone pic and Peeps on the desk.
 

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uiop. said:
Not trying to turn this into a "post your setup" thread, but I have two E2007WFPs on my desk. The left screen is connected to my PC and also MacBook Pro via the Mini Displayport to DVI adapter. It works great. Don't get the ACD, as it really isn't worth the money for what you get. Dell makes stellar screens anyway.

Excuse the shoddy iPhone pic and Peeps on the desk.
Click to expand...



Hey, it's easter, we'll let it slide ;-)
 
uiop. said:
Not trying to turn this into a "post your setup" thread, but I have two E2007WFPs on my desk. The left screen is connected to my PC and also MacBook Pro via the Mini Displayport to DVI adapter. It works great. Don't get the ACD, as it really isn't worth the money for what you get. Dell makes stellar screens anyway.

Excuse the shoddy iPhone pic and Peeps on the desk.
Click to expand...

you got one of those USB to DVI thingies then?
 
mbpnewbie said:
I don't have the 2408, but I have the 2007wfp. I connect to my MBP through minidp-dvi. Mines's been perfect I really like the rotate feature, as I have mine connected as and extended desktop in portrait orientation... I like this set-up a lot.
IMG_2888.jpg


(click to make bigger)
Click to expand...

Whats your computer sitting on? Is it actually on the two hard drives?
 
brent0saurus said:
that... is.... AWESOME!!!!!!
Click to expand...
not entirely my idea... I use to work in photoshop a lot, so I'd keep pallettes in the portrait screen and the image etc on the main/laptop screen. Even in Logic, I put my mixer on the portrait screen. I can work so much faster on two screens than one it's rediculous.
 
uiop. said:
Not trying to turn this into a "post your setup" thread, but I have two E2007WFPs on my desk. The left screen is connected to my PC and also MacBook Pro via the Mini Displayport to DVI adapter. It works great. Don't get the ACD, as it really isn't worth the money for what you get. Dell makes stellar screens anyway.

Excuse the shoddy iPhone pic and Peeps on the desk.
Click to expand...

your 2007's look different than mine... mine has an all silver/grey stand. I bought mine in the UK tho, so maybe that's why?
 
TheSVD said:
you got one of those USB to DVI thingies then?
Click to expand...

Nono. I should have explained, both of those screens are connected to my PC, just the left is connect to my Mac. I alternate when I use the screen for which computer, depending on what I'm doing. The Dells work great, I've had them for close to two years now with ZERO problems.

mbpnewbie said:
your 2007's look different than mine... mine has an all silver/grey stand. I bought mine in the UK tho, so maybe that's why?
Click to expand...

I believe you might have the Ultrasharp model then because those have the silver base. ;)
 
uiop. said:
Nono. I should have explained, both of those screens are connected to my PC, just the left is connect to my Mac. I alternate when I use the screen for which computer, depending on what I'm doing. The Dells work great, I've had them for close to two years now with ZERO problems.



I believe you might have the Ultrasharp model then because those have the silver base. ;)
Click to expand...
you may be right.. I do have the ultrasharp... do your screens have rca video input, and s-video?
 
uiop. said:
Not trying to turn this into a "post your setup" thread, but I have two E2007WFPs on my desk. The left screen is connected to my PC and also MacBook Pro via the Mini Displayport to DVI adapter. It works great. Don't get the ACD, as it really isn't worth the money for what you get. Dell makes stellar screens anyway.

Excuse the shoddy iPhone pic and Peeps on the desk.
Click to expand...

Dude - I love Peeps. My girlfriend actually calls me "Deeps" (my name is Darren :))

I had 20 in one sitting a few days ago.
 
ive got a 2.0ghz macbook unibody coupled to a dell 2408wfp.

the setup works perfectly, i use a dvi connection. usb hub is a v. good addition to the macbook.

there is an app called display rotation menu which puts an icon in your menu bar to allow for easy rotation of the screen settings if you think you will rotate the screen often.

i have noticed that the fans run at about 2000rpm rather than the usual 1200 rpm when connected to the screen but i presume that is due to the graphics card running a 1920x1200 display as well as the internal 1280x800 monitor.

I highly recommend this monitor, dell have an excellent bright pixel warrenty (if under 3 years old then they will replace the monitor) and in general the monitor is well made, though lacks the attention to detail that an apple monitor would have.
 
thanks for all the replies. people in this forum are really helpful.
 
yup i'm using the dell 2408wfp monitor with my 2.53ghz unibody macbook pro too. But be prepared to fiddle around with the monitor settings because the default settings is absolutely horrible. I agree with a previous poster about the integrated usb hub; I now have 5 usb ports to use instead of only 2...awesomeness.
 
morrisman1 said:
ive got a 2.0ghz macbook unibody coupled to a dell 2408wfp.

the setup works perfectly, i use a dvi connection. usb hub is a v. good addition to the macbook.

there is an app called display rotation menu which puts an icon in your menu bar to allow for easy rotation of the screen settings if you think you will rotate the screen often.

i have noticed that the fans run at about 2000rpm rather than the usual 1200 rpm when connected to the screen but i presume that is due to the graphics card running a 1920x1200 display as well as the internal 1280x800 monitor.

I highly recommend this monitor, dell have an excellent bright pixel warrenty (if under 3 years old then they will replace the monitor) and in general the monitor is well made, though lacks the attention to detail that an apple monitor would have.
Click to expand...

Question. your macbook has a 9400 graphics card right? I'm glad to see it runs that resolution
 
appleguy12 said:
yup i'm using the dell 2408wfp monitor with my 2.53ghz unibody macbook pro too. But be prepared to fiddle around with the monitor settings because the default settings is absolutely horrible. I agree with a previous poster about the integrated usb hub; I now have 5 usb ports to use instead of only 2...awesomeness.
Click to expand...

Any chance you could post up your calibration setting? I have a 2408 on the way to connect to my mbp unibody as well.
 
Wow!

mbpnewbie said:
I don't have the 2408, but I have the 2007wfp. I connect to my MBP through minidp-dvi. Mines's been perfect I really like the rotate feature, as I have mine connected as and extended desktop in portrait orientation... I like this set-up a lot.
IMG_2888.jpg


(click to make bigger)
Click to expand...

I must have it. I simply must have it. I didn't think I needed it, but now, I must have it. That is just way too cool.;)
 
minidptodp%281%29.jpg


Specs:

* 8.64 Gbit/s forward link channel supports high resolution monitors up to 2560×1600 with single cable.
* 8B/10B data transmission (up to 2.7 GHz symbol rate, up to 4 lanes, 8B/10B modulation)
* Open and extensible standard to help with broad adoption.
* Supports color depth of 6, 8, 10, 12 and 16 bits per component.
* Full bandwidth transmission (2560×1600p60) for 3 meter cable.
* DisplayPort connector assists in blind connection.
* 128-bit AES DisplayPort Content Protection (DPCP) support, and support for 40-bit High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) from version 1.1 onwards.
* Supports internal and external connections so that one standard can be used by computer makers reducing costs.

According to this site, there's a DisplayPort to miniDisplayPort cable in development, expected in June. It'll be perfect for those of you with displays that have the more common and standard sized DisplayPort.
 
mbpnewbie said:
I don't have the 2408, but I have the 2007wfp. I connect to my MBP through minidp-dvi. Mines's been perfect I really like the rotate feature, as I have mine connected as and extended desktop in portrait orientation... I like this set-up a lot.
IMG_2888.jpg


(click to make bigger)
Click to expand...

i have that option but have never used it (apart from seeing how it worked) but i can see how good it would be to view a full page document or something like that.
 
I have a pair of Dell 2408 monitors and I rotate the second one to portrait when I'm doing photo work in Lightroom.

I keep it set to a Standard Loupe view, which is useful for the selection phase and REALLY useful for doing edits to portrait oriented photos. My reaction the first time I did it was.... ummm.. exuberant.

The trick is to calibrate them both individually.

Oh... of course I only use this with my PC. I got one of those EVGA USB-DVI boxes so I could use the MBP with dual monitors, but it's not really the same because it doesn't support the full monitor native res.

Another quite luxurious application is running Flight Simulator X under XP with the main window view spread across 2 monitors (3840x1200) plus the MBP running a synched instance of FSX just displaying the instrument panel.

Quite luxurious, indeed.

:)

John

John
 
Be prepared for Dell Hell

I bought a 2408wfp for my Mac Pro. I'm not happy with it, but I'm stuck with it.

Out of the box, it looked like my sister's many years old Dell 15" monitor, which I don't think Dell even sells anymore.

My 2408wfp has an inch-wide band of dark area down the right edge of the screen - backlight uniformity problem.

The left 3rd of the screen shows a light pink cast.

Both of these problems were mentioned as minor issues in TFT Central's review, but mine has real bad cases of these problems.

Dell was good enough to send me replacements twice - both refurbished units. But the first replacement had worse symptoms of the same problems. The second had several stuck pixels. After I rejected both, they promised that someone from "escalated support" would call me. That's when I learned of the pharases "Dell Hell" and "I see Dell People". No one called me, and my repeated calls always got the answering system. Dell's final solution was to suggest that I try to get a refund. Right... That's another department, probably in India.

Don't let the 3 year warranty be a factor in your purchasing decision. It is worthless, in my opinion.
 
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