Using an external monitor with a 13" MBP

[WalkingSnake]

I plan to get a 13" 2.26ghz Macbook Pro, and I have a 20" external monitor with a 1680×1050 resolution.

First thing, I've barely used OS X, let alone with an external monitor. How well does OS X handle it? Is it pretty simple, and can I set separate backgrounds for each display?

Secondly, will the GPU handle it alright, or will it be sluggish when I hook up the external? I'll mostly be using the 20" to do Photoshop work, with occasional video editing (though I have other computers available to do rendering on.)

Any input helps. I'm a Mac newb through and through.

 

[victorology]

You won't have any problem at all.

You can customize backgrounds for both screens. You can arrange them easily all in the System Preferences.

Shouldn't see any lag at all. I have the same MBP connected to a 23" 1920x1080 screen and it works great.

 

[spaceboots06]

It won't be sluggish at all! I have a 20.1" monitor and it runs like a charm in both XP and OS X. I just don't like how I can't exactly tune the changing backgrounds in OS X to be at the same exact time for both screens, but that's a whole other story...

 

[WalkingSnake]

Alright, that makes me feel a lot better.

 

[spaceboots06]

Only thing that's a pain to figure out is how to disable the laptop's screen to use the external screen as primary in Windows... Going to the nVidia driver settings and tinkering around will solve the problem though.