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What external monitor do you have?

Christian 5G

Christian 5G

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 16, 2010
1,080
743
Orange County, CA
Hello everyone,

Just a simple question on the external monitors for your Macbook Air that you use. I am looking for one and since there are so many "good ones" that I am lost now.

Thank you so much!
 
I have an Asus with 2560x1440 resolution which is absolutely amazing. I was surprised to see that my base model 2014 13" MBA was able to drive it was fast with no lag or anything.

Now its the best of both worlds, all the benefits of the iMac with super portability when I need it.
 
I don't really like 1920x1080 on a 27" monitor, the resolution is too low for such a big monitor, IMO.

If you are happy with 1920x1080, I would go with a 23-24" monitor.

Checkout Newegg and Amazon, they have lots of great monitors in that resolution and size range and the reviews will help you find the best deal.

I like the Asus VS248H-P, it's a 24" and you can get it for $169 on Amazon with free Prime shipping.
 
vertisync said:
I have an Asus with 2560x1440 resolution which is absolutely amazing. I was surprised to see that my base model 2014 13" MBA was able to drive it was fast with no lag or anything.

Now its the best of both worlds, all the benefits of the iMac with super portability when I need it.
Click to expand...

It's funny that people think a MBA might not be able to run a 1440p display well.

Its GPU is basically as fast as the ones in 27" iMacs from a few years ago, and faster than almost all the Mac Minis that you see driving 27" TB displays in Apple Stores.

I guess people aren't used to seeing a small thing power a big thing.
 
motrek said:
It's funny that people think a MBA might not be able to run a 1440p display well.

Its GPU is basically as fast as the ones in 27" iMacs from a few years ago, and faster than almost all the Mac Minis that you see driving 27" TB displays in Apple Stores.

I guess people aren't used to seeing a small thing power a big thing.
Click to expand...

A lot of us simply didn't know that. 2560x1440 is a pretty high resolution to some of us and we figure raising the resolution might cause some lag.
 
Christian 5G said:
Just ordered good deal!


http://store.hp.com/webapp/wcs/stor...ZyYoHA-Ue0fyQ7u5CqfQQMaPZRZgg#!&TabName=specs

Now I don't know what exactly do I need with this monitor. I have 14 MacBook Air. Please need some instructions with links if you can.

Thanks a lot guys!
Click to expand...

Get a regular HDMI cable for cheap, and a mini-DisplayPort to HDMI adapter to plug into the laptop:

http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Adapter-Support/dp/B0025V2VO0

Total should be < $20.
 
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Christian 5G said:
Cant this one work ? just by itself or I need to buy 2 cables? http://www.amazon.com/HDE®-Mini-Dis...8-11&keywords=mini+display+port+to+hdmi+cable
Click to expand...

Yes, I imagine that one will work fine. I only suggested buying the 2 things (cable + adapter) because that's more flexible. HDMI cables are generally useful by themselves and if you're traveling, you may only need to bring an adapter instead of an entire cable. But you're the most familiar with your own situation obviously.
 
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motrek said:
Yes, I imagine that one will work fine. I only suggested buying the 2 things (cable + adapter) because that's more flexible. HDMI cables are generally useful by themselves and if you're traveling, you may only need to bring an adapter instead of an entire cable. But you're the most familiar with your own situation obviously.
Click to expand...


I only asked this is because I asked in private message owner of one of the monitors I purchased and he said to just buy this one. Sorry. But now I am so confused...
 
Christian 5G said:
I only asked this is because I asked in private message owner of one of the monitors I purchased and he said to just buy this one. Sorry. But now I am so confused...
Click to expand...

No problem, don't worry. All you need is a cable with mini-DisplayPort on one end and HDMI on the other. If you want this all in one cable, that's fine. If you want it with an HDMI cable plus an adapter, that's essentially the same thing and also fine.
 
motrek said:
Yes, I imagine it will work fine.

Personally I would spend the extra few dollars to buy name-brand parts on Amazon, like Amazon Basics or Monoprice. But that's just for a little extra peace of mind. I bet these white-label eBay cables work fine.
Click to expand...
Thank you for explanation, I really appreciate it. I will definitely consider getting branded next time. (live and learn)
 
henryonapple said:
thanks for the quick response! i will try this later today, but it seems like my macbook air is already using the RGB....
Click to expand...

I think I tried the Generic RGB Profile on mine too before doing the hack but it still didn't work right. I did this months ago so I can't remember the details but the instructions on this page were necessary to get the monitor to work right. It should just take a few minutes to do and if you have questions I'd be happy to answer them.
 
motrek said:
I think I tried the Generic RGB Profile on mine too before doing the hack but it still didn't work right. I did this months ago so I can't remember the details but the instructions on this page were necessary to get the monitor to work right. It should just take a few minutes to do and if you have questions I'd be happy to answer them.
Click to expand...

I will try tonight and will let you know the results, I briefly looked over the directions to force RGB and it did sound a bit confusing.

Hopefully this solves the issue because I was pretty underwhelmed with this monitor when I hooked up my MBA, but a windows laptop looked great on it.
 
motrek said:
I think I tried the Generic RGB Profile on mine too before doing the hack but it still didn't work right. I did this months ago so I can't remember the details but the instructions on this page were necessary to get the monitor to work right. It should just take a few minutes to do and if you have questions I'd be happy to answer them.
Click to expand...

my friend....it worked!!!! this thing is awesome now! thank you so much for the advice :)
 
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