WQHD display compatibility with MBP 2010 17"

[hajime]

Hello,

I just bought a ASUS VA32AQ monitor. It is 31.5" WQHD (2560x1440).

https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/VA32AQ/

When I connected it to the MBP via HDMI, the display could not be recognized. When I connected it to the MBP via VGA, Mac OS X only allowed me to choose resolutions: 1920x1080, 1600x900, 1360x768, 1360x765, 1280x720. Things on the display are fuzzy. Words are unclear. I guess it was because the display was not at native resolutions.

According to the specs, the MBP 2010 17" should support 2560x1600 on external display
https://support.apple.com/kb/sp581?locale=en_US


Since 2560x1440 is less than 2560x1600, shouldn't that be supported? Know what is going on? As I recall, when I tried the LG 38" curved display on my MBP, I could choose among different resolutions.

Is this a problem with the monitor or the MBP cannot drive a 2560x1440 with crystal clear text even I buy from another brand?


P.S. Resetting the SMC and NVRAM does not help.

 

[mfram]

The only way to get full resolution out of that monitor is to use a mini-Display Port to Display Port cable and plug it into the Display Port input on your monitor. Neither HDMI nor VGA will give you full resolution from your Mac

 

[hajime]

The only way to get full resolution out of that monitor is to use a mini-Display Port to Display Port cable and plug it into the Display Port input on your monitor. Neither HDMI nor VGA will give you full resolution from your Mac

Thanks. Why is that? Will I have the same kind of problem if I buy another brand of monitor with 2560x1440 native resolution?

On the net, some people had similar issue. Somebody mentioned that although the specs of the Mac stated that it should be able to do it, the aspect ratio is demanding to such old GPU!

 

[mfram]

Because HDMI maxes out at 1080p on that Mac. And VGA was never designed to run at the 1440 resolution at all. Only DisplayPort has enough bandwidth to run at that resolution. Plug the mini Display Port end into your Thunderbolt Port.