Apple 30" with PC with DVI

karavite

karavite

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I have a 30" Cinema HD Display that is about 2 years old. I am now going to be using it with a PC laptop that *does* have a DVI-D port, the small almost USB looking one (don't blame me on the PC - its work). However, even though I am pretty sure I can use the two together, will I be limited in resolution? Of course my old Powerbook could run this beast at any resolution I wanted to try, so why can't a PC laptop?
 
Later aluminum G4 PowerBooks would put out the dual-link DVI required to get full 2560 x 1600 resolution that 30-inch Cinema Display is capable of, and your big cinema display would plug right in, and work at full resolution. It also uses the full-size DVI connector, built-in to the PowerBook...
The PC laptop may not provide the dual-link DVI, even with the correct adapter. The dual-link DVI uses all the wires in a full-size DVI connector, and a mini DVI connection may not be able to provide all the wires needed for the dual-link DVI.
You would need to check with the specs on your PC laptop. If the video card will provide dual-link DVI, then maybe all you need is the right adapter.
So, the answer is - Yes, you can connect your 30-inch display to the PC laptop, but if there's no dual-link connection, you will be limited to (likely) 1920 x 1280, or something close to that. It won't be as sharp as you might like.
 
Thanks DeltaMac, you explained this better than anyone yet! I'll check, but I am 99.9% sure that there is no way my new Thinkpad has dual link DVI in that little D port. Do you (or anyone) know of some type of adapter or converter that might allow me to take advantage of the monitor's resolution/higher res?
 
Yes, but first you need a video card that is capable of the full res.
You can't display more than the graphics card can produce.
 
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