Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

bpnkrtn · Mar 21, 2006, 10:28 PM

Howdy. New here, never owned a Mac

I'm considering a Mac Mini (core duo) for home use and a DVD player. I gather it will power a 23-24 inch monitor just fine ... what about a 30 inch one? I did try a search but apparently I'm not knowledgeable enough to figure out the "right" search string.

Also, the Apple Cinema monitors seem to be $200 more than the Dell units ... are they better ... meaning clearer/brighter/crisper/sharper?

Thanks

bpnkrtn · Mar 22, 2006, 04:09 PM

... surely this group has info/opinions on this ...

Many thanks.

jamil5454 · Mar 22, 2006, 04:11 PM

DVI allows for resolutions up to 1900x1200, which is 2,280,000 pixels. Anything more than that won't work.

To answer your second question, head to the Peripherals forum. There's tons of info there on Dell vs. Apple displays.

Hmm, both answers should've been easy to find by searching...

CheesePuff · Mar 22, 2006, 04:16 PM

The 32" LCD's run by DVI will work since there resolution's are usuall 1280x768 or the such.

bpnkrtn · Mar 22, 2006, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by jamil5454

DVI allows for resolutions up to 1900x1200, which is 2,280,000 pixels. Anything more than that won't work.

To answer your second question, head to the Peripherals forum. There's tons of info there on Dell vs. Apple displays.

Hmm, both answers should've been easy to find by searching...

I would have tought so ... but in the monitor case I didn't know of/think about the Peripherals section ... my apology. In any case thanks for the input.

... wish I was as close to Threadgills Restaurant as you are

Grew up south of Austin, but have been gone a LONG time. Thanks again.

iREZ · Mar 22, 2006, 05:12 PM

the mac mini will not drive the 30" apple display, thats only for the mac book pro and powermacs.

Tuoder · Mar 22, 2006, 06:09 PM

Monitor size is not the deciding factor on which monitors that your mini will support. Resolution is. Apple makes things simple for its customers by giving what size of apple display your computer will support. The x86 mac mini supports digital resolutions of up to 1920x1200. An LCD screen with an optimal resolution less than or equal to that will work fine, with rare exception.

jamil5454 · Mar 22, 2006, 11:18 PM

Originally Posted by bpnkrtn

I would have tought so ... but in the monitor case I didn't know of/think about the Peripherals section ... my apology. In any case thanks for the input.

... wish I was as close to Threadgills Restaurant as you are

Grew up south of Austin, but have been gone a LONG time. Thanks again.

I'm literally 2 minutes down the street from Threadgills... never been though. I hear they have the best chicken fried steak.

CheesePuff · Mar 23, 2006, 08:19 AM

But to sum up what everyone else has written... yes the Mac mini can drive a large display as long as the resolution is 1900x1200 or less (which all Plasma and LCD TV's are).

Stolfi1 · Mar 23, 2006, 09:55 PM

i have seen mini's hooked up to 42' lcd tvs but I think they dont work with apples 32' display that needs dual dvi

CheesePuff · Mar 24, 2006, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by Stolfi1

i have seen mini's hooked up to 42' lcd tvs but I think they dont work with apples 32' display that needs dual dvi

Right... it's all about the resolution. A 30" Apple Cinema requires a greater graphics card to run its higher resolution (and two DVI outputs since one DVI can only run 1900x1200 maximum). But even if you hooked a 60" Plasma up to the Mac mini it would work because the resolution is less (such as in some cases 1280x768... just check the specs of the unit).

ghporter · Mar 24, 2006, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by jamil5454

I'm literally 2 minutes down the street from Threadgills... never been though. I hear they have the best chicken fried steak.

Go. Experience. Enjoy. Become addicted. (In that order, of course!

)

Back on topic...
Just to follow up on this, you need to think in terms of resolution first, interface second and then what size monitor (that fits those first two criteria) you're interested in. There is no physical size limitation on what ANY computer/video card combination can drive; Jumbotron stadium displays are run by computers all the time. But what you're interested in must first be what resolutions your video card supports long before you worry about what size case and screen real estate you want.

Luca Rescigno · Mar 24, 2006, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by CheesePuff 2.0

Right... it's all about the resolution. A 30" Apple Cinema requires a greater graphics card to run its higher resolution (and two DVI outputs since one DVI can only run 1900x1200 maximum). But even if you hooked a 60" Plasma up to the Mac mini it would work because the resolution is less (such as in some cases 1280x768... just check the specs of the unit).

Gah, no, dual link DVI isn't the same as "two DVI outputs." Dual link DVI is a single port that just has more little internal wires in it.

The graphics card's power doesn't have much to do with the ability to drive a high resolution display. It's all about the DVI output. If it's dual link, it'll work with the 30" Apple and Dell LCDs. If not, it'll only work with lower resolution displays, like 23-24" widescreen LCDs as well as just about any HDTV with a DVI input.