[t.d]

Hey guys, I know the macbook manual says it supports a max resolution of 1920x1200, but does anything "lag" if I use larger resolutions ? I know it would be supported, but would my system run smoothly ? I'd imagine I would have to upgrade my ram since the video card would be eating up more memory. BTW I have a blackbook with 1GB of ram.

edit: I intend to start using my macbook exclusively for work (photoshop, illustrator, flash and maybe some video editing) when the new adobe suite comes out. No more desktop for me

[Ray]

why would you pay for a higher res. if your comp. only supports 1920x1200. I have a Apple 23'' display and photoshop looks good.

[bluedog]

Previous poster I think misunderstood your question. I have a 13" macbook and think it would be slower for the higher resolutions, as it is sharing your system RAM for use with the graphics on this model. How much slower, I don't know. I could hook mine up to my wife's 23" and let you know. Although I have 2GB installed and don't want to downgrade (pull the chips) just for an identical test to your situation.

I'm guessing it will be FULLY usable but you wouldn't want to run WOW or another 3d game or app at resolutions greater than the 1280x800 that is native on the MacBook's built-in LCD.

I'll post after trying the full HD resolution or max the 23" Cinema display can handle and let you know my subjective result. You've got my curiosity piqued although I don't know if I'd really hook mine up to an external monitor for regular use (love the portability too much).

One hint on the RAM, if you upgrade do the upgrade with matched pairs of SODIMMs. The Apple rep explained it well. You CAN have mismatched pairs but since the video relies on access to the RAM you will seriously impede the video performance by not having the boost of a matched pair. Matching pairs means the OS can read/write to both simultaneously which in actual terms means you get about a 10-15% increase in RAM access. This isn't as noticeable if you have a video card with dedicated RAM and you're not pushing lots in/out of RAM at once. But on your display you'd notice it.

[mfbernstein]

A couple of reports on Macintouch indicate that this size monitor (1080p) should work fine on the Blackbook at native resolution.

[t.d]

Oh wow, I spelled "monitor" wrong.

From the looks of things I'll just buy both the 1080p screen and use it as an excuse to get 2GB of ram. Or maybe I can complain later and get the supposed smaller mbp fully loaded. I rarely play 3D games (or 3D rendering), but If I ever needed to game I'd just keep my windows desktop (which was beefy as of last year, hahah). Thanks guys.

[bluedog]

Sorry I haven't had a chance to check the monitor. I forgot for the macbooks you need the adapter to output video. I have the s-video out but not the DVI adapter.

Sounds like you have your answer though. And for no gaming you should be very happy with the performance. The only place I see it may be an issue is the graphics for the realtime previews in FCP or such. I dont use FCP so I couldn't speak for the difference if there is or not, but from what I understand of the tech it might not perform as well as with a separate video with dedicated vRAM.

[pyrite]

it'll run great at 1080p w/ 2GB RAM, the load's not as huge as you might think.
the macbook can take it

again, though, don't expect to run games or heavy 3d apps at this res...

[Macola]

Originally Posted by pyrite 

again, though, don't expect to run games or heavy 3d apps at this res...

Or at any res, on a MacBook, and have them perform decently...