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2006 Core Duo MBP graphics question

B

blackdogdeek

Lifer
Hi all,

This question could arguably be posted in the VCG forum but i thought i might get more constructive replies here instead of apple hating.

i have a 2006 2.16ghz core duo mbp with 2gb ram which i'm pretty sure has the 256mb ATI Mobility Radeon X1600. i'm thinking of picking up a 24" monitor to use externally instead of the mbp 15.4" screen for working on various tasks (in particular, the aoc 2436vh). it has a native resolution of 1920x1080.

do you think there will be any issues with my mbp driving a monitor of that size and resolution?

thanks in advance!
 
Absolutely no issues at all.
I have one of those at home, it used to be hooked up to a 24" 1920*1200 display before it (the MBP) suffered a liquid spill and overheating.

I believe that it actually has a dual link DVI port meaning that it can drive up to 2560*1600.
 
Actually... I'm not absolutely sure it isn't a problem. It shouldn't be an issue most likely, but I would definitely have a search around before you commit.

Admittedly I'm on a 30-inch monitor here, but the supported resolutions shown now around that area is 1600 x 1000, 1600 x 1200, 1920 x 1200 and 1920 x 1440. It's probably dependent on the monitor but still, better be sure.
 
Last edited:
vbuggy said:
Actually... I'm not absolutely sure it isn't a problem. It shouldn't be an issue most likely, but I would definitely have a search around before you commit.

Admittedly I'm on a 30-inch monitor here, but the supported resolutions shown now around that area is 1600 x 1000, 1600 x 1200, 1920 x 1200 and 1920 x 1440. It's probably dependent on the monitor but still, better be sure.
Click to expand...

I am telling you, I had the 2.0GHz version of that system (Core Duo, ATi x1600) hooked up to a 24" 1920*1200 any number of times. Assuming that he has 10.5 or higher, it shouldn't have any problems recognizing the resolution if that was what your concern was. My Hack runs on a 1080p monitor, and it handles the res just fine.

In fact, I had a 1.83GHz Core Duo MacBook with a GMA950 using a 23" Cinema Display (1920*1200) as a second monitor. The system can handle it, just if you decide to game on it, don't expect stellar graphics (except maybe in Half-Life 2, and other source games... I am pretty sure you could write ATi on a post it note, jam that into a PCIe/AGP slot and run the games. They are just crazy biased toward ATi.)
 
Yes I know it can do 1200. I was referring to 1920x1080. I'm somewhat sure it won't be a problem, but I said to double check.
 
thanks for your responses, TheStu and vbuggy. as my gift cards were burning holes in my pocket and they only had one of the monitors left, i pulled the trigger, but not before finding out about the return policy.

i'll hook it up tonight (i don't know how i was able to not set it up last night) and let you know how it goes.

thanks again!
 
TheStu said:
Absolutely no issues at all.
I have one of those at home, it used to be hooked up to a 24" 1920*1200 display before it (the MBP) suffered a liquid spill and overheating.

I believe that it actually has a dual link DVI port meaning that it can drive up to 2560*1600.
Click to expand...

was 1920*1200 the native resolution of the display? if not, did it look ok compared to the display's native resolution?
 
blackdogdeek said:
was 1920*1200 the native resolution of the display? if not, did it look ok compared to the display's native resolution?
Click to expand...

Most 24-inchers have that as the native res. Cheaper, more avowedly consumer-level monitors have the 1080 resolution. I had problems with some widescreen resolutions before on a Mac a long time ago, which is the reason for my wariness - although I'm not exactly a font of knowledge on this aspect, as the only non-Apple monitors I've used on any of my Macs are the high-end Eizo's with the same resolution as the Apple Cinema Displays, and the Dell 30-inchers (with the same res as the Apple 30").

Since the current iMac 21-inch is 1080, I don't doubt that the resolution itself is supported on OS X, but I'm not 100% sure whether the combo of a third party monitor and an ancient (in Apple terms at least) Mac will work.
 
vbuggy said:
Actually... I'm not absolutely sure it isn't a problem. It shouldn't be an issue most likely, but I would definitely have a search around before you commit.

Admittedly I'm on a 30-inch monitor here, but the supported resolutions shown now around that area is 1600 x 1000, 1600 x 1200, 1920 x 1200 and 1920 x 1440. It's probably dependent on the monitor but still, better be sure.
Click to expand...

If you don't have a 16:9 monitor, it's not going to show you 16:9 resolutions as options.
 
Tyranicus said:
If you don't have a 16:9 monitor, it's not going to show you 16:9 resolutions as options.
Click to expand...

Makes sense.

As I said before, I had some problems with 16:9 aspect ratio on a Mac a while back, so I wasn't sure if it'll work. Looking around, I don't have any 16:9 screens.
 
vbuggy said:
Makes sense.

As I said before, I had some problems with 16:9 aspect ratio on a Mac a while back, so I wasn't sure if it'll work. Looking around, I don't have any 16:9 screens.
Click to expand...

Tiger had some issues with it, and so did the early versions of Leopard. But Apple release a point update for Leopard that added those resolutions, or fix whatever was wrong.
 
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