Powering CRT monitor @120hz with Macbook Pro

[qubits_ht]

Hello,

I have a Sony 21" CRT monitor with 2 VGA port inputs. For scientific research purposes, I need to drive it at relatively high resolution (1280 x 960) and 120Hz.

We usually use a 2007 MBP, which has a DVI port that fits the bill nicely. Unfortunately, that machine is dead.

Our new MBP has a thunderbolt / mini-display port, which doesn't have the bandwidth to do this -- it maxes out at 100 Hz. The last 20 hz is pretty critical for proper timing of our experiments.

So two questions
(1) Can I use the HDMI port on the MBP to up the bandwidth? Would need a HDMI-VGA convertor that doesn't have bandwidth issues.
(2) Since these new MBPs have thunderbolt, are there thunderbolt-VGA convertors that have higher bandwidth than the existing mini-display-port to VGA dongles?

Thanks!

 

[Stuka87]

1280x960 is a very low resolution, and there is zero reason why DP/TB cannot drive it (Either will easily drive 144Hz 1080P displays). The limitation is in the OS. Apple detects what the display sends back, and then shows you what it thinks are the best choices.

If 120Hz is not listed, and you know for a fact that the display and the adapter that you are using can do 120Hz (Which is very high for a CRT), you can can create custom resolutions. A utility called SwitchResX is your best option.

You can download it here: http://www.madrau.com/srx_download/download.html

There are two others called SetResX and ScreenUtil, but I have not used these personally.

 

[qubits_ht]

I've tried SwitchResX without success. We were able to power the CRT monitor at up to 170hz in the past with the old MBP and its DVI port.

Do we need a dual-link DVI adaptor? Has anyone else had success running a CRT monitor at 120-170hz with the >2008 macbook pros? Thanks!

 

[Stuka87]

What adapter are you using now?