Will a Matrox Parhelia power one or more Apple Cinema Displays?

[Magicthyse]

I'm gonna splurge. For various reasons, all of which I lament but can't really do much about - except hire a software team to rewrite a whole bunch of PC software into OSX - I can't have an Apple desktop as my main machine. However I thought - isn't the screen usable on a PC? Is it really some odd Apple DVI interface or a 'standard' DVI interface with an integrated connector for power and USB? Are there convertors available? Ideally I'd be looking at a dual-monitor setup, but I think I'll get one display first to see how I get on with it - that is, if the Parhelia can talk to the thing.

Any ideas? Anyone have this or a similar - say with a Radeon or something - setup?

 

[Magicthyse]

Anyone?

 

[Wolfsraider]

from what ive read you would need two mac to pc video convertors for lack of proper terminology
other than that it should do fine but i have heard that those converters are on the pricey side aprox 150.00 if memory serves me correctly


hope this helps
mike

 

[Magicthyse]

Thanks very much - do you or anyone else have more specific info about the converters? With the screen at $2,500 each - untimately looking at getting two side by side - a couple of hundred bucks ain't going to make a lot of difference.

PS, you forgot to add Windoze v Mac in your sig

 

[Yoshi]

Yep, the Apple displays use the Apple Display Connector (ADC). The ADC is basically a DVI, USB, and power all in one. Apple's displays don't have a separate power connector and have USB ports on them. Everything goes through one cable.

Yes you can get a DVI to ADC converter, and yes they are somewhat pricy somewhere around $150.

 

[Moishe]

You getting the HD or the regular cinema display?
according to apple.com:
System requirements
One of the following systems:
? Power Mac G4 with NVIDIA GeForce2 MX, GeForce3, GeForce4 MX, or GeForce4 Ti graphics card,* or ATI Radeon 7500 graphics card; and Mac OS X v10.1.3 or Mac OS 9.2.2
? Power Mac G4 with DVI port (via an NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti graphics card*) and Apple DVI to ADC Adapter
? PowerBook G4 with DVI port and Apple DVI to ADC Adapter

Looks to me like it plugs into a regular vid card or with DVI using the DVI cable which you can buy as an accessory for $119 at macwarehouse

but a drawback is that the display's controls are ONLY available via software which does not run on a PC.

techTV review CD-23in
techtv review CD-22in

However if you buy one of the 3dlabs cards which were designed to run dual Cinema displays on mac AND PC.... 3dlabs press release

 

[addragyn]

This is what you are looking for. I don't know of any other DVI > ADC convertors.

The part above will not work. ADC also carries power so any adapter will need a power supply. Otherwise it would be cheaper to use this in reverse.


Here you can bu ythe displays at a savings and make up for the DVIator.

 

[Magicthyse]

Thanks a zillion for the 3Dlabs pointer. The shop seems to be offline right now, but that's fantastic news.

 

[EdipisReks]

they will work with the proper adaptor, bit IMHO it is a big waste of time. i work with 22" cinema displays at work, and they suck compared to a good planar. the lighting is VERY uneven with the cinema display and the pixel refresh is slow. just my opinion. i would go with big planars, myself.

 

[Magicthyse]

Hmmm. Interesting. What would you recommend that I can buy easily in the UK? I note that Dell doesn't seem to carry Planar monitors in Europe. There's also the style issue - my work room is going to be remodelled, and the Cinema Displays would work great. I work mainly in Excel, some proprietary financial packages, Outlook, and Word - about 4 hours of use a day at the most I guess. No games on this PC. Performance doesn't have to be the absolute best, merely very good - but the style has to be. I could have kept the N80, but the new decor doesn't suit the square and businesslike monitor.

 

[EdipisReks]

well, if you are just looking for style and adequete performance for office programs, the cinimea display is probably the way to go. planar.com should be able to answer any questions you have about distribuction in the UK.

 

[addragyn]

Just found out about this.

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: Magicthyse
I'm gonna splurge. For various reasons, all of which I lament but can't really do much about - except hire a software team to rewrite a whole bunch of PC software into OSX - I can't have an Apple desktop as my main machine. However I thought - isn't the screen usable on a PC? Is it really some odd Apple DVI interface or a 'standard' DVI interface with an integrated connector for power and USB? Are there convertors available? Ideally I'd be looking at a dual-monitor setup, but I think I'll get one display first to see how I get on with it - that is, if the Parhelia can talk to the thing.

Any ideas? Anyone have this or a similar - say with a Radeon or something - setup?

as mentioned by Moishe:

In the August issue of MaximumPC there is a review of the Apple Cinema HD Display (23-inch, $3500). Here is a quote: "when it's running on a Windows PC via an adapter, you can't fine tune your screen image... all adjustments must be done within MacOS."

Since you can not adjust ANY of the settings of these monitors from a PC, I would suggest you look elsewhere.

You may want to pick up that issue if you can find it; they have 11 reviews of LCDs: 17"(3), 18"(6), 20"(1), 23"(1).

 

[jkresh]

apples adc to dvi adapter