Mac Cinema display 20" - PC Compatible?

G

georgewkenny

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Hi.

Does anyone know if the "Mac Cinema display" series are compatible with PCs?

I consulted the www.apple.com/support site where there is a .pdf for the screen and it says

System Requirements:

The Apple Cinema display requires Mac OS X v10.2 or later, and one of the following systems:

- Power Mac G4 with an NVIDIA GeForce2MX, GeForce3, GeForce4 MX, or GeForce4 Titanium graphics card; or with and ATI Radeon 7500, 9000 Pro, or 9700 Pro graphics card
-PowerBook G4 with a DVI port and an apple DVI to ADC Adpater

I know that if the system requirements say so, then that what will be required, but surely if my PC has a DVI port, will it not pick up the monitor simply as a widescreen device, such as with any pc compatible widescreen device???

Display%2020%20Inch.jpg


If not, can you tell me why (as a stupid pc users - tut tut) it wouldnt work, I think the Apple displays looks the nuts, but am regretably a PC user.... :(

Ta very much mac-forums............

Here is the the link for the .pdf of the displays which shows the sys reqs..

http://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Manuals/specs/displays/L26120A_EN.pdf
 
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Well, if you are talking abou the display shown above(The older Cinema Display series) I do not believe that they are compatible with the PC. This is due to the connector that this display series uses. It uses a connector called ADC(Apple Display Connector). this connector carries USB signal, power, and image signal. In addition to this, an adapter would not work, because the connector carries power, and DVI cannot do that.

The new cinema displays, however, use DVI and are compatibile with the PC with exception to the 30" which requires a special video card.
 
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As ApplejustWorks pointed out, the old Cinema Displays (like the one on the picture) have a special connector which carries DVI, USB and power to the display.
Actually, there is an ADC-to-DVI adaptor, with external power inlet, but it's quite expensive (about 150,- Euro or so, just the adaptor!).
With the new Cinema Displays (Aluminium housing) Apple went off from the ADC connector and uses simple DVI, with separate USB and power. Which means the new ones are PC-compatible right out-of-the-box.
 
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resurrecting this from the dead, rather than start a new thread.

unless you insist :Smirk:

I have a 20" Cinema Display, and want to use it with an older G4 tower. I obviously need to upgrade my video card. What else do I need to know before I plunge into the searching and buying process?
 

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