Known good 21" monitor for macbook pro unibody 15"?

Hi all,

I was prompted to sign up to ask a question that seems to have no straight answer, even less so the more one Googles it..

I just repackaged a Dell 24" inch U2410 with Premier Colour monitor, after receiving it this afternoon. I am sending it back tomorrow.

I had ta number of problems (the first of which I am at least aware was due to my own stupidity):

I ordered it thinking it would fit in the space I have . It didn't.

However even if it had, I still could not get it to work properly with the Macbook pro. In Mirror mode, on the highest macbook resolution, the clarity on text and all OSX interface on the monitor was fuzzy and looked awful.

If i did not set it to Mirror mode, the OSX interface simply was not visible - all I could see was the desktop image (in correct res). This remained the case when trying all resolutions for both macbook and the external monitor.

I was also unable to bring my Macbook out of sleep mode by pressing the keys on an external usb mac keyboard as instructed in the only video i could find on how to set up on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xes-kOQj1e0). Therefore the only way I could get anything on the Dell was by leaving the macbook open.

My question is, does ANYONE out there use an external 21'' 3rd party monitor, preferably Dell, connected to the 15" macbook pro? And if so can they please tell me which it was and how it was set up?

I would certainly also consider an older apple display - the new cinema display has been ruled out due to shiny screen and now because I slo know it would be too big (particularly as it is far less flexiable than the dell I am about to return).

Thanks in advance for any help whatsoever on this.

Cheers

I can't speak for the dells but I have had my MacBook hooked to 3 samsungs 2-21" and 1-20 " with no problems what so ever. All with mini display port t dvi.

clayneal said:

I can't speak for the dells but I have had my MacBook hooked to 3 samsungs 2-21" and 1-20 " with no problems what so ever. All with mini display port t dvi.

Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for the reply, is it the 15" macbook pro?

No it's a late 08 13 uni MacBook. But my work partner's is and he uses the same two21's

I have a unibody 13" MBP which I use with a 22" Dell S2209W and it works perfectly. It is connected using a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adaptor. The screen is crystal clear and razor sharp. I've used it with 10.5 & now 10.6.

I don't know that this will resolve your issues, but there is a Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adaptor firmware update available from Apple...

Apple - Downloads - Firmware & Hardware - Mini DisplayPort to VGA Firmware Update 1.0

Also, Apple has a known problem getting an external monitor to turn back on after the MacBook wakes up from sleep. If you wake your Mac while the external monitor is connected, the second monitor will not wake. You'll have to unplug the Mini DisplayPort connection, wait a moment and plug it back in. Apple acknowledges the problem, but I don't believe there is a fix at this time.

This is the first I have heard of the wake from sleep problem. Both of our company's MacBooks wake the monitors with no problems.

clayneal said:

No it's a late 08 13 uni MacBook. But my work partner's is and he uses the same two21's

Click to expand...

Ok thanks a lot. From what I've heard it's the 15" december (around abouts) 2008 release macbook pro that sometimes has issues with external monitors. I am now considering a 20" dell, though not decided which yet... If apple did 20" cinema display I would consider that. Anyone nkow f any rumours on this front?

Jaygray said:

I have a unibody 13" MBP which I use with a 22" Dell S2209W and it works perfectly. It is connected using a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adaptor. The screen is crystal clear and razor sharp. I've used it with 10.5 & now 10.6.

I don't know that this will resolve your issues, but there is a Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adaptor firmware update available from Apple...

Apple - Downloads - Firmware & Hardware - Mini DisplayPort to VGA Firmware Update 1.0

Also, Apple has a known problem getting an external monitor to turn back on after the MacBook wakes up from sleep. If you wake your Mac while the external monitor is connected, the second monitor will not wake. You'll have to unplug the Mini DisplayPort connection, wait a moment and plug it back in. Apple acknowledges the problem, but I don't believe there is a fix at this time.

Click to expand...

Yeah I'd heard about the sleep problems before I bought the u2410, but they seemed rare so I didn't expect them to be a problem. I connected using a mini dvi to dvi adapter as opposed to dvi-vga.

Thanks for the suggestion and link.

I'll still be returning the u2410, not for quality reasons (it is very well built and the images looked great on screen when they worked), but because it is simply too big.

But also I hope that whatever monitor I choose, I won't have to messa round for minute just trying to switch the machine on the have it closed whilst working with the external monitor...

I use an LG 22" monitor with my late 2008 15" MBP. The Apple firmware update did help with wake issues for me.

The resolution of the LG screen is 1680 x 1050 and overall it's a really nice screen. The model I have is the Flatron W2242S. I do graphic art and video editing so getting the colours right is important to me and this screen has impressed me for it's price.