How we selected the best monitors for MacBook ProĪs a freelance technology critic who works from home full-time and is responsible for buying all of my own gear, I put a lot of time into researching my purchases and determining the best setup for my needs.
Macbook pro multiple monitors dvi windows#
For some of us, the extra real estate for windows and applications that pop up over each workday feels like a necessity.
Adding an external monitor can create a more productive work environment. If tricking it to deactivate the laptop screen can give such a boost, it should also be visible / measurable on smaller screens, so I don't necessarily need someone with a 24" to test it for me.Whether you have the base 13-inch model or a top-end 16-inch MacBook Pro, sometimes you just need more screen. The graphics performance when the CPU is idle is very close to "fine" on a 1920x1200 screen, so just a tiny bit more would be perfect.
For someone with a lot of heavy background processes it's another issue though. However, I rarely have a constant CPU strain (rather I have sharp, short peaks) so it shouldn't bother me that much. Thanks for the link, and you make a very valid point regarding the bus. Combine the two, and you get sluggishness.
If the GPU is using a lot of RAM, the CPU can be left waiting for VM to get it what it needs from disk. If you're performing intensive CPU tasks, the GPU can be left waiting for access to its buffers. The GPU is having to share the RAM *and* the memory bus with the CPU. This page has some nice tricks for working on an external display with the lid open. While you can fiddle with the computer (external USB keyboard, etc, etc) to get it to work in this mode, it's not really recommended. Placing the LCD close next to the source of heat degrades the LCD panel over time. If you have money for 43% more monitor, you should have gotten 43% more computer to go along with it? So has noone actually compared closed and open lid performance on a 23/24" screen? In fact, opening the lid past 90 degrees obstructs the rear exhaust somewhat, while having it closed will allow for maximum airflow.Īlso, I think you're mistaken regarding RAM being the issue in terms of graphics performance - window scaling and animation would be a GPU issue rather than a VRAM issue. Seeing as very, very little heat exhaust is done through the keyboard on a macbook, I think you're actually wrong here.
Macbook pro multiple monitors dvi verification#
This is why I was asking for verification that closing the lid (given that this deactivates the built-in screen) helps improve performance on the external monitor. More pixels to move = slower performance. Your seventeen inch, 1280x1024 screen has only 57% of the amount of pixels of my twentyfour inch, 1920x1200 display, which means that the GUI performance is a much bigger strain on my monitor than on yours. What are you talking about? What are the specs on your current MB? DVI monitor, and it isnt sluggish at all. But.I made my purchase last week, and got a MB. It makes sense that yoy would only power one screen and thus use less resources. I bet that it will work just as snappy with the clamshell shut. I want my new computer to feel snappy and responsive, so this is a rather important factor in my purchase decision, especially considering the new fancy graphics stuff expected in Leopard.Īnd no, I won't be doing any 3D or video work. On a macbook pro, on the other hand, it runs at a very smooth 25 fps or above. I'm asking this because I'm doing all my work on a 1920x1200 display, and on a macbook with the lid open and an external display at this resolution, expose is slightly sluggish at about 12-15fps. My question: Is there a discernible improvement in graphics performance if the macbook is run with the lid closed, as opposed to having both laptop and external display active? I would hope so, as shutting off the internal display ought to leave more resources to the external one. Sorry for being late to the party, but I figured I'd recycle this thread rather than starting a new one.
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