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How To Get The Dual Link DVI Adapter and a MacBook Pro To Work Together

February 1, 2009 by 15 Comments

I recently bought a new MacBook Air solely for the reason that it could drive a 30″ monitor. At work, I use a 30″ Dell and at home, I have a 30″ Apple Cinema Screen.

When I first plugged my MBAir directly into the Dell, I just couldnt get a resolution above 1280×800. Really annoying.

Then a couple of weeks back, Apple came out with the Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link Adapter. Really stoked.

I bought one, and then came into the office to plug it into my monitor. I couldnt get the dell monitor to sync with a resolution above 1280×800. Really pissed.

I took the adapter home, and connected my MacBook Air to my 30″ Apple Cinema Screen. It worked perfectly. Really happy.

BTW, when I was researching why it didnt work, I found dozens and dozens of negative reviews on the Apple Store site:

Dual Link DVI Adapter

Then, it took just a swap of my Apple Cinema Screen with the Dell Screen at work, and I was up and running.

Fast forward a week. I am working out of my friend Jeffrey‘s office. He has a new Macbook Pro. When he connects his MacBook Pro into his 30″ Apple Cinema Screen, he gets a strange flickering (which the reviewers started to call the “Flickering of Death”). Now, he’s really annoyed.

We use his adapter with my MacBook Air. Works perfectly. Now, he’s really pissed.

We get in the car, go to the apple store and talk to the folks there. After a bit of mucking around, they came up with a simple solution, which fixed the issue:

  1. Go to System Preferences
  2. Open Energy Saver
  3. Select Higher Performance
  4. Enjoy the use of your adapter and monitor.

Dual DVI Adapter Fix

Now Jeffrey joins me in being stoked.

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  • http://technosailor.com Aaron Brazell

    That's really interesting. It seems odd that an energy option would affect display parameters. But, whatever's clever I guess.

  • http://learntoduck.com micah

    The answer was that the “better battery performance” option degrades
    the video card to a lower output. So, by selecting Higher Performance,
    you are removing all the restrictions.

    The other interesting thing, is that the new 24″ Cinema Screen has all
    this built in, and works like a charm.

  • http://www.callmejeffrey.com jeffrey

    It's true. Just switched to mac for work full time on friday – haven't even worked a full day on it. I was ready to murder everyone in the store and burn down the 29th mall, but then they fixed the problem. Thanks to apple, there were no massacres this superbowl sunday.

  • http://technosailor.com Aaron Brazell

    Ah…. actually that makes a ton of sense with the new systems. I wasn't aware the new MBAs had the dual cards tho. Thought that was only the new MBPs. Learn something new every day.

  • http://learntoduck.com micah

    The MacBook Air doesnt. I still dont know why it doesnt work on the
    Dell. I just swapped them, so the Dell is at home and the Apple Cinema
    Screen is at work. Ends up being net/net the same…

  • http://jasonseifer.com jasonseifer

    This is an interesting fix. Do you still get the out of sync issues this way?

  • http://learntoduck.com micah

    Nope. Seems to work perfectly.

    ———–
    Sent via butterflies and gnomes.

  • http://www.realfreebies.co.uk PS3

    I didn't know there was such a problem, but as you seem quite up to date with these problems, do you know how to increase the resolution of the TV (as a monitor) off my Macbook 13.3″?

    Any help would be great :)

  • andrew

    Micah, are you getting 2500×1920 on the macbook air? I didn't think this was possible.

  • http://learntoduck.com micah

    Yeah, thats the idea of the adapter. It drives the 2500×1920 via the adapter to the 30″ cinema screen (not the macbook air itself)

  • TOmk

    I dont get the Graphics radio buttons on my mac. I have leopard and a brand new macbook unibody and I dont get those 2 performace radio buttons. Any ideas.

  • http://learntoduck.com micah

    I dunno. They dont appear on my MacBook AIR, which was annoying, and I
    could only get it to work on an Apple Cinema Screen. Not sure about the
    MacBooks. They are on the MBPs.

  • bdkengraving

    Q, sort of the same. want to hook up my macbook pro to my tv. how can i find the right adapter with at least 3' of cord. i think i need a dvi to vga ???

    thanks everyone!

  • bdkengraving

    Q, sort of the same. want to hook up my macbook pro to my tv. how can i find the right adapter with at least 3' of cord. i think i need a dvi to vga ???

    thanks everyone!

  • 64jazzbass

    This tip saved my life. I’ve been trying to figure this out and already have a replacement Dell on the way. Oops.