27" iMac displayport Input

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spyder_flex97

[H]ard|Gawd
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does anyone here have a 27" imac yet? Can someone confirm what can be connected to the displayport input. I would love to be able to connect my xbox or desktop pc to it
 
I do, and it is technically callled "Target Display Mode". The iMac must be turned on for this to function, and it requiers either the use of one of Apples Mini-Displayport to VGA, Mini-Displayport to DVI, or a third party Mini-Displayport to HDMI dongles. There are also switching boxes and converter boxes that will convert just about any input to Mini-Displayport.

It is a video only input, you still need to attach sound cables to your own speakers. The iMac just becomes a display.
 
That's an awesome feature, and like someone said in the other thread its well worth the price of admission for a 27" 2560x1440 IPS monitor itself, the iMac is just gravy.
 
AppaYipYip said:
I do, and it is technically callled "Target Display Mode". The iMac must be turned on for this to function, and it requiers either the use of one of Apples Mini-Displayport to VGA, Mini-Displayport to DVI, or a third party Mini-Displayport to HDMI dongles. There are also switching boxes and converter boxes that will convert just about any input to Mini-Displayport.

It is a video only input, you still need to attach sound cables to your own speakers. The iMac just becomes a display.
Click to expand...

Let me go ahead and get the obvious question out of the way: have you gotten a PS3 or 360 successfully outputting to the iMac?
 
AppaYipYip said:
I do, and it is technically callled "Target Display Mode". The iMac must be turned on for this to function, and it requiers either the use of one of Apples Mini-Displayport to VGA, Mini-Displayport to DVI, or a third party Mini-Displayport to HDMI dongles. There are also switching boxes and converter boxes that will convert just about any input to Mini-Displayport.

It is a video only input, you still need to attach sound cables to your own speakers. The iMac just becomes a display.
Click to expand...

I think I saw a link in one of the Apple forums and according to a poster, none of the cables right now will work with the 27" iMac. The cables according to Apple will be out "soon."

Update! Just read Gizmodo's review, sure enough they used a monoprice Mini-displayport to HDMI, didn't work due to the cable being unidirectional. Guess we need bidirectional cables. There quote regarding this is "...so don't buy an iMac planning to use it with a gaming console or Blu-ray player right away."
 
AppaYipYip said:
I used this adapter, and it worked just fine.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...i-displayport-male-adapter/prodMDPORTDVI.html

I buy all of my adapters/cables from Ram. Nice that I can just drive over and pick them up, they make most products in their warehouse.

I have not tried to connect a Blue Ray or XBox 360 to it, only the output from my 5870 on my gaming rig and it looked great.
Click to expand...

I didn't quote the entire Gizmodo review, they hooked up I think it was a Macbook that had a mini-displayport. So I guess if you have a video card or any other device that has a mini-displayport it should be fine.

So AppaYipYip just curious, does your PC computer display the entire resolution of the 27" iMac, 2560 by 1440 pixels? You should post a screen shot of you playing a PC game on the 27" iMac that would be cool!

Sorry to slightly hijacking your thread spyder_flex97.
 
Rofl I'm considering buying the lowest end 27" iMac JUST for the screen alone LOL.

Man that resolution with that quality of a panel/design is just too good for $1500ish with discount......the computer stuck inside is just a bonus.......

Wow.......seriously considering this......can we get some pics/videos of your iMac outputted by the 5870?
 
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i wanna see some pics of someone running a xbox, ps3, blueray player, or even a PC hooked up to the new iMac 27"...
once i see it and its confirmed i will head out get one of these bad boys so I can ditch my 30" LCD and run my i7 rig in target display mode
 
Armoured said:
Wow.......seriously considering this......can we get some pics/videos of your iMac outputted by the 5870?
Click to expand...

Isn't it actually 2 x 5870 in crossfire with that rig?? Can you give us some sort of idea of the frames per second you're getting? Can you also try it with just 1 card not crossfire?

I've just got my first 5870 for the OC gaming PC and am looking to do the same thing ... the iMac will be my daily driver (to replace my Mac Mini and dual 22" Dell 2209WA monitors) and then use target display mode for gaming with my PC ...
 
Armoured said:
Rofl I'm considering buying the lowest end 27" iMac JUST for the screen alone LOL.

Man that resolution with that quality of a panel/design is just too good for $1500ish with discount......the computer stuck inside is just a bonus.......

Wow.......seriously considering this......can we get some pics/videos of your iMac outputted by the 5870?
Click to expand...
$1500 for a monitor is crazy IMO
wait for the 3 x 1080p Samsung Eyefinity display sets
 
I was just kidding about using it for mainly a monitor......I would actually use OSX often.
 
EnderW said:
$1500 for a monitor is crazy IMO
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A 27" 2560x1440 16:9 IPS LED-backlight glossy finish monitor for $1500? It's not the price that's crazy.

There's two IPS LED-backlight monitors that I can think of. The HP LP2480ZX goes for $2000, is 24", is 1920x1200 16:10, and has a matte finish. The NEC 2180WG-LED is 21", came out in 2005, and still sells for $2800.

Until (if!) LG comes out with a separate monitor with this panel, Apple won't be able to keep a single 27" iMac on the shelf.
 
I'll be ordering the I7 27" next week.
they aren't shipping till November
 
Armoured said:
Rofl I'm considering buying the lowest end 27" iMac JUST for the screen alone LOL.

Man that resolution with that quality of a panel/design is just too good for $1500ish with discount......the computer stuck inside is just a bonus.......

Wow.......seriously considering this......can we get some pics/videos of your iMac outputted by the 5870?
Click to expand...

Add $300 more and you will have two extra cores, a much better graphic card and a better longevity.
 
Just saw the 27" iMac at the store today - it is freaking GORGEOUS.

Wow this thing is perfection - glossy screen doesn't even matter - the colors, the brightness, the design, the size..........I'm blown away.

I'm glad I'm posting in the Apple forum and not elsewhere as I would be told I'm gay by buying a Mac, but this 27" is perfection. Monitor, computer, rofl it would even work as a home decor piece.

I'm in love!
 
I think its a question of sooner or later rather than if we will see adapters for hdmi - imac displayport, no reason why it isn't technically feasible.
 
Terpfen said:
Why wait? Someone went ahead and did it.
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So we found the answer for non-Mac devices at this moment in time, you could do it by one of the following:

1. The Atlona method. But you will need both the Atlona DVI to Mini DisplayPort Converter and the Atlona HDMI Frequency Converter and Scaler. But resolution will only go up to 1920x1200.

2. A mini-displayport to displayport to an ATI 5000 series card or one of the very few Nvidia displayport cards.

So either way, you will have to add these into your budget consideration especially the Atlona method which will cost at least $418.00 US assuming you want to use the iMac as a display.

Thanks Terpfen for the updated info!
 
Terpfen said:
Why wait? Someone went ahead and did it.
Click to expand...


That guy used a scaler on a standalone display, you could do that on any monitor. External scalers have been around for a while. The issue there is 16:10 going to 16:9 also.

That really has nothing to do with the question at hand.

Will the 27'' imac take a 1280x720 signal form a bluray, ps3 or xbox which is exactly half of the native rez by pixel doubling without a scaler?
Adapters would be needed but no scalers.
That is the mystery.
 
tronmaster said:
So we found the answer for non-Mac devices at this moment in time, you could do it by one of the following:

1. The Atlona method. But you will need both the Atlona DVI to Mini DisplayPort Converter and the Atlona HDMI Frequency Converter and Scaler. But resolution will only go up to 1920x1200.

2. A mini-displayport to displayport to an ATI 5000 series card or one of the very few Nvidia displayport cards.

So either way, you will have to add these into your budget consideration especially the Atlona method which will cost at least $418.00 US assuming you want to use the iMac as a display.

Thanks Terpfen for the updated info!
Click to expand...


The Atlona would not be needed for a PC just the converters for the display port to DVI. You modern video card can output to any resolution including native. Why would a scaler also be needed?

I can see the Atlona only being needed if the monitor will not pixel double for 1280x720 for other devices.
 
I think I have made up my mind to get this. I have a 5870 in my gaming system but I love my 13" Macbook. My plan is to get this and use it as a primary display for my PC to play games and as a workstation for graphics and photoshop work. Is there any reason this won't work since the 5870 has displayport out?
 
hornkiku23 said:
The Atlona would not be needed for a PC just the converters for the display port to DVI. You modern video card can output to any resolution including native. Why would a scaler also be needed?

Actually that link that I was reading was for the LED display monitor. Doh! Probably the solution would be different with the 27" iMac, but I have been reading the Apple forums, and the Atlona DVI to Mini-displayport convertor will not work alone and any mini-displayport to HDMI or DVI would not work either.
Click to expand...
 
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hornkiku23 said:
Will the 27'' imac take a 1280x720 signal form a bluray, ps3 or xbox which is exactly half of the native rez by pixel doubling without a scaler?
Adapters would be needed but no scalers.
That is the mystery.
Click to expand...

A new iFixit article says that the iMac will only accept DisplayPort input. So you're either going to need to use the method outlined in the MacRumors thread, or wait for a special adapter from Apple or someone else.

Decent article on the situation here.
 
C0Y0TE said:
I think I have made up my mind to get this. I have a 5870 in my gaming system but I love my 13" Macbook. My plan is to get this and use it as a primary display for my PC to play games and as a workstation for graphics and photoshop work. Is there any reason this won't work since the 5870 has displayport out?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan! Time to upgrade the ageing GTX260 in my gaming box to something that supports DisplayPort.
 
can someone post a pic of a 27" iMac connected to a PC via displayport input if it is true that it can be done:)
 
hornkiku23 said:
Amen!

It's been days and we still have no photo of the imac doing this.

Waiting......
Click to expand...

I will get you a picture as soon as mine comes in- waiting for my quad to ship. No use getting this without the quad and 4850. You think YOU want to see pictures- I can hardly wait to see it on my desk!
 
AppaYipYip said:
I used this adapter, and it worked just fine.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...i-displayport-male-adapter/prodMDPORTDVI.html

I buy all of my adapters/cables from Ram. Nice that I can just drive over and pick them up, they make most products in their warehouse.

I have not tried to connect a Blue Ray or XBox 360 to it, only the output from my 5870 on my gaming rig and it looked great.
Click to expand...


I am not sure I believe this. It's been a week or so and no one has come forward showing a photo of the 5870 in target display mode on the new imac's.
 
EnderW said:
$1500 for a monitor is crazy IMO
wait for the 3 x 1080p Samsung Eyefinity display sets
Click to expand...
i've always thought having two 1080p landscape monitors just for peripheral vision to be a waste, i'd rather get two small 1440x900 monitors and run them in portrait mode either side of this screen.
 
AppaYipYip said:
I used this adapter, and it worked just fine.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...i-displayport-male-adapter/prodMDPORTDVI.html

I buy all of my adapters/cables from Ram. Nice that I can just drive over and pick them up, they make most products in their warehouse.

I have not tried to connect a Blue Ray or XBox 360 to it, only the output from my 5870 on my gaming rig and it looked great.
Click to expand...

Considering still no photos on this and no photos from anyone and recent research that suggest the 5xxx does not output to the even the 24'' cinema correctly, I am calling BS on this one.

I know a guy who ordered an imac after reading this post from another forum. I hope for his sake the 5870 and imac play nicely together but something tells me you have not gotten this working either.
 
AppaYipYip said:
I used this adapter, and it worked just fine.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/audio...i-displayport-male-adapter/prodMDPORTDVI.html

I buy all of my adapters/cables from Ram. Nice that I can just drive over and pick them up, they make most products in their warehouse.

I have not tried to connect a Blue Ray or XBox 360 to it, only the output from my 5870 on my gaming rig and it looked great.
Click to expand...
I call BS


Features:

• Support Mini DisplayPort 1.1a input and DVI output
 
Cyant said:
I call BS


Features:

• Support Mini DisplayPort 1.1a input and DVI output
Click to expand...

I did not realize the link he was point to was a passive dvi to displayport adapter. I thought it was a miniDP to DP.

He most surely is full of it.

LAME!
 
This guy is still making claims of this working in another thread.
It's simply not true according to many.

Please feel free to prove me wrong.

And no bootcamp photos either.......

You have a rare chance to be the guy who shows it first. Answering all kinds of unanswered questions like which adapters are working and gaming at 2560x1440 and what games you have support it.
There are discussions on at least 5 forums right now about this subject and no one has had any luck getting anything but a mac to display on the mac.



hornkiku23 said:
I did not realize the link he was point to was a passive dvi to displayport adapter. I thought it was a miniDP to DP.

He most surely is full of it.

LAME!
Click to expand...
 
Ok so I did some research (planning to pick up the 27" to use as a general purpose machine, and get a DP vidcard to hook up to my gaming box to game on) and this is what I found:

(i) It currently does /not/ work with anything that outputs at 1080p. The iMac does not have a scaler, so even if you manage to convert your HDMI signal to a mDP signal it still won't display.

(ii) It also does not work with ATI 5XXX series cards that have DP output. It is technically supposed to work, but as there are three variable components (iMac, cable and 5XXX) it is impossible to conclude which one is the stumbling block. It could be that Apple just rigged the input port not to work with anything non-Apple, there are conversion issues with the DP <-> mDP cable (may not work both ways) or ATI broke something in the 5XXX. The last is because the ACD 24" LCD display works with the previous gen 4890 also with Displayport. Haven't been able to find any reports of anyone trying a 4890 with the new iMacs though.

Hope this clears up some doubts. Personally, I was going to bite on a 27" as soon as the quads started showing up in stores but I think I'll sit on the fence a bit more and see where this goes.
 
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