How to connect Apple Cinema LED to PC?

Kanex and Startech make similar adapters, but from what I've seen none of them are really guaranteed to work. And they wouldn't drive the display at full res anyway. I would just take the $100 cost of the adapter and put it toward a 21.5" 1080 display with hdmi instead.
 
You could get a korean knockoff or one of the usa mfg ones (like the one from monoprice, etc) for $400 or less. I think the lowest common price is $325 shipped from ebay. I would have but I already had my ACD (apple cinema display) for a year before those started to show up. Personally I would stick with the glossy coating ones like the ACD has. When you set up your computer "studio" properly it gives a much more lush and clear image.

I use the atlona 400 off a desktop card from dvi and it works fine, so I'm not sure why your hdmi isn't working. Did the monitor show up in your display settings/drivers when you connected it? Does your laptop have a monitor swap button so that you can swap to only the ACD? You can do that in the video settings/drivers too.

Laptop output can be iffy for sure. I hook up an old monitor to mine sometimes and it won't pick up off the hdmi port but will off the vga port (my laptop has both types of output). It may be a HDCP issue idk.

You could also try an external usb video card to displayport device, as long as you aren't gaming (I wouldn't use a 60hz monitor for gaming anyway personally).
StarTech USB32DPPRO USB 3.0 to Displayport External Video Card Multi Monitor Adapter - 2560x1600
 
elvn said:
You could get a korean knockoff or one of the usa mfg ones (like the one from monoprice, etc) for $400 or less. I think the lowest common price is $325 shipped from ebay. I would have but I already had my ACD (apple cinema display) for a year before those started to show up. Personally I would stick with the glossy coating ones like the ACD has. When you set up your computer "studio" properly it gives a much more lush and clear image.

I use the atlona 400 off a desktop card from dvi and it works fine, so I'm not sure why your hdmi isn't working. Did the monitor show up in your display settings/drivers when you connected it? Does your laptop have a monitor swap button so that you can swap to only the ACD? You can do that in the video settings/drivers too.

Laptop output can be iffy for sure. I hook up an old monitor to mine sometimes and it won't pick up off the hdmi port but will off the vga port (my laptop has both types of output). It may be a HDCP issue idk.

You could also try an external usb video card to displayport device, as long as you aren't gaming (I wouldn't use a 60hz monitor for gaming anyway personally).
StarTech USB32DPPRO USB 3.0 to Displayport External Video Card Multi Monitor Adapter - 2560x1600
Click to expand...

I actually like the shape and look of the apple display (sits nice on my desk) that's why i wanted to keep it. I cant get usb video card as i do gaming.

You said you use atlona 400, Do you plug the Thunderbolt cable that come out from the apple display into atlona or you use a mini display port that plugs into apple display to atlona?

On the other hand, how did you find the performance is on atlona for gaming?
 
I plug the apple mini display port into the atlona. My acd is pre-thunderbolt but most converters work with either in regard to trasmitting display signal afaik. I don't game on my acd. I use two monitors - one is a 120hz TN 1080p for gaming, the other is the ACD for everything desktop/apps/still-image wise. Each is way better for their respective tasks. The tradeoffs of using only one monitor type are too great.

Soon I will probably get an asus PG278Q after they come out sometime after end of april. They are 27" 2560x1440 120hz-144hz "high quality" TN's with g-sync and ulmb (either one or the other enabled at a time). G-sync and ulmb are described among other things in the link below. Personally I would never game at less than 120hz again if I could help it. I also found the ACD especially blurry (on 1st/3rd person game FoV movement), even for a 60hz panel, but all 60hz panels are very blurry and have much less motion tracking/motion&animation definition.

http://www.web-cyb.org/hardware-info/120hz-fps-compared.htm

I do like the apple cinema display for what it is best at, so I don't mean to say it is junk or anything. Still imagery looks gorgeous on it, and the ppi and desktop real-estate are great.
 
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elvn said:
I plug the apple mini display port into the atlona. My acd is pre-thunderbolt but most converters work with either in regard to trasmitting display signal afaik. I don't game on my acd. I use two monitors - one is a 120hz TN 1080p for gaming, the other is the ACD for everything desktop/apps/still-image wise. Each is way better for their respective tasks. The tradeoffs of using only one monitor type are too great.

Soon I will probably get an asus PG278Q after they come out sometime after end of april. They are 27" 2560x1440 120hz-144hz "high quality" TN's with g-sync and ulmb (either one or the other enabled at a time). G-sync and ulmb are described among other things in the link below. Personally I would never game at less than 120hz again if I could help it. I also found the ACD especially blurry (on 1st/3rd person game FoV movement), even for a 60hz panel, but all 60hz panels are very blurry and have much less motion tracking/motion&animation definition.

http://www.web-cyb.org/hardware-info/120hz-fps-compared.htm

I do like the apple cinema display for what it is best at, so I don't mean to say it is junk or anything. Still imagery looks gorgeous on it, and the ppi and desktop real-estate are great.
Click to expand...

yeah actually i was also thinking to keep the apple for just the regular everyday use and just buy a 2560x1440 display for gaming. my mini display port has just arrived today and i tried it on atlona and still didn't worked. it seems as the ACD come with thunderbolt outputs only which atlona does not support and not either Kanex XD or belkin av360.

It seems as one should buy thunderbolt video adapter to get the new ACD work, which does not exist yet.

Any recommendation on 27" 2560x1440 display or higher? probably a glossy one? these both seem promising: http://www.samsung.com/levant/consumer/computers-peripherals/monitors/led-monitor/LU28D590DS/ZN
https://www.asus.com/Monitors_Projectors/MX299Q/
 
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