24" iMac - external display limitations

1. I have a mid-2007 24" iMac. I believe this means it has a ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory. The ATI specs suggest that this might be capable of driving a separate external display of 1920x1200 or maybe up to 2640x1600. I'm considering a Dell U2711 or maybe a 27" ACD -- these have a native resolution of 2640x1440. So will my old iMac do the job?
2. What options do I have to drive two external (independent) displays on this iMac? An inexpensive way to gain a lot of screen space is with a pair of external 24" displays, each at 1920x1200. Run one off DVI directly from the iMac and a second on a USB display adapter? Or... ?
Thanks for any feedback.

I see, I'm guessing you need the additional resolution otherwise you wouldn't be asking? If so then you're probably going to have to upgrade to a new iMac. Considering your computer is 3 1/2 years old I'll bet you've been dying for a new iMac. Assuming yours is in good shape you could sell it and then upgrade. I'm not sure what they 're selling for these days but you could check Ebay or your local Craig's List to get an idea. Just a thought.....

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Imac - external display stopped working

Hi All,
My imac has developed a problem overnight. I usually have the imac connected to an external display via the mini-DVI connection and everything worked fine. (to DVI --> HDMI --> Pioneer Plasma).
However today the imac could not be awoken from sleep. Restarting gets to the desktop screen but then goes gray screen. After much troubleshooting, I have isolated the problem to the mini DVI port. The computer will not complete booting up if the mini dvi port is connected. Just in case it was a problem with the mini-dvi to dvi adaptor, I tested it with a mini dvi to vga adaptor. Exactly the same problem with the booting sequence (gray screen as it gets to the desktop image stage). Without the mini DVI port in use, the imac boots up fine.
Could somebody please give me some suggestions re any further troubleshooting procedures I could try to fix the problem, or does it sound like a videocard hardware problem? Thanks for any thoughts.

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Try doing a Parameter RAM reset - hold down command/option/p/r keys at start up and wait for three chimes before releasing the keys.

New 27inch iMac, external Display "blinks" while in "Display Sleep"

I just updated from a 24inch iMac to a 27inch iMac.
I'm using the same setup for connecting the external display, which is a miniDisplay Port adapter(from Apple) to DVI, then DVI to the external monitor.
All works fine until the "Sleep Display" kicks in, then the external monitor pops up the "DVI-I no signal" warning. This is normal but instead of going away after a couple of seconds it begins to blink as if their is communications going on between the monitor and iMac. So its blinking this message endlessly and thus the external monitor never really goes to sleep.
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I added a YouTube video for clarity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Zm_U_7sbc

Go to: System Preferences > Displays select the Color tab > uncheck "Show profiles for this display only" and try one of the RGB profiles to see if it is better for you.
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IMac & External Display & Aperture - Experiences

I have been thinking of getting the new quad core iMac to use with an external monitor for photo editing, relegating the iMac built in display to doing what it does best - acting as a looking glass!
From my own experience and reviews I have read on the web, the performance of Aperture is significantly affected by the graphics card. So what I want to ask is, has anyone here tried this and if so what effect on Aperture's performance does connecting an external display have? If it has an effect do you still find Aperture 'fast enough'? Yes I know 'fast enough' is a relative term and what one person deems fast another may find slow.
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You can not turn off the iMac display, but it shouldn't be a problem if you run the setup in Extended Desktop Mode and then use the connected display as your main Display. Go to: System Preferences > Display's > select the Arrangement tab, then turn Mirroring Off and drag the menu bar to the connected display.
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Start with http://support.apple.com/kb/HT392

IMac external display problem

Hi,
I have a spare 22" 1080p tv sitting around so I tried to set it up as an external display for my 21.5" iMac. I was able to get it working (MDP to HDMI) but the resolution and color is not so great, and when I look at the external display in System Profiler it says something about it being a tv (which it is). My question is can I do anything better than what I have experienced so far? Thanks for the help,
rc
Note - I also tried running the Color Profile app that appears on the external display and while it did improve it some once I clicked on save it never seemed to stick...

Go to: System Preferences > Displays select the Color tab > uncheck "Show profiles for this display only" and try one of the RGB profiles to see if it is better for you.
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IMac External Displays...

I have a late 2009 27-inch iMac and I am wondering how to turn off External Displays.
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Had the same thought as rkauffman, wondering why you are using mini display port. But if for some reason you have to keep doing that, this is from Media Composer's help page answering another problem but it mentions turning off an external monitor, so there must be a software setting to do so.

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I just found this:
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/stats/imacg5_1.917.html
and then under: 2. display support: you'll find this link:
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ATI Radeon X1600:
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Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 128 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x71c5
Revision ID: 0x0000
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.068
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Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
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Yeah, I realize S-video is limiting, but I'm trying to keep things as simple as possible. The TV is mounted to the wall and there are not currently any DVI or HDMI cables coming out of it. There's an S-video input from my receiver that I'd prefer to use since it's readily accessible already. In the end my goal is to use Netflix "Watch Now" on the TV, so I'm not too worried about video quality.
and before someone asks if I considered that the receiver's S-video input might be the problem...I tried taking the s-video wire from the stereo and plugging it directly into the adapter. No dice.
ONE ADDITIONAL PIECE of information...while trying to get this to work on an LCD monitor, I plugged the composite video connection from the TV into the adapter. Suddenly the Mac recognized an additional monitor, but it saw it as a VGA monitor, not as s-video or composite video, and no signal went to the TV.
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Using iMac as external display with MBP, can this be done?

I know...
This has been posted before, but I have as of yet not found a straight answer. Mostly peoples recommendation is: "Buy a display".
However, I have an older iMac, 20" and I have a newer MBP 15". The MBP has a faster graphics card, better processor and more RAM. But I still like sitting at the table using my iMac, because the comfort of working is better this way.
Now seeing that I have both, is it possible to connect the two, and use the iMac for a display? Preferably without having to buy a whole lot of expensive cables, applications or do strange hacks risking hurting myself or my computers
Thanks all
Have a nice day

but I have as of yet not found a straight answer.
I think you are getting the straight answer. You need "buy a display" because a display has a video input port. An iMac has a video output port, but NO video input port. Therefore, you cannot use it as an external display, like a regular display.
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You could also use this clever program to use a fast network connection and VNC to display the MacBook Pro's second screen on the iMac screen.
http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html
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I use this program to give my iMac a third display. The +third display+ is an old PC laptop running Linux (Ubuntu).

Using iMac as external display on MBP (Lion)

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Please advise.
TIA,
David

but I have as of yet not found a straight answer.
I think you are getting the straight answer. You need "buy a display" because a display has a video input port. An iMac has a video output port, but NO video input port. Therefore, you cannot use it as an external display, like a regular display.
You could give the iMac a video input using a USB interface device, but the cost of such a device that would provide good quality video into the iMac would cost about the same as (or more than) a low cost LCD display. And it would probably not be ideal in terms of performance.
You could also use this clever program to use a fast network connection and VNC to display the MacBook Pro's second screen on the iMac screen.
http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html
In your case, the program will create a virtual screen for the MacBook Pro and shares it with the iMac in much the same way as the +screen sharing+ feature. Disadvantages are relatively slow image refresh rate (because the signal is going over the network) and the need to have the iMac turned on and running separately. The speed part will not be that bad in your case, if you use a Cat-5e or better Ethernet cable to connect the two Macs, so that you will have gigabit speed. You can give it a try at no cost to see if it is an acceptable solution (in time-limited demo mode).
I use this program to give my iMac a third display. The +third display+ is an old PC laptop running Linux (Ubuntu).

Can I use 2 external displays on new mid 2011 iMac?

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24" iMac - external display limitations

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