new iMac + two 24" Dells in vertical possible?

[shawngibson]

<p>Hey guys, time to replace my computer. My two Dell 2408s work great still, and I keep them in portrait mode (Windows). I'd like to make the computer part simple and get the top-notch 27" iMac (don't want a power mac). I see there is video out, but is there any way to connect my 2 Dells in portrait mode with them?</p>

<p>I asked Matrox regarding their DualHeadToGo, and apparently it works but only in landscape mode?</p>

<p>Shawn</p>

[brad_smith8]

<p>The current ATI Radeon 5xxx cards have triple outputs (that's what you want right?). But there are two DVI and one mini Display Port connector, so you'd have to get Display Port to DVI adapter (possibly powered depending on the resolution).</p>

<p>See if they have an option for a Radeon 5750 or 5770. Those could handle pushing all those pixels except for in extreme 3D gaming.</p>

<p>And yes the ATI driver allows for independent monitor rotation. The iMac 27" is 1440 pixels high, and the Dells are 1920 x 1200. So if they were vertical with the iMac's you've got that differential from 1920 to 1440 to deal with (if using one giant desktop - plus are physical dimensions close?). I guess you'd get black bars, or can maybe stretch one, but it may be tricky to get them all looking good together if the pixel pitch is too different.</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>Thanks Brad, I need to read your post more carefully, but I believe I can choose the 5750 as an option with the new iMac.</p>

<p>I'm confused because if the card has triple inputs, then why does the iMac require workarounds?</p>

<p>I'm a Windows guy...you plug a card in and attach cables to the back. You can open the iMac up (I know they seem pretty impenetrable?) and bypass the Apple constraints?</p>

<p>I definitely want to run my Dells at their native resolution, and have worst case scenario one of them vertical. It's a huge difference for editing (my current setup is one vert and one horiz Dell on a dual opteron machine (each with two cores) and 8gb ram...but this iMac I want ONLY for photoshop and LR...it won't even be hooked up to the internet unless there are critical updates (I'll keep my old box for everything else).</p>

<p>Maybe a small Mac Pro (upgrade as necessary) and another Dell would be a better option, I dunno. Just want to keep it simple as my last build took months of research, $10,000 and never worked properly lol. I want a decent Photoshop setup with 3 24" monitors where two are vertical..</p>

[brad_smith8]

<p>Cancel all that. I realized I have a TV and monitor at different resolutions connected to an ATI 4350, and when extending desktops (usually they're cloned) I'm able to use different resolutions, which render properly. So it should work.</p>

<p>Sorry I was overthinking again...</p>

[andylynn]

<p>On an iMac it's not like you've got a PCIE video card with all its inputs sticking out the back, everything is shrunk to put it in the smaller form factor and the video card is wired into the mini displayport output on the back. (Interestingly the mini displayport on the 27" can be an output or an input - you can use the computer as another computer's monitor.)</p>

<p>You might be able to get a mini displayport splitter... or, I know Apple or 3rd parties can provide a mini displayport to dual-link DVI adapter, and I know there are splitters for dual-link DVI, so maybe you can use it that way?... I'm not sure but now I'm curious.</p>

<p>BTW, the 5750 is a fantastic card, I just got one myself. It idles at 16W and maxes out at 86W! Pretty fast too.</p>

[garrison_k.]

<p>You`re already making compromises and you haven`t even bought it yet. Consider building a Hackingtosh. The iMac parts, sans crappola monitor, can be bought for $900 now.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>Tried it. More trouble than it's worth, and I'm pretty patient with this stuff. Installed Windows 7 while waiting for better hack of video drivers.</p>

<p>When starting out, better to stick with real Apple hardware.</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>Thanks guys. This is the one I'm looking at purchasing:</p>

<p><a href="http://store.apple.com/ca/configure/MC511LL/A?mco=MTg1ODA4MDM">http://store.apple.com/ca/configure/MC511LL/A?mco=MTg1ODA4MDM</a></p>

<p>I really only want a Photoshop/LR box, and definitely with three monitors (my 2 Dells and hopefully something 24-30") and no-fuss/no-muss with the computer, ie buy and forget.</p>

<p>The iMac looks like the best option (well of course the Power Mac does better, but I don't want all the hassle of building another huge computer). Maybe I need to contact Apple themselves to figure out the compatibility with portrait mode with two external monitors...all displaying different applications.</p>

<p>I'll report back what I find:)</p>

<p> </p>

[andylynn]

<p>You don't have to build a Mac Pro, they build it for you! The standard video card on a Mac Pro has 3 outputs and you get more power, but it's more expensive so ask about whether there's a way to do 2 externals on an iMac first. Ask on discussions.apple.com.</p>

[shawngibson]

<p>Thanks Andrew, I'll ask. I did ask on a support forum and here's what was said so far:</p>

<p>the imac has one video output. a 30 dollar adapter can be used to hook up a DVI display. (mini-display to dv adapter)<br />But you can add additional displays through a USB to DVI adapter. For instance see2 xtreame uv200 <a href="http://www.trittontechnologies.com/index.php/products/usb_video_technology/see2-xtreme-uv200/">http://www.trittontechnologies.com/index.php/products/usb_video_technology/see2-xtreme-uv200/</a> This is a great solution if you want to have another display for websites, office documents. a USB to DVI adapter isn't that great for 3D games.</p>

<p>Near as I can tell with all this info, I can add the Dells, but I can't put them in portrait mode, which is a small sacrifice to be fair...</p>

<p>Cost is definitely one of the reasons I don't want to build a Pro, too - no reason since I'm an amateur and don't care if I need to go for a coffee...or a nap lol...if I'm sharpening a stitched HDR image lol...</p>