Macbook Pro w/ two external screens

[Ling]

Macbook Pro w/ two external screens... is it possible?

Last time I tried to figure this out it seemed like it couldn't be done.

I have two 24" Samsungs that I'd love to be able to run off an MBP (don't own one yet). I wouldn't care what was on the MBP screen, I'd only be looking at the stereo 24's. I'd like the 24's to run an extended desktop across the two.

Anyone know if this can be done?

(sure would be awesome)

[getz76]

Originally Posted by Ling

Anyone know if this can be done?

Yes.

[WarrenG]

Originally Posted by Ling

Macbook Pro w/ two external screens... is it possible?

Last time I tried to figure this out it seemed like it couldn't be done.

I have two 24" Samsungs that I'd love to be able to run off an MBP (don't own one yet). I wouldn't care what was on the MBP screen, I'd only be looking at the stereo 24's. I'd like the 24's to run an extended desktop across the two.

Anyone know if this can be done?

(sure would be awesome)

Yes, I have a Matrox DualHead2Go - this plugs into the minidisplayport slot and you can then plug 2 monitors into that. I run both 24" monitors at 1920x1200 resolution across a single 3840x1200 desktop.
You have to close the MBP lid when you start it up.
The only issue is that a lot of alerts appear in the centre of the extended desktop, which means that they appear half on one screen, half on another, but it all works a treat!

[WinTaper]

This can be done - however, the macbook treats the display as one large display, meaning objects "centered" will appear where the screens meet. It will not treat it as a primary and secondary display. It can get weird.
-Dan

[necjamc]

These work well. I actually used this for my main display on my G5 waiting for my new card to come in. You can use mirrored stretched or a second screen. These work for mac and PC. I had very few problems with my 24" screen (not as fast refresh but worked great for PT.

[Ling]

Thanks for the info!

The Matrox unit sounds good. I can deal with the centered alerts thing. But it looks like I'd need adaptors. My Samsung 2443s have DVI and VGA inputs.

So, I could get the Matrox Dualhead2Go display port version and then I'd have to get two Displayport-to-digital DVI adaptors...or I could get the Matrox Dualhead2Go digital version and use a single displayport-to-vga adaptor. Is one way better than the other?



The Tritton unit sounds interesting, but it has a bunch of pretty bad reviews on Amazon...that scares me off.

[necjamc]

It's USB, so it can get jittery. You couldn't use it for games or video editing. But for a edit window or mix window I found it just fine. But it's expensive if it doesn't work for you, I agree it's a tough call. But it does work.

[Ling]

(referring to the Tritton (These work well.))

OK...that makes sense. I certainly don't need a high refresh rate on my mixer screen. And the advantage would be that my main screen could be "center" and the mixer screen could be extended. Cool. (And, it's quite a bit less than a Matrox Dualhead2Go AND an adaptor).