On Apple Displays and PC’s…
I know I have some money coming in soon, so I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a 20 inch Apple cinema Display to replace the 17 inch screen currently on my 1.25 dual CPU MDD. I wanted to then switch the 17 inch screen over to my Quicksilver PowerMac which is currently running on a Samsung 760v (17 inch) LCD. My Quicksilver and my XP machine are both running off the same monitor, keyboard, and mouse via a little CompuCable manual USB KM switch. I’ve been investigating what it would take to run the PC and the Quicksilver using a 17 inch Apple Cinema display instead.
As always, the answer involves money and a new piece of equipment. The best answer seems to be a hybrid ADC (Apple Display Connector)/DVI (Digital Video Interface) KVM (keyboard, video, monitor) switch from CompuCable. Like most things that involve the Mac, it’s fairly expensive. But even at its $279 online price, it’s still a lot less expensive than the Gefen ADC KVM switch retailing at $450. At that price, it makes more sense to buy another 17 inch Cinema Display for an extra machine than it does to buy the switch.
Yes, you can find cheap KVM switches if your monitor has VGA input, that is. I did just that when I set up my current systems. My little manual CompuCable switch was on sale, reduced from about $30 down to $15. I added two VGA cables and two USB cables I already had, and I was (and am) in business.
I spent some time today at the local MicroCenter and discovered that Belkin now makes a 2 port KVM switch that supports DVI. It retailed for $200. I could make that work if I added Dr. Bott’s DVIator for $95 (this allows an ADC monitor to run via a DVI port) and a couple of DVI cables that cost $35 each! But that put my costs at about $100 more than buying the CompuCable switch which comes with DVI and ADC cables. Obviously, I decided it was not worth going the Belkin/Dr. Bott route. It was not only more expensive but it was more complex.
When I got home, I spent some time tweaking my old 570v. I adjusted brightness, contrast, and gamma and got a damned good presentation out of it, one generally on par with my Apple Cinema Display. I may or may not decide to buy the 20 inch display when the money shows up. I need a copy of DVD Studio Pro, and at $500, it’s not exactly cheap. I’d be much wiser to buy the software and use the rest of the money to pay off what I’ve already got. But there is no guarantee I’m going to be that sensible.
As always, the answer involves money and a new piece of equipment. The best answer seems to be a hybrid ADC (Apple Display Connector)/DVI (Digital Video Interface) KVM (keyboard, video, monitor) switch from CompuCable. Like most things that involve the Mac, it’s fairly expensive. But even at its $279 online price, it’s still a lot less expensive than the Gefen ADC KVM switch retailing at $450. At that price, it makes more sense to buy another 17 inch Cinema Display for an extra machine than it does to buy the switch.
Yes, you can find cheap KVM switches if your monitor has VGA input, that is. I did just that when I set up my current systems. My little manual CompuCable switch was on sale, reduced from about $30 down to $15. I added two VGA cables and two USB cables I already had, and I was (and am) in business.
I spent some time today at the local MicroCenter and discovered that Belkin now makes a 2 port KVM switch that supports DVI. It retailed for $200. I could make that work if I added Dr. Bott’s DVIator for $95 (this allows an ADC monitor to run via a DVI port) and a couple of DVI cables that cost $35 each! But that put my costs at about $100 more than buying the CompuCable switch which comes with DVI and ADC cables. Obviously, I decided it was not worth going the Belkin/Dr. Bott route. It was not only more expensive but it was more complex.
When I got home, I spent some time tweaking my old 570v. I adjusted brightness, contrast, and gamma and got a damned good presentation out of it, one generally on par with my Apple Cinema Display. I may or may not decide to buy the 20 inch display when the money shows up. I need a copy of DVD Studio Pro, and at $500, it’s not exactly cheap. I’d be much wiser to buy the software and use the rest of the money to pay off what I’ve already got. But there is no guarantee I’m going to be that sensible.
posted by Andy Foster at
3:12 AM
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