dell 30in lcd monitor and laptop question

Did Dell just come out with the 30in lcd monitor or did I just notice it now?

We need to replace our 3.5 yr old home laptop, an inspiron 4500. I still like the flexibility of taking the laptop to whatever room they're playing in but I'm in love with the 30in screen size I saw at the apples store. So I'm thinking of getting the 30in monitor and best laptop for the level of post processing I'd like to do more of. I only take family pictures but I want to start shooting in raw regularly. I'd get an external hd.

Would the following set be enough? Do I have the right video card to run the big monitor? Can I cut back on anything?

inspiron 6000
1.70GHz/2MB Cache/400MHz FSB
2GB Shared DDR2 SDRAM 2 Dimms
80GB 5400rpm Hard Drive (getting external hd)

ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON® X300 64MB HyperMemory™ (upgrade is 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON X300 PCI Express x16 Graphics )

. . . again, I'm also worried about the requirments to run the larger monitor optimally.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

: )
ivan

Not at the maximum resolution (2560 x 1600).

The laptop doesn't have a graphics card nor a DUAL-LINK DVI port to drive the Dell 3007 at its maximal native resolution (2560 x 1600). The Dell 3007 only has ONE input port - a DUAL-LINK DVI port. It doesn't even have a VGA port.

However, that laptop can drive the Dell 3007's other natively supported resolution (1280 x 800). Some users have reported being able to run the 3007 at other non-native resolutions, but just like running LCDs at non-native resolutions, the picture quailty was poor.

Any laptops that might even have a DVI port would most likely have a SINGLE-LINK DVI port which can output up to 1920 x 1200. Don't know of any laptops that have a graphics card and the DUAL-LINK dvi port to operate at 2560x1600 resolution.

Checking the specs at Dell.com,

That laptop only has a VGA port. However, the port replicator for that laptop may have the DVI port. I could not find the specs for the port replicator. You would have to make sure that the port replicator's DVI port is a DUAL-LINK DVI port (Highly unlikely since most replicators provide a SINGLE-LINK DVI port).

The Apple MacBook Pro has the videocard and the dual-link DVI port to drive the Dell 3007 (and the Apple 30 ACD) at the maximal resolution 2560 x 1600! Of course since this Apple laptop (using Intel's dual-core mobile CPU) has just been released, it may be hard to find independent users who have such a setup. You may have to check it out yourself by visiting an Apple store or reseller...

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/whatsinside.html

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

(However, the 12" Powerbook G4 does not seem to offer dual-link DVI)

http://www.apple.com/powerbook/specs.html

Dell's 6000 does not have a port replicator that has video on it. My wife has one so I know first hand. It will also not handle the 30in. I'm guessing you will have a hard time finding a laptop that will seeing as it needs dual DVI-D.

Also if you can, wait a few weeks. Dell will be upgrading thier laptop line with Intel Dual Cores.

David

Thanks for the info. I called a dell sales rep and the guy said all I needed was 256mb video card? He didn't say anything about how the image would turn out. I didn't know enough to question him so I just left it at that. I'm still open to a mac. Maybe if I can get my wife to play with one more at the mac store. Another idea I thought of was to get the dell 30in screen, a fairly beefy desktop, than get a cheap internet only laptop for running around the house.

Yes, it would be cheaper and easier to get a beefy desktop to run the Dell 3007...

Far easier and cheaper to find a desktop graphics card that has DUAL-LINK DVI port than to get a laptop that has a DUAL-LINK DVI port. With more graphics cards coming out with DUAL-LINK DVI ports, you will not restricted to just Dell's list of compatible graphics cards that can output the maximal resolution 2560 x 1600 of the Dell 3007.

(IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL: a DUAL-LINK DVI port is not the same as DUAL DVI ports. People who don't know any better or carelessly confuse these two terms can screw themselves and screw you.

DUAL-LINK DVI port means that the port can output a DVI signal to drive a display resolution higher than 1920 x 1200 (which is the typical max for a standard DVI port - more specifically known as SINGLE-LINK DVI port). Also a DUAL-LINK DVI port has no problems running as a SINGLE-LINK port (but definitely not vice versa --> a SINGLE-LINK DVI port cannot run as DUAL-LINK DVI port)

DUAL DVI ports just means that there are TWO dvi ports (could be 2 DUAL-LINK, 1

DUAL-LINK and 1 SINGLE-LINK, or 2 SINGLE-LINK). Because most available DVI ports are presently SINGLE-LINK and most people don't know any better, one can safely ASSUME that unless specifically stated DUAL-LINK, the DVI port is SINGLE-LINK. But since digital interface displays are appearing that can handle resolutions greater than 1920 x 1200 and require DUAL-LINK DVI interface, one must CAREFULLY and SPECIFICALLY ask about DUAL-LINK capability and DOUBLE-CHECK by asking what the maximum resolution the DVI port can handle. If the responder does NOT know or you don't feel comfortable with the answers, definitely ask someone else!

This article explains about the DVI signalling standard evaluated the image quality of ATI and NVIDIA graphics cards capable of outputting DVI. The article is more than 1 year old so ATI and NVIDIA DVI image quality may have changed since then...

http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/11/29/the_tft_connection/index.html

If you select the customize button from the 3007wfp page it shows that the only video cards they supply bundled with their pc's is the nVidia GeForce 7800GTX Graphics Card that is only available with their XPS 400 or 600 desktops. The 3007wfp goes down to $2k if you buy a dell system with it. I put together an XPS400 with the 3007 and total came to about $3800. Not bad considering that inclues my dream monitor. That system could also really open other fun things to do on the computer.

DUAL-LINK DVI ports are available in less expensive graphics cards than the 7800GTX. If you are a serious avid gamer then buying the 7800GTX could be justified. For photography work, the 7800GTX is unnecessary and a waste of money.

Also there's no technical requirement that a XPS system be required to operate a Dell 3007.

If saving money is not an important issue and you just want Dell to do the pre-configured, pre-built work for you, then go ahead and buy and enjoy!

Thanks. Anyway I can cut corners I'll take. My old xbox is enough gaming for me. Let me put together the info you provided so far and see what I can come up with.

skdpr said:

DUAL-LINK DVI ports are available in less expensive graphics cards
than the 7800GTX. If you are a serious avid gamer then buying the
7800GTX could be justified. For photography work, the 7800GTX is
unnecessary and a waste of money.

Also there's no technical requirement that a XPS system be required
to operate a Dell 3007.

If saving money is not an important issue and you just want Dell to
do the pre-configured, pre-built work for you, then go ahead and
buy and enjoy!

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