# Can I connect a Apple 27" LED Cinema Display to a PC?



## JamesX (Sep 10, 2008)

I have a iMac and a PC and love the iMac display so much I would like to connect my PC to a similar display like the LED Cinema Display - but can I do it?

If so, what cable would I need to connect my PC which has a integrated display port on my Radeon 6770 graphics card.

AMD Radeon? HD 6770 Graphics

Thanks in advance for any help.
James


----------



## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

Doesn't look it:

System Requirements:
• Thunderbolt-enabled Mac computer, including MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac
• OS X v10.6.8 or later


Someone correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## JamesX (Sep 10, 2008)

yes, I noticed that model as well and thought the same thing but they also list this one Apple 27" LED Cinema Display that does not mention thunderbolt 

here is the link:
Apple LED Cinema Display (27" flat panel) - Apple Store (Canada)


----------



## Guest (Jul 28, 2011)

Great, proprietary monitors again ... good job Apple


----------



## Paul82 (Sep 19, 2007)

The previous generation without thunderbolt should work fine with a mini display port... The current gen might work as only a display... None of the extras would function (webcam, FireWire and USB ports) as I'm pretty sure it is those parts that require the thunderbolt connection.


----------



## Tech Elementz (Mar 15, 2011)

mguertin said:


> Great, proprietary monitors again ... good job Apple


It's not like it was there fault... The only reason why they made the Thunderbolt display, was for a docking solution for all Macbooks... There were not really mentioned to be used with anything else...

@OP - I suggest getting a Cinema Display only if you have a graphics card with mini displayport built in...


----------



## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

mguertin said:


> Great, proprietary monitors again ... good job Apple


Please don't let Thunderbolt go the way of ADC...


----------



## Guest (Jul 28, 2011)

Chealion said:


> Please don't let Thunderbolt go the way of ADC...


It seems to be headed down that path already ... no licensing from Intel and only on Macs to date, no one adopting it really aside from the usual suspects that cater to the Mac crowd (and even then still mostly waiting on tbolt devices to make their debuts). There are a couple of them but they are way overpriced so far.


----------



## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

According to some review sites, it's for compatible Mac use only. 

Last Sept 2010 review says:
"Let's get right to it. If you're considering purchasing the 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display, know that you'll need a Mac with a Mini DisplayPort connection in order to use it. If you only own a PC or older Mac, you're out of luck.

Read more: Apple LED Cinema Display Review - Watch CNET's Video Review "

Apple LED Cinema Display Review - Watch CNET's Video Review


----------



## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

The only reason is that Thunderbolt is Mac-exclusive right now. It's coming to PCs. Sony already uses it in a proprietary manner for one of their machines. Thunderbolt will be available to PC vendors this fall. And considering it's beating out eSATA, USB 3, FW, I would say a number of PC makers will adopt it. Then it will work with PCs.

I don't see why anyone would be upset over the display though. The main feature of this is that you can dock everything through one connector - the thunderbolt connector. Thunderbolt is the enabler of this. The reason PCs and older Macs aren't compatible is not because Apple chose to make it not compatible, it's because the older Macs and PCs just don't have the enabling technology. Apple couldn't make it compatible without having a USB, FW, and Ethernet breakout cables - defeating the big advantage of this display in the first place.

So if you have a non-Thunderbolt Mac or PC, why would you want this display? How would you expect Apple to produce it to be compatible with your computer? Just go buy another display - it's not like you can't get an equally good quality display for that price.


----------



## Tech Elementz (Mar 15, 2011)

hayesk said:


> *The main feature of this is that you can dock everything through one connector - the thunderbolt connector. *


Again, the whole reason why they made the Thunderbolt display... As well, they still do sell the Cinema Displays, which work via MDP... 

+1 for havesk


----------



## Guest (Jul 29, 2011)

hayesk said:


> The only reason is that Thunderbolt is Mac-exclusive right now. It's coming to PCs. Sony already uses it in a proprietary manner for one of their machines. Thunderbolt will be available to PC vendors this fall. And considering it's beating out eSATA, USB 3, FW, I would say a number of PC makers will adopt it. Then it will work with PCs.


Do you have any proof to back any of this statement up in regards to it coming to PC's? I'd also like to see where you get the idea that Thunderbolt is beating out eSATA, USB3 and FW considering it's only available on a very limited number of machines and that almost no one is making peripherals for it yet (aside from Apple and that one very overpriced RAID setup).


----------



## Guest (Jul 29, 2011)

hayesk said:


> So if you have a non-Thunderbolt Mac or PC, why would you want this display? How would you expect Apple to produce it to be compatible with your computer? Just go buy another display - *it's not like you can't get an equally good quality display for that price*.


*spit coffee on monitor* *cough* Wow ... really?? .... the fanboy is really coming out in you with this post. That is a lot of money for an overpriced shiny front monitor (aka a mirror) with a dock built into it. There are a LOT of monitor options that blow this out of the water for the money. 

As for expecting Apple to produce a monitor that's compatible with _industry standard_ connections they have for years and still do (the non thunderbolt ACD that's still for sale on the Apple store). It's called DVI -- but again it's going to be a thing of the past for them in the very near future. We're back to the whole proprietary Apple hardware again which was one of the things that almost killed them the first time around.


----------



## pm-r (May 17, 2009)

Speaking of Thunderbolt, it seems that some Macs get a slower speed version.

Macbook air has a half-speed thunderbolt port- The Inquirer
"EXPENSIVE TOY MAKER Apple put a Thunderbolt port into the latest model of its Macbook Air range, but it will only be capable of half the speed of Thunderbolt ports on other Apple devices.
The Light Ridge Thunderbolt chip used on this year's Imac, Macbook Pro and Mac Mini has four Thunderbolt channels, capable of up to 80GB/s of total bandwidth, along with two Displayports.
The Eagle Ridge Thunderbolt chip, on the other hand, has only half the channels and a single Displayport. This will be used by the Macbook Air, according to Anandtech, making for somewhat disappointing performance.

Read more: Macbook air has a half-speed thunderbolt port- The Inquirer 
The Inquirer - Computer hardware news and downloads. Visit the download store today. "


----------

