18 replies to this topic

[the Battle Cat]

I have a Windows box and a Mac box.  I purchased an ASUS PG279Q monitor. The Windows box connected successfully with the ASUS PG279Q monitor with both the DisplayPort and the HDMI, the Mac Saphire HD 7950 with neither.   When trying to connect with HDMI an error message displays on the monitor saying, "Out of range".  I exchanged it for a new one.  This new one has the same problem.

I have no DP or HDMI monitors to test to see if my 7950 is fried.  Is the ASUS PG279Q incompatible with a Mac Saphire HD 7950?  Is the PG279Q incompatible with Macs in general?

[Tetsuya]

All i can think of is that the ROG monitor's combo of refresh rate and resolution is too much for the old 7950.  The ROG might require a newer HDMI and DP version than the old card supports.

[the Battle Cat]

How do I find the HDMI and DP versions on my card?  About this Mac has the briefest of blurbs on my card, no mention of ports.  I have no idea where to look to find the HDMI version requirement of the monitor.

Now I'm wondering if my Mac card will run ANY modern HDMI monitor.  I just wish I could test out the damn HDMI port on my Mac.

[DirtyHarry50]

the Battle Cat, on 10 January 2017 - 07:52 PM, said:

How do I find the HDMI and DP versions on my card?  About this Mac has the briefest of blurbs on my card, no mention of ports.  I have no idea where to look to find the HDMI version requirement of the monitor.

Now I'm wondering if my Mac card will run ANY modern HDMI monitor.  I just wish I could test out the damn HDMI port on my Mac.

Here are the specs for the card:

https://eshop.macsal...ire/100352MAC2/

I would suggest using the button on the back of your display to set the refresh rate to 144 Hz and test. If that fails, set it to 60 and test again. I have a feeling the out of range error is indicating that your GPU does not know how to deal with a 165 Hz display.

I already forget what i just read about your GPU but I think the ports are not the issue. However, as noted earlier, display resolution could be out of range so check what the card is capable of and ensure that is setup appropriately. I would expect this display to work fine once this initial setup issue is resolved. Hopefully I am correct about that.

[macdude22]

I could see DVI or Display port being out of range initially but HDMI is peculiar. Almost all HDMI devices run at 60hz and are backwards compatible. I.E. an HDMI 1.2 device should work fine on an HDMI 1.4 compliant display. Even HDMI 2.0 is expected to be backwards compatible.

Are you connecting directly with an HDMI cable or using some combination of dongles? Do you have like maybe a TV available with HDMI to test the HDMI output of your card. If you are directly using an HDMI cable or display port cable have you tried using any dongles?

I have a ASUS VG248QE 144hz monitor that seems to accept any number of different inputs connected to it right now (Mac via DVI, PC via Display Port, 2 consoles via HDMI) without much issue. Depending on the HDMI version (earlier than 1.3) on the card I could see it having issue with 2560 x 1440 resolution, but I would expect Display Port to work fine. 1.0 only supports that resolution at 60hz but I would expect the display/card to negotiate that at boot. All the sapphire 7950s I can find say they have DP 1.2 so I would expect that to but who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This issue persists through a cold boot? i.e. shut every thing down, connect the devices, then startup the mac.

[Frost]

macdude22, on 11 January 2017 - 08:06 AM, said:

I could see DVI or Display port being out of range initially but HDMI is peculiar. Almost all HDMI devices run at 60hz and are backwards compatible. I.E. an HDMI 1.2 device should work fine on an HDMI 1.4 compliant display. Even HDMI 2.0 is expected to be backwards compatible.

This. There shouldn't be a problem; that's very odd. I have the same monitor (ROG PG279Q) and it connects via a mDP to HDMI adapter at 60 Hz normally.

[DirtyHarry50]

Frost, on 11 January 2017 - 05:31 PM, said:

This. There shouldn't be a problem; that's very odd. I have the same monitor (ROG PG279Q) and it connects via a mDP to HDMI adapter at 60 Hz normally.

I noticed this monitor has buttons on the back to manually select refresh rates of 60, 144 and 165 Hz. This made me wonder if the display is set to 165 Hz and a GPU that predates 165 Hz being an option would have some problem with that. I get this feeling the monitor is just fine but the GPU's age is the issue. Maybe I am wrong in that I don't know enough about how this stuff works to be certain but that is something I'd want to rule out by testing the display being manually set to 144 and 60 Hz before booting the computer just in case that is the problem.

The GPU does support HDMI 1.4a so I don't imagine there is any problem there.

[the Battle Cat]

Sorry for my absence.  I've been playing games on my PC and ASUS for the last 3 days.  I came to a conclusion about getting my monitor issue resolved before the window for returns is closed.  I'm keeping the monitor because it is awesome, regardless of the Mac's inability to drive it.  I will continue to work on the issue, but I will buy a cheap LED monitor for the Mac in the meantime.  When I get the Mac running right the cheap LED monitor will become the back up, replacing this ancient 15" CRT as the backup.  There is a ViewSonic 24" monitor for 139 bucks I'm looking at.

I intend to respond to all suggestions at least up until I get it working.  Thanks for the great list of things to try!  You guys are my lifeline in the the churning waters of things computer.

[Tetsuya]

... try side-by-side computing.  Trust me, youll never go back.

The sheer convenience of being able to use your music library/VOIP/browser, watch movies, whatever, without having to switch back and forth...

cannot be described.  

I will never go back to having a single computer on my desk, nor would i be happy with a shared monitor solution

[the Battle Cat]

Desktop real estate prohibits two monitors at one time, otherwise that setup would be ideal.

[Cougar]

the Battle Cat, on 16 January 2017 - 07:06 PM, said:

Desktop real estate prohibits two monitors at one time, otherwise that setup would be ideal.

That didn't stop me! I still need a bigger desk, but I bought a monitor arm which saves a *lot* of space. You can have a monitor floating off to the side.

[Tetsuya]

the Battle Cat, on 16 January 2017 - 07:06 PM, said:

Desktop real estate prohibits two monitors at one time, otherwise that setup would be ideal.

Wall mounts or mount arms, as Cougar suggested.  

10-keyless keyboards.

[DirtyHarry50]

iPad Pro 9.7"

Problem solved!

[Frost]

DirtyHarry50, on 16 January 2017 - 10:01 PM, said:

iPad Pro 9.7"

Problem solved!

Get outta here, Tim Cook.

[Sneaky Snake]

Tetsuya, on 16 January 2017 - 09:29 PM, said:

Wall mounts or mount arms, as Cougar suggested.  

I use this mount and really like it. Vesa mounts are fantastic because they free up so much desk space where the massive monitor stand was sitting. Strongly recommend a vesa screen mount to even folks who aren't running out of space on their desk.

[the Battle Cat]

I'm nearsighted and have cataracts, I need to be dead center in front of my monitor or I can't see that far away.  If I wear glasses I have to throw my head back and peer through the bottom of the lens to see something up that high, it's really meant to read a book or papers in one's lap or hands.  Viewing the monitors like that with my head twisted to the side to focus on one monitor or the other is so ergonomically unsound that just trying it for a minute made my neck and eyes ache.  Even sitting dead center in front of the 27" monitor the sides of the monitor start to become out of focus.  I really couldn't use a larger monitor, much less one that is in essence twice the size and off to the side.

I like the idea of being a power user surrounded by monitors but I'm too old and broken down.  That's something for you kids to enjoy.

[macdude22]

TBC_IRL

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[the Battle Cat]

Ahhhh... to be young as him again.  I bet that whippersnapper only has to get up twice in the night to pee.

[the Battle Cat]

Here is an update on this problem.  I bought a cheap Viewsonic monitor with HDMI and it turns out that my Mac can drive that thing nicely.  Some setting must be wrong in the ASUS.