lcd monitors compatible with mac iici supplier

The page is written in German language. It seems to be maintained, still, as the page moved to a new host few months ago (thanks to Uwe Draeger !). If one knows about a similar collection of well documented mac hardware hacks in English language, please post the url.

If you want to set up a monitor for old mac use, only, it is a good idea to make a cable with the appropriate connector and hard wired sense pins, as additional adaptors tend to distort the analogue video signal slightly. It is also possible to make the mac video card ignore any sense pin settings and to choose from any resolution the video card is capable of. To make this, use some control panel like "Activate all resolutions". In case you did so, consider to make a sense pin wiring for a basic resolution of 640 x 480 at 66.7 Hz to support almost any mac w/o specific software settings.

Building on the success of the Mac IIcx, the IIci offers 56% more power in the same compact case. A new feature was integrated video. The big advantage: Users no longer needed to buy a separate video card. The big disadvantage: The built-in video uses system memory (this is sometimes called “vampire video”).

Built-in video replaces the Macintosh II High Resolution Video Card (25 MHz motherboard video vs. a 10 MHz NuBus connection) and supports 8-bit color on a 640 x 480 screen as well as 4-bits on a 640 x 870 Portrait Display. Depending on bit depth, this uses between 32 KB and 320 KB of system memory. Also, Byte reports (Oct. 1989) that because the CPU and video share the same memory, the CPU is shut out of accessing RAM during video refresh, reducing performance by up to 8%.

Our own tests on a IIci show that although CPU performance does increase slightly when using a NuBus video card, video performance with an unaccelerated video card is about half as fast as the built-in video. Unless you need to support a larger screen or have an accelerated video card, overall performance may be worse with a video card than with internal video.

The Mac II, IIx, and IIcx all run a 16 MHz CPU on a 16 MHz motherboard with a separate 10 MHz bus for NuBus cards. Byte mentions (Oct. 1989) that the IIci runs its CPU and RAM at 25 MHz, NuBus at 10 MHz, I/O subsystems with a third oscillator, and onboard video with a fourth oscillator. By decoupling various subsystems this way, it was easier for Apple to boost the CPU and RAM speed without redesigning every part of the motherboard.

The IIci was the first Mac to support the 68030’s burst access mode, which “allows the CPU to read 16 bytes of data at a time in about half the clock cycles. This results in [a] . . . 10 percent improvement in performance.” (Byte, Oct. 1989, p. 102)

The IIci was the first Mac with “clean” ROMs, allowing 32-bit operation without special software. Along with the Mac Portable, it was the first Mac to use surface mount technology.

If you’re running low on RAM, by all means buy more. You should have at least 8 MB, but more is much better (unless you’re sticking with System 6, in which case you can’t use more than 8 MB).

Quadra 700 motherboards are uncommon. For that level of performance, consider a 68040-based accelerator, such as the Sonnet Presto 040 (40 MHz 68040 with 128 KB L2 cache, see our benchmark page). See a more complete list of accelerators below. Note that you will have to perform surgery on your case with the Quadra 700 motherboard upgrade.

A newer hard drive will be far more responsive and have far more capacity than the one that shipped with the computer. Any 3.5″ half-height or third-height drive will fit.

Discontinued accelerators (68030 unless otherwise noted) include the Applied Engineering TransWarp (50 MHz 68030, 25, 33 MHz 68040), DayStar Universal PowerCache (33, 40, 50 MHz), Fusion Data TokaMac SX (25 MHz 68040), Logica LogiCache (50 MHz), Radius Rocket (25 MHz 68LC040 to 40 MHz 68040), TechWorks NuBus (33 MHz 68040), and Total Systems Magellan (25 MHz 68040).

Moving Files from Your New Mac to Your Vintage Mac, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2006.06.13. Old Macs use floppies; new ones don’t. Old Macs use AppleTalk; Tiger doesn’t support it. New Macs can burn CDs, but old CD drives can’t always read CD-R. So how do you move the files?

Was the Macintosh IIci the Best Mac Ever?, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2009.01.19. Introduced in 1989, the Mac IIci was fast, had integrated video, included 3 expansion slots, and could be upgraded in myriad ways.

Know Your Mac’s Upgrade Options, Phil Herlihy, The Usefulness Equation, 2008.08.26. Any Mac can be upgraded, but it’s a question of what can be upgraded – RAM, hard drive, video, CPU – and how far it can be upgraded.

Creating Classic Mac Boot Floppies in OS X, Paul Brierley, The ‘Book Beat, 2008.08.07. Yes, it is possible to create a boot floppy for the Classic Mac OS using an OS X Mac that doesn’t have Classic. Here’s how.

The Compressed Air Keyboard Repair, Charles W Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 2008.07.24. If your keyboard isn’t working as well as it once did, blasting under the keys with compressed air may be the cure.

A Vintage Mac Network Can Be as Useful as a Modern One, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 2008.04.08. Old Macs can exchange data and share an Internet connection very nicely using Apple’s old LocalTalk networking.

Vintage Mac Networking and File Exchange, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.19. How to network vintage Macs with modern Macs and tips on exchanging files using floppies, Zip disks, and other media.

Vintage Mac Video and Monitor Mania, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.17. Vintage Macs and monitors didn’t use VGA connectors. Tips on making modern monitors work with old Macs.

Getting Inside Vintage Macs and Swapping Out Bad Parts, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.14. When an old Mac dies, the best source of parts is usually another dead Mac with different failed parts.

Solving Mac Startup Problems, Adam Rosen, Adam’s Apple, 2007.12.12. When your old Mac won’t boot, the most likely culprits are a dead PRAM battery or a failed (or failing) hard drive.

20 year old Mac IIci dies, Mozilla for Classic Mac OS, USB 3 on Mac this year?, and more, Mac News Review, 2009.07.10. Also picking a Mac over a PC, which Macs can boot from SD?, GrandReporter automates searching the Web, an online image editor, and more.

The 25 most important Macs (part 2), Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2009.02.17. The 25 most significant Macs in the first 25 years of the platform, continued.

Golden Apples: The 25 best Macs to date, Michelle Klein-Häss, Geek Speak, 2009.01.27. The best Macs from 1984 through 2009, including a couple that aren’t technically Macs.

Why You Should Partition Your Mac’s Hard Drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2008.12.11. “At the very least, it makes sense to have a second partition with a bootable version of the Mac OS, so if you have problems with your work partition, you can boot from the ’emergency’ partition to run Disk Utility and other diagnostics.”

Better and Safer Surfing with Internet Explorer and the Classic Mac OS, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.11.06. Tips on which browsers work best with different Mac OS versions plus extra software to clean cookies and caches, detect viruses, handle downloads, etc.

Simple Macs for Simple Tasks, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2007.10.19. Long live 680×0 Macs and the classic Mac OS. For simple tasks such as writing, they can provide a great, low distraction environment.

Interchangeabilty and Compatibility of Apple 1.4 MB Floppy SuperDrives, Sonic Purity, Mac Daniel, 2007.09.26. Apple used two kinds of high-density floppy drives on Macs, auto-inject and manual inject. Can they be swapped?

Macintosh IIx: Apple’s flagship gains a better CPU, FPU, and floppy drive, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 2007.09.19. 20 years ago Apple improved the Mac II by using a Motorola 68030 CPU with the new 68882 FPU. And to top it off, the IIx was the first Mac that could read DOS disks with its internal drive.

Vintage Macs provide a less distracting writing environment, Brian Richards, Advantage Mac, 2007.09.18. A Mac OS X user finds an old Macintosh IIsi and discovers the joy of writing undisturbed by music, messaging, and streaming content.

No junk from Apple, Mac mouse dies after 18 years, time to cut the gigabyte BS, and more, Mac News Review, 2007.08.10. Also new iMac and Mac mini models, Apple’s aluminum keyboards, new NAS drive looks like a Mac mini, first software update for aluminum iMacs, and more.

Mac System 7.5.5 Can Do Anything Mac OS 7.6.1 Can, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.06.04. Yes, it is possible to run Internet Explorer 5.1.7 and SoundJam with System 7.5.5. You just need to have all the updates – and make one modification for SoundJam.

Appearance Manager Allows Internet Explorer 5.1.7 to Work with Mac OS 7.6.1, Max Wallgren, Mac Daniel, 2007.05.23. Want a fairly modern browser with an old, fast operating system? Mac OS 7.6.1 plus the Appearance Manager and Internet Explorer may be just what you want.

Format Any Drive for Older Macs with Patched Apple Tools, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.04.25. Apple HD SC Setup and Drive Setup only work with Apple branded hard drives – until you apply the patches linked to this article.

Making floppies and CDs for older Macs using modern Macs, Windows, and Linux PCs, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2007.03.15. Older Macs use HFS floppies and CDs. Here are the free resources you’ll need to write floppies or CDs for vintage Macs using your modern computer.

System 7 Today, advocates of Apple’s ‘orphan’ Mac OS 7.6.1, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2006.10.26. Why Mac OS 7.6.1 is far better for 68040 and PowerPC Macs than System 7.5.x.

The legendary Apple Extended Keyboard, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2006.10.13. Introduced in 1987, this extended keyboard was well designed and very solidly built. It remains a favorite of long-time Mac users.

30 days of old school computing: No real hardships, Ted Hodges, Vintage Mac Living, 2006.10.11. These old black-and-white Macs are just fine for messaging, word processing, spreadsheets, scheduling, contact management, and browsing the Web.

Jag’s House, where older Macs still rock, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 2006.09.25. Over a decade old, Jag’s House is the oldest Mac website supporting classic Macs and remains a great resource for vintage Mac users.

Mac OS 8 and 8.1: Maximum Size, Maximum Convenience, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.09.11. Mac OS 8 and 8.1 add some useful new features and tools, and it can even be practical on 68030-based Macs.

Vintage Macs with System 6 run circles around 3 GHz Windows 2000 PC, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.07.06. Which grows faster, hardware speed or software bloat? These benchmarks show vintage Macs let you be productive much more quickly than modern Windows PCs.

Floppy drive observations: A compleat guide to Mac floppy drives and disk formats, Scott Baret, Online Tech Journal, 2006.06.29. A history of the Mac floppy from the 400K drive in the Mac 128K through the manual-inject 1.4M SuperDrives used in the late 1990s.

System 7.6.1 is perfect for many older Macs, John Martorana, That Old Mac Magic, 2006.03.24. Want the best speed from your old Mac? System 7.6.1 can give you that with a fairly small memory footprint – also helpful on older Macs.

System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6: The beginning and end of an era, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.02.15. System 7.5 and Mac OS 7.6 introduced many new features and greater modernity while staying within reach of most early Macintosh models.

Turning an LC or other ancient Mac into a webcam with a QuickCam, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.01.25. As long as it has 4 MB of RAM and a hard drive, any 16 MHz or faster Mac that supports color can be configured as a webcam.

System 7: Bigger, better, more expandable, and a bit slower than System 6, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2006.01.04. The early versions of System 7 provide broader capability for modern tasks than System 6 while still being practical for even the lowliest Macs.

Web browser tips for the classic Mac OS, Nathan Thompson, Embracing Obsolescence, 2006.01.03. Tips on getting the most out of WaMCom, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, and WannaBe using the classic Mac OS.

Which system software is best for my vintage Mac?, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2005.11.22. Which system software works best depends to a great extent on just which Mac you have and how much RAM is installed.

The legendary DayStar Turbo 040 hot rods 68030 Macs, Tyler Sable, Classic Restorations, 2005.11.29. DayStar’s vintage upgrade can make an SE/30 and most models in the Mac II series faster than the ‘wicked fast’ Mac IIfx.

Never connect an Apple II 5.25″ floppy drive to the Mac’s floppy port. Doing so can ruin the floppy controller, meaning you can’t even use the internal drive any longer.

Internal video on the IIci and IIsi, and the Mac II mono and color video cards, will not work with multisync monitors, whether Apple or PC style. Griffin Technology made the Mac 2 Series Adapter, which works with Apple’s Multiple Scan monitors and most Mac compatible monitors. There was also a version for using VGA-type monitors on older Macs.

Serial port normally restricted to 57.6 kbps; throughput with a 56k modem may be limited. See 56k modem page. For more information on Mac serial ports, read Macintosh Serial Throughput in our Online Tech Journal.

The IIci was intended by Apple to be capable of work as a server, as is demonstrated by the provision to lock the AC power switch for autorestart after power restoration. Before the arrival of the IIfx, which was aimed instead at the graphics world, it was the "wickedest" Mac in Apple"s line-up.

I bought a IIci recently, principally for the excellent condition of the case, and what proved to be a good power supply, free from trickle-voltage problems. It now has a "new" logicboard with decent metal RAM clips, together with a 50MHz 68030 DayStar PowerCache card, an Asanté NuBus NIC, a Radius NuBus 24AC video card and 8 x 4MB RAM cards. Add a cleaned-up floppy drive and a 4.4GB IBM HDD (partitioned 500MB and 3.9GB) with OS 7.5.5 on the smaller partiton, and boing! it was up and away. It drives an Apple MultipleScan 14-in AV display or a Mac Portrait Display (256 greys) according to the need of the moment, and, thanks to the video card, offers millions of colours. ("Vampire Video" is no longer an issue.)

The IIci could be hacked to run OS 8.1, which it would do without a hack if it had a DayStar 040 (instead of the 030), or easily up to OS 8.6 or 9 if it had a 601 processor upgrade. In your case, however, it will be much more advantageous to spend almost nothing on the IIci now, and devote the money to purchase of a beige G3 desktop or minitower, which is cheaper than chips. It will have the advantages of running your wife"s software natively, of being able to exchange files with the G3 PB, and of being upgradeable to OS X if that is useful to you. Then you can treat the IIci as a fun machine, even if that means as the server to the other machines.

Sometime between 2003 and 2006 I found this Apple Macintosh Quadra 700 at the old State Road Goodwill in Cuyahoga Falls.  According to this Macintosh serial decoding site my Quadra (serial # F114628QC82) was the 7012th Mac built in the 14th week of 1991 in Apple’s Fremont, California factory.

After I started this blog I dragged over most of the vintage Mac stuff out of my parents’ attic to my apartment.   I decided that the Quadra 700 should get a semi-permanent place on my vintage computing desk.   The desk (which you’ve probably seen in the Macintosh SE and PowerBook G3 entries) has a credenza that limits how deep of a monitor I can use.   The Multiple Scan 17 doesn’t leave enough space for the keyboard and really restricts what else I can have on the desk.

Originally my plan was to use the Quadra with an HP 1740 LCD monitor I picked up at the Kent-Ravena Goodwill so I bought a DB-15 to HD-15 (VGA) converter.

However, while digging through the Mac stuff in my parents’ attic I made an interesting discovery.  Unbeknownst to me I owned AppleColor High-Resolution RGB 13″ monitor.

When I was still living with my parents there wasn’t really a lot of room in my bedroom for all of the vintage computing stuff I had accumulated.  Often, I would lose interest in something and it would go into the attic.

At some point my Dad must have brought home this monitor from a thrift store.  Unlike most CRT monitors where the monitor cable is attached to the monitor this one has a detachable cable which was lost when he bought it (I have since purchased a replacement on eBay).  With all of the Mac stuff put away and no monitor cable to test it with, it joined everything else in the attic and I forgot about it.

Years later when I stumbled upon it deep in the shadows of a poorly lit part of the room, I thought it was the cheaper Macintosh 12″ RGB monitor that went with the LC series.  But then, I saw the name plate on the back.

This was an amazing stroke of luck because that’s a damn fine monitor.  Back in the late 80s this was one of Apple’s high end Trinitron monitors.  Remember those Apple brochures my mother got in West Akron in 1989 from the Macintosh SE entry?

Apple also sold a rather attractive optional base for the AppleColor RGB monitor with great Snow White detailing, as seen in this drawing from Technical Introduction to the Macintosh Family: Second Edition.

Oddly enough, when I ventured further into my parent’s attic I found a box of Macintosh stuff that a college roommate had recovered from being trashed at a college graphics lab that contained, among other things, the manual for this model of monitor.

The Quadra 700 is one of my all-time favorite thrift store finds.  It was the first extremely serious Macintosh I have owned from the expandable 680X0 era (roughly from 1987 to 1994 when Apple moved to PowerPC CPUs). Previously the most powerful Mac I had found was a Macintosh LC III with a color monitor. That machine introduced me to what the experience of using a color Macintosh had been like in the early 1990s but the Quadra was on another level entirely.

To put this in perspective: Macintosh LC III was a lower-end machine from 1993 that gave you something like the performance of a high-end Macintosh from 1989. The Quadra 700 (along with the Quadra 900 which was basically the same guts in a larger, more expandable case) was Apple’s late 1991 high-end machine. When it was new, the Quadra 700 cost a staggering $5700, without a monitor. The monitor could easily add another $1500.

Apple created a lot of machines in the Macintosh II series and it’s a bit difficult to keep track of them.  As you can see in the brochure, the original machine was the Macintosh II, built around Motorola’s 68020 processor and for the first time in the Macintosh, a fully 32-bit bus.  That machine was succeeded the following year by the Macintosh IIx, which, like all following Macintosh II models used the 68030 processor.  The II and the IIx both had six NuBus expansion slots, which is why their cases are so wide.

If you’re more familiar with the history of Intel processors don’t let the similar numbering schemes lead you into thinking the 68020 was equivalent to a 286 and the 68030 was equivalent to a 386.  In reality the original Macintosh’s 68000 CPU would be more comparable to the 286 while the 68020 and 68030 were comparable to the 386.  In the numbering scheme that Motorola was using at the time processors with even numbered digits in their second to last number like the 68000, 68020 and 68040 were new designs and processors with odd numbers like 68010 and 68030 were enhancements to the previous model.  The 68030 gained a memory mapping unit (MMU) which enabled virtual memory.  The jump from the 286 to the 386 was much greater than the jump from the 68020 to the 68030.

The next machine in the series was the Macintosh IIcx in 1989, which basically took the guts of the IIx and put them in a smaller case with only three expansion slots (hence, it’s a II-compact-x).  Like the II and the IIx, the IIcx had no on-board video and required a video card to be in one of the expansion slots.

The case used in the Macintosh IIcx and IIci was designed to match in color, styling, and size the AppleColor High Resolution RGB monitor I have, as seen in this illustration from Technical Introduction to the Macintosh Family: Second Edition.

As you probably caught onto by now the Quadra 700 uses the same case as the Macintosh IIci but with the Snow White detail lines and the Apple badge turned 90 degrees, turning it into a mini-tower.  That’s why the monitor matches the Quadra so well.

The last Macintosh to use the full-sized six-slot Macintosh II case was the uber-expensive Macintosh IIfx in 1990.  It used a blistering 40MHz 68030 and started at $8970.

However, if you bought a IIfx, you may have felt very silly the next year when the Quadra series based on the new 68040 processor came out and succeeded the Macintosh II series.

According to these benchmarks at Low End Mac, the 25MHz 68040 in the Quadra 700 scores 33% higher than the Macintosh IIfx’s 40MHz 68030 on an integer benchmark and five times as fast on a math benchmark.  Plus, it was just over half the price of the IIfx.

The interior of the Quadra 700 is extremely tidy. The question the hardware designers at Apple were clearly working with was: what is the most efficient case layout if you need to pack a power supply, a hard disk, 3.5″ floppy drive, and 2 full-length expansion slots in a case? In the Quadra 700 the two drives are at the front of the right side of the case, the PSU is at the back of the right side, and the two expansion slots take up the left side of the case.

You can tell how the arrival of CD-ROM drives threw a wrench in all of this serene order.  You’re never going to shoe-horn a 5.25″ optical drive in this case.  And when you do get a CD drive in the case you’re going to have an ugly looking gap for the drive door rather than just the understated slot for the floppy.  I think Apple’s designs lost a lot of their minimalist beauty when they started putting CD drives in Macintoshes soon after the Quadra 700.

Inside the case, the way everything is attached without screws is very impressive.  The sides of the case and the cage that hold the drives forms a channel that the PSU slides into. Assuming nothing is stuck you should be able to pull out the PSU, detach the drive cables, and then pull out the drive cage in a few short minutes without using a screwdriver (actually, there’s supposed to be a screw securing the drive cage to the logic board but it was missing in mine with no ill effects).

We tend to think of plastic in the pejorative.  But, plastic is only cheap and flimsy when it’s badly done.  This Quadra’s case is plastic done really, really well.  It doesn’t flex or bend.  It’s rock solid.  But, when you pick the machine up it’s much lighter than you expect it to be.

Second, notice the six empty RAM slots.  Curiously enough, on the Quadra 700 the shorter memory slots just above the battery are the main RAM.  I believe this machine has four 4MB SIMMs in addition to 4MB RAM soldered onto the logic board (the neat horizontal row of chips labeled DRAM to the left of the SIMMs on the bottom of the picture)   The larger white empty slots are for VRAM expansion.

The way the video hardware talks to the CPU makes it really, really fast compared to previous Macintoshes with built-in video and even expensive video cards for the Macintosh II series.

The Quadra’s video hardware supports a wide variety of common resolutions and refresh rates including VGA’s 640×480 and SVGA’s 800×600.  That’s why I can use the Quadra with that VGA adapter pictured above.  This was neat stuff in an era when Macintoshes tended to be very proprietary.

I have had Macs for over 30 years and never experienced these kinds of issues and have used laptops with external monitors (except for some random issues while running beta system software). I have to believe there is something about your software environment that is different. I hope you find the issue, but I can tell you from a large office full of Macs and my own personal experience that your situation is not typical. Good luck.

I have also used this laptop with lots of generic HDMI displays plugged in directly to the HDMI port. No issues. I have had mixed success with no name USB-C to HDMI adaptors. Some of those have problems. I throw those away or send them back.

On the Mac Studio, I run 4 x TB3 cables into the back. Occasionally (once a week?) the four monitors sometimes seem to wake out of order. I tap touch ID twice to off-and-on-again them, second time’s a charm.

Other than that, I habitually unplug the monitor before putting the laptop away in the evening because the built-in charger makes the fans spin up on my macbook pro.

All the monitors work fine with all the Macbooks. To my surprise, even the Adaptive Sync with 144Hz works on the Eve Spectrum monitor. Even the scaling at 4k is fine: 4k scaled to 2560x1440, which is okay at 27". The laptops are connected either via Thunderbolt 4/USB-C cables (OWC 2m cable and the cables came with the monitors) or a OWC Thunderbolt 4 dock (and USB-C or Thunderbolt from there). The exception is the 24" monitor, which is connected via DP whenever I need it.

Like others here, I found that Thunderbolt 4/USB-C works best. My setup had similar issues with waking up and connecting the monitors when I used a mixture of HDMI and DP. Since switching, no more issues. The switch was expensive though :(

The work-issued Lenovo P15s Gen2, on the other hand, has all kinds of issues with this same setup: scaling in Windows 10 is crap and blurry depending on the application, monitors blank out every once in a while, going from 60Hz to 144Hz is a flickering nightmare, sleep and waking up just don"t work, ...

Currently using: 2 Gigabyte M28Us (scaled to 1440p) and 1 Dell S2716DGR, all running at 144hz on various different Macs. One of the M28us is passing through the mouse, keyboard, and webcam.

I did have a bunch of issues with the M1 Pro MacBook. I used it exclusively in clamshell mode and 90% of the time it failed to wake up and detect the monitors in general. To get it working, I had to continuously unplug and plug the cables back in. Sometimes this worked on the first try, other times it took 10 minutes of messing with the cables. I upgraded to using certified Thunderbolt 4 cables on the M28Us but that didn"t fix the problem.

Currently I"m running a baseline Mac Studio. The biggest issue I have is that the display order changes most of the time when I wake the computer. Every now and then it seems to not pick up one of my displays and I have to unplug it and plug it back in. It"s a little bit annoying but definitely not as frustrating at the M1 Pro MacBook.

In starting t belove there"s just some collective failures with modern laptop power design. Multiple laptops from different manufacturers have had similar power issues waking up from sleep states and many even went on to just straight up die, as nothing seemed to power up anymore.

The solution is (unfortunately) to spend money on the lg ultrafine 5k or studio display. These have a higher PPI compared to every other monitor on the market. I run my lg ultrafine at native scaling. No more headaches and my productivity using macos 10x"d.

Dunno what you’re doing. I assume you’ve checked obvious things like connecting it with a guest account. And maybe trying the computer on other displays outside your home?

I"ve also tried the Mini"s HDMI port with all kinds of very weird screens and capture cards, including an old WaveShare 7" 1024x600 that doesn"t even send an EDID - that kinda worked too.

Most of the cheaper docks AND adapters are utter crap, though. That makes the entire ecosystem hard to negotiate, for a lot of users. It"s unclear to me how Apple can help with that, though.

At one point I had one 5K and two 4K displays plugged into a single machine, but now I just have 5120x2160 (or thereabouts) at 75Hz (it’s a 2018 LG monitor). And I share the same monitor with a couple of PC laptops as well (which struggle to match the Macs), so there’s plenty of switching going round.

If not in clam shell, press any key on keyboard and WAIT for the external to wake before login. I have noticed that entering keystrokes like password on the login screen somehow disrupts the Macs process to detect the external from sleep.

If undocking while in clamshell, open mac lid first and ensure it"s displaying, then disconnect the usb hub. If I don"t do this, sometimes the on-board monitor will stay black because it still thinks the external monitor is connected. When in this condition, it takes forever for the macbook to figure out the external is no longer connected. Holding the power button and restarting fixes it.

One workaround that I had explored to fix the external monitor wake issues was to find a terminal command that would unload/load the usb drivers to "reset" the usb ports. From there, I could write it into a script with a hotkey and run it every time the monitor fails to display. I used to run a script to fix my ethernet connected via usb-c that would not be detected on boot for my Linux laptop. The script basically unloaded and loaded the usb drivers, which fixed it every time. Unfortunately, unloading usb drivers on the mac is not easy.

The P2715Q needs to be power cycled from the wall outlet now and then. If your Mac detects it and sends it signal, but the screen remains black, this is probably the case. I"ve seen this with several Macs over the years, so I"m comfortable saying it"s an issue with the display.

Coworkers have recently observed their U2720Qs occasionally failing to be detected by their 2021 MacBook Pros if they use the same USB-C port to connect to it after sleeping through the night. A reboot of the Mac has clears the issue, and I haven"t seen it happen with other models I plug in the same way, so it"s likely not the display"s fault.

Otherwise, I have to say this setup has been quite reliable across several Mac laptops of different architectures, price points, and pixel densities; lid open or lid closed.

2) Audio L/R balance on the USB audio adapter gets set wonky periodically, it"s apparently a common issue with external audio to the point that there is a utility called "Balance Lock" to kludge past it.

But it appears that the only ones actually available are an LG (who make the panel for the 27" iMacs) and the new Apple Studio Display. The LG model is something like 5 years old and costs around $1300, which is almost as much as the Studio Display ($1600).

If I don"t my "Mac Book Pro 16" - M1 Pro" will do very strange things, like a strange mirrored 1024x768 4:3 mirrored mode until I unplug the usb-c to DP cable and cycle the power on the monitor. I have also found I need to leave the monitor off for a good 30 seconds (capacitor discharge?) to get a connection again.

I do still get the occasional strange issue with the M1 and OWC Thunderbolt 4 Hub, such as sometimes one display will not wake, or sit at 30hz until I reconnect it, but for the most part it is an enjoyable configuration.

I suspect that there is a compatibility issue with the M1 and the Dell S2721Q/QS monitors when connected via DisplayPort which contributed to my woes.

From what I tried so far, the LG 27” 4K line has worked the best for me, with no video signal issues, no sleep/wake problems, good DPI scaling and smooth brightness control through DDC.

That might not be sufficiently pro-level enough for some, but I"m able to game on the main 4k display fine (although I don"t tend to play bleeding edge games). I haven"t needed to upgraded the other monitors to 4k and mostly use them to park chat apps and music streaming and other stuff. If you need wrap-around 4k monitors for your 3+ screen Eve Online gaming or whatever it is these days then it might not work for you. I don"t push that DisplayLink adapter terribly hard.

For 20+y, I"ve never had external monitors reliably stay where I tell them with Windows (every version of Windows I"ve had issues with: 2k, XP, 2k3, 7, 2k8, 2k12, 10 (didn"t own/use ME, Vista, or 8/8.1)

Yet when I connect external monitors to my Macs, they always stay in the place and orientation I tell them (I do travel (until just before covid (haven"t been onsite since Aug "19)) consulting, and would routinely use customer external monitor setups with my MacBooks ... eg - while connecting to a rotatable monitor with one MBP, it would always remember that monitor in portrait mode, while I could connect to another monitor in landscape, and it"d remember that monitor that way)

Compare that to the customer-issued laptop with customer-issued dock and monitor ... and it would forget the external monitor AND the location AND orientation every Dang WEEK I was onsite!??!!!

My wife has a 16" MacBook pro 2019 with a pathetic 16GB of ram. When she connects a 4k 30hz Sony x800h tv to her MacBook (via HDMI dongle) it heats up terrifically and throttles down to about 1/10th speed and the mouse jumps across the screen and button pushes can take minutes. Her solution?

I am able to use my 8-core 32gb 2019 MacBook pro with a 4k tcl s405 4ktv & HDMI dongle but it takes about 5 minutes each day to get it to sync to the dongle that never gave me problems with a 2018 MacBook pro. I had to change my calendar reminders to add minutes to the alarm first thing in the morning it"s SO FLAKEY! Seriously.

I’ve found that if I use it with a USB extension cable it works, but my wireless mouse stops working reliably - even on other computers. I think the extension cable throws off interference in the 2.4Ghz range. Apart from that, no issues.

I don"t know for sure (or why) it would be the port, just offering a data point. I"m currently on a 1080p Dell monitor but I"ve had the same experience with 4k LG monitors and with at least one other monitor whose brand I can"t remember (and even with a couple of TVs, and at least one projector)

The issue seems also software related because if you would try the same screen or dongle with another MacBook it works fine, but it keeps failing on the malfunctioning MacBook. It is infuriating because the interface provides zero feedback.

The most annoying bug for me is when you "unplug in the wrong order" and the MacBook screen does not wake up when not plugged to an external monitor. You have to go back to your monitor and replug it and then "unplug in the correct order".

I also have my personal 2015 MacBookPro, and I don"t really connect that to external monitors these days. If I wanted to, I"d use thunderbolt 2 (mini display port) to display port cables.

Apple laptops do have some problems waking up properly with external monitors. It’s not the cable or the monitor but the computer not handling the situation properly.

It"s possible that Apple has fixed the bug/feature that originally trained me to perform this ritual, but I haven"t had any problems since. Sleep/wake cycle works fine with both external monitors powering down and up as expected.

My two monitors are Dell QHD, which have proven very reliable. I am using them with a MacBook Pro M1 14”. They are connected with USB-C to DP cables to a Thunderbolt 4 docking station (also from Accell).

With the Samsung, a restart requires me to reset the underscan. Interestingly, the slider is in the correct spot when I open monitor settings, but I have to drag it a tiny bit to get it to kick in.

I am a heavy user of Spaces and for the life of me, I haven"t found a way to regain access to Spaces that I"ve moved to an external display once I disconnect it from my macbook.

2 different MacBooks (an intel pro and m1 pro). Each connected to an Anker dock. The docks are connected via HDMI to an HDMI/USB KVM switch from CKL, then I have a 20ft HDMI cable and USB cable to run across the room to my desk.

The monitor might be the most important part of your Mac’s setup–after all, you can’t use any computer without one. Because you’ll spend a lot of time looking at it, you’ll want to invest wisely. Not only will you want a monitor that provides a pleasing experience, but the quality of the images on the screen can also affect your work.

Apple sells displays for its Macs, and you could go with its offerings, but its displays are a quite bit more expensive than what third parties have. Buying from a different company may mean you may not get a feature that Apple offers, but then it may also be a feature that you don’t need, depending on how you use the monitor. Note there are compatibility issues for M1 Macs. We have a guide to monitors for M1 Macs and what you need to know before buying.

Fortunately, there are plenty of companies that have great monitors that you can use with your Mac, without having to take out a second mortgage. Our sister publications TechAdvisor and PCWorld have tested several displays, and we list their top-rated ones that we have been able to confirm work with Macs, alongside the monitors we have reviewed below. Here are our recommendations in alphabetical order.

Apple’s highly specced Pro Display XDR is a stunning piece of engineering, and we found it hard to find fault with the picture quality and colour output, but at that price and with these features this is a display for a very specific audience.

The XDR is phenomenally well-specced: it’s 32in and 6K, offering 40 percent more screen space than Apple’s 5K displays, and offers a peak brightness of 1,600 nits (or 1,000 sustained). But it comes with a seriously eye-watering price tag, especially if you want to include the Pro Stand for adjustability and pivoting.

Picture quality is maintained at ultrawide viewing angles, thanks to industry-leading polariser technology. This is so that a creative team can gather round a single monitor and evaluate a photo, video or design project without suffering a loss of consistency.

As a production display, the Studio Display is still expensive but is an affordable alternative to the Pro Display XDR. Buyers will enjoy its handsome design, good image quality, and impressive spatial audio, but you can save a lot of money by going with a non-Apple display.

The Alogic Clarity is a stunning looking 27-inch display with built-in hub and a fantastic height-adjustable, tilt and pivot stand. It will appeal to Mac users with its Apple looks and is even, in some ways, a superior monitor to Apple’s own Studio Display, although its 4K resolution isn’t as sharp as Apple’s 5K screen.

The sylish Dell Ultrasharp U2421E is a slick design perfect for those with a USB-C/Thunderbolt charged MacBook, as the docking station features are handy. The colour range is also good, and while the price is high for this resolution and size, there are cheaper prices available online—check the latest prices above.

it looks professional and almost Apple-ish, and the support arm allows it to pivot and tilt extensively. It’s also got decent colour representation with close to 100% sRGB coverage and 83% of the P3 colour space.

It’s not a great-looking monitor, with larger than average display bevels on the plasticky chassis. It’s not luxurious but it’s fine for an office or workstation.

Acer’s Nitro XV272 costs more than a lot of 1080p monitors, but the IPS, 165Hz screen provides above-average image quality, excellent color accuracy and motion performance, and a full range of monitor-stand adjustments and a generous array of ports make it worth the cost.

It also has three video inputs, four USB ports, and a stand that feels a bit cheap but offers numerous ergonomic adjustments. These features signal that the Nitro XV272, though not expensive, is a cut above entry-level 1080p monitors.

But there’s more to the U3223QE than the panel. It’s also a fantastic business, productivity, and professional monitor loaded with image-quality options and a king’s buffet of connectivity.

The USB-C hub is crammed to the gills with connectivity. This includes multiple USB-C ports, one of which can handle up to 90 watts of Power Delivery, five USB-A ports, and ethernet.

Gigabyte’s M27Q X doesn’t look like much out of the box, but this 1440p/240Hz IPS panel delivers a superb media experience where it counts, with excellent motion clarity and stunning image quality for an HD screen.

It delivers bright, vivid image quality, but while it includes a USB-C upstream port, the power delivery is a mere 18W, which is nowhere near enough to charge a laptop, so you’ll still need to charge your MacBook with a charging cable or Mac docking station.

Display technology is a bit of a movable feast, with a lot of confusing jargon and technical features to wade through, as well as a variety of different interfaces and cables that are used by Apple itself and the various monitor manufacturers. So it’s worth taking a closer look at some of the factors that you need to think about when buying a monitor for your Mac.

If you’re looking for a size to start with for your own personal research, we recommend 24 inches—just like with Apple’s iMac. That seems like a good size for most people, and it’s easy to go up or down from that point. Most people tend to go between 24 and 27 inches for home use.

Screen resolution can go hand-in-hand with screen size. Screen resolution refers to the number of pixels used to create what you see on the screen. The higher the resolution, the more detail you can see. Larger displays tend to have more resolution options, as well as the ability to support higher resolutions.

Often, when you find two displays that are the same size but have a wide price difference, it’s mostly because of the screen resolution. Monitors with high resolutions are more expensive. For example, Apple’s $1,599 Studio Display is 27 inches, and it has a high screen resolution of 5120×2880 (5K resolution). On the other hand, LG sells the 27-inch 27UK650-W, but it’s a 3840×2160 (4K) resolution display for content creators, and it’s $350–lower resolution, but $1,249 cheaper. (There actually aren’t other 27-inch 5K monitors available, except for the $1,449 LG UltraFine 27MD5KL-B.)

How a monitor connects to a Mac can be confusing. The traditional HDMI and DisplayPort connectors used by many monitors are being replaced–or complemented–by USB-C and Thunderbolt ports. And though USB-C and Thunderbolt cables may look the same, there are actually some important technical differences between them, so it’s important to check which ports your new monitor uses and make sure you buy the correct cables and adapters.

Most recent Mac models have Thunderbolt ports, so if you buy a monitor that has HDMI or DisplayPort interfaces only, then you’ll need an adapter to connect to the Mac. This can get a bit confusing, but Apple does provide a list of the ports included on most recent Mac models so that you can figure out what you need.

Apple also provides a guide to HDMI and DisplayPort technology, which covers Mac models going right back to 2008, so that should provide all the info you need for all the Macs you use at home or at work. Less expensive monitors still tend to use HDMI and DisplayPort, and while it’s not too costly to buy adapters that will allow you to connect your Mac, we reckon it’s worth future-proofing your new monitor by getting one that includes at least one USB-C or Thunderbolt port.

If a display uses Thunderbolt to connect to the Mac, it may have additional USB-C or Thunderbolt ports so the display can act as a hub. In this case, If you have a device you want to connect to your Mac, you can connect it to one of the ports on the monitor, which is already connected to the Mac and probably in an easier location for access.

Look for a USB-C or Thunderbolt connection with power delivery (PD) that can charge your MacBook. A 65W PD will be enough for a MacBook Air or 14-inch MacBook Pro, but you’ll need at least 90W for a 15-inch or 16-inch Pro.

Read our article on how to connect a second screen to a Mac which explains everything you need to know about how to identify which ports you have, the adapters you will require, and how to set things up.

For PowerMac 7200, 7300, 7500, 7600, 8500, 8600, 9500, 9600, G3 Desktop, G3 Minitower, G3, G4 PCI2IDE AdapterConnect a large hard disk (5GB to 40GB) to your PCI-based Mac for as low as $15 per GigabytePricing starts at $199. Video & Memory Enhancements

Apple PowerPC 4400, 5400, 5500, 6360, 6400, 6500, Starmax, Umax C500, C600 or J710 PowerPC Cache CardsIncrease the performance of your PowerMac or PowerPC-based clone with a 512KB Level-2 Cache card. Verified performance increase on 6400 model of up to 165%. WOW!Affordably priced at $89.

For Power Mac 6100, 7100, 8100 PowerPC Cache CardsIncrease the performance of your Power Mac 6100, 7100 or 8100 with a 256KB or 1MB Level 2 Cache card.Pricing starts at $39.

For Mac IIci, IIvx, IIvi Mac IIci 32KB Cache CardGive your Mac IIci an added boost with a 32KB Cache card. Installs easily into the PDS slot.Priced to sell at $29.

For all Macs MicroMac Technology has Memory for all Mac computers. Call for up to date pricing.Competitively priced.

The Apple Macintosh IIci was an improvement on the Macintosh IIcx. Sharing the same compact case design with three expansion slots, the IIci improved upon the IIcx"s 16 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU and 68882 FPU, replacing them with 25 MHz versions of these chips. The IIci came with either a 40 or an 80 megabyte hard disk. A logic board upgrade was available for IIcx owners. The Quadra 700"s case uses the same form factor, and a logic board upgrade was made available for both the IIcx and IIci upon the Quadra"s introduction in 1990.

The IIci introduced a lot of technical and architectural enhancements, some of which were important in preparing for System 7 (which was then called the Blue project) and would influence future Macs, though some of them came at the cost of compatibility:

A completely new, 32-bit clean ROM with built-in 32-bit QuickDraw that consists of 2 parts: one part that is the same across all Macs, and another area (called the overpatch area) that is specific to each Mac.

A first for a non-all-in-one Mac — onboard graphics for an external display. This freed one of the system"s three NuBus slots. However, because the integrated graphics used the system"s RAM for its frame buffer, some users used a NuBus graphics card to reclaim the lost memory. Also, it was popular to install faster memory in the first bank of SIMM slots, as this is the bank used by the video subsystem.

The IIci was one of the most popular and longest lived Mac models of all time. For much of its lifespan, it was the business "workhorse" of the Macintosh line. For a short time in 1989, before the introduction of the 40 MHz Macintosh IIfx, the IIci was the fastest Mac available.

Details: The onboard video is capable of supporting a single display -- 512x384 and 640x480 at 8-bit in either landscape or portrait orientation. However, the Macintosh IIci can support as many as four displays with three added NuBus video cards.

the front or back which you press to start and shut down the Mac. Tell us the model of your Mac and we"ll probably know what to offer. Note: if your Mac does not power up, make sure your AC cord is OK and that you have AC power

without replacing parts. If we have them with better parts at a higher price, we"ll advise when you order. We don"t always have these available or ready-to-sell; we"ll of course test and verify before any final quote. They are all "as available" or as described.

I have some UNUSED sealed-box Apple power supplies at MUCH higher costs but I cannot test without opening the box. Check my unused parts list for specifics.

PowerMac 7100, Centris 650, IIvx, IIiv power supplies: 614-0009, Astec 16870. Higher current than IIci, IIcx power supply. $69 each. shipping weight 5 pounds

This is what the 1/2 AA sized battery often looks like in your Mac. Most but the very oldest Macs use what is called a "1/2 AA" battery (see below for other Mac batteries). It"s shorter than an AA battery, but with a voltage of 3.6 volts. If the voltage drops below about 3.2 volts, it"s getting old: often they will read ZERO volts when they stop working. You can use a voltmeter to measure the voltage; if you remove it from your Mac you may have to "reset your PRAM" afterward, and the date and time. Mac "PRAM" memory also stores a few user settings. For a few vintage Macs, they apparently won"t start up without a working battery (but most models do).

For most Macs, there is also a battery cover which holds the battery in place. it"s a plastic frame surrounding the battery which snaps out. Apple number 520-0344. It might break from age when you remove the battery. It"s not essential but if you want one, it"s $3 plus shipping.

Mac PRAM battery, 3.6V 1/2AA, most Macs. Part numbers TL-5101S TL-5101/S 742-0011 922-1262. Battery manufacturers have their own brand and part numbers. Due to postal regulations and the fact you can buy these "on the Web", we no longer stock these batteries. We have a few old-stock batteries we can ship as installed in equipment only. Ask for for availability and price. Do NOT store your Mac with battery in place, it will CORRODE and LEAK!

Mac PRAM battery for Mac Plus, 128K, 512K - 4.5 V AA 4.5 Volt, AA sized. Brands include Panasonic PX 21, Eveready 523, ANSI 1306AP, IEC 5LR50, NEDA 1306AP, Varta V21PX. Look for suppliers of these on the Web, and compare prices. For instance, here"s one brand/model: Dantona� 4.5V/600mAh Alkaline Photo Battery, Model: TR133A. Any model that provides the correct voltage and is the correct size is adequate. Do NOT store your Mac with battery in place, it will CORRODE and LEAK! We may have old-stock, for sale in equipment only, ask.

An alternative to the 4.5V AA battery may be a 3.6V AA-size Lithium battery which is a little easier to find. We may have old-stock, for sale in equipment only, ask. Do NOT store your Mac with this battery in place, it will CORRODE and LEAK!

Mac PRAM battery, square Some Mac systems use a square or rectangular 4.5V battery, with a short black and red cable which connects it to the motherboard. We don"t stock this at this time; check with local computer stores, office supply stores, or electronic parts stores, and take it along so they can determine if they have a compatible battery.Do NOT store your Mac with battery in place, it will CORRODE and LEAK!

CRT (picture tube) for Compact Macs, including yoke (the coils around the neck of the CRT). YOur analog card may need some slight adjustment to orient or size the screen display: we don"t provide "how-to install" descriptions. Prices listed below are for working used CRT"s with yokes, with no to very slight screen burn. Shipping weight per CRT will be near 6 pounds, double boxed to protect them; and boxed under 12 X 12 X 12 inches *if possible* to reduce shipping cost. Typical weight under 6 pounds packed.

Clinton vs Samsung CRTs: I came across this comment about old compact Mac CRT"s: "The Clinton [brand] CRTs have nothing wrong with them but they have no anti-glare coating, which makes staring at them in a bright area an eye-straining experience. The Samsung [brand] units, on the other hand, are anti-glare.". I will charge more if you request a Samsung CRT for older compact Macs which may not have come with them.

We don"t offer CRT"s or picture tubes for the large "all in one" Macs, or for any Apple monitors. Too much work and risk and cost of shipping. Get one local to you and pick it up.

On the compact Macs (128K 512K Plus SE SE/30 Classic), there"s a small video card or cable at the end of the CRT. That carries the "video" into the CRT. We have these, as used pulls, for all those Macs. For instance, the Mac SE and SE/30 uses board with part-numbers 630-0169 and 820-0207; 630-0146 and 820-0205; Apple replacement part numbers are 982-0024. ON the 128K 512K Plus, it"s just a socket on a cable. If you want one of these, please describe your Mac model and describe the part by part-number. I"ll see what I can provide. I don"t get many requests for these.

Shields or shrouds are cardboard, plastic and metal sheets under or around logic boards motherboards or power supplies / analog cards. They look like these or look like these, from some classic Macs. I have a number of these as used, in various conditions and quantities. Ask for one for a specific Mac model, they may vary.

As of 2022, I"m rarely selling Mac cases for the 128K, 512K, Plus, SE, SE/30, Classic, Classic II. Simply put: too expensive to ship, too hard to pack against damage, too much work to photograph and grade, too cheep to buy elsewhere. "Why pay you $X for a case, when I can spend $X plus something and

I"ve generally found, I can"t provide a "compact Mac" case or other small Mac cases, at a price many customers hope for. Some seem to think, I have these "laying around" and I can toss them in a box and mail "em with some air-bag packing. No. Doesn"t work that way. Here"s some guidance about what it really takes to provide a compact Mac case - if you don"t want it busted up.

About shipping: A Mac SE case, with metal frame, nothing else - weighs just over 7 pounds. That case, will need a box 17 X 14 X 14 inches, to ship with enough padding around it to protect the case. A box and padding - let"s say it adds 4 pounds to the package. I should double-box the SE because of safety and because of the large hole where the CRT was removed. Other classic Mac cases may weigh a little less. A CRT adds pounds and is more fragile. Go to usps.com with weight and box size, your ZIP code and

Another complication: Many Mac models have very very fragile plastics. After 30, 40 years, the plastics lose flexibility and will shatter or snap off pieces with any stress. Some models

The Apple Studio Display (stylized and marketed as Studio Display) is a 27-inch flat panel computer monitor developed and sold by Apple Inc.Mac Studio desktop and was released on March 18, 2022. It is Apple"s consumer display, sitting below the Pro Display XDR.

The Studio Display features a 27-inch, 5K LED-backlit panel, with 5120×2880 resolution at 218 pixels per inch and 600 nits of brightness, an increase from the 500 nits panel used in the LG UltraFine and 27-inch iMac.P3 wide color and True Tone technology.HDR content.spatial audio and Dolby Atmos, and a three-microphone array that supports "Hey Siri".Thunderbolt 3 port that supports DisplayPort 1.4 with Display Stream Compression (DSC) 1.2 and provides up to 96 W of host charging for connected laptops, and three downstream 10 Gbit/s USB-C ports.

The Studio Display includes an Apple A13 Bionic system on a chip to power audio and webcam processing. The built-in webcam supports Center Stage, introduced with the iPad Pro (5th generation), which pinpoints the positions of the users and automatically tracks the camera view accordingly to perspectively center them.iPhone 11.

The Studio Display comes with three mounting options: a tilt-adjustable stand, a tilt- and height-adjustable stand similar to the Pro Display XDR, and a VESA mount. The mounts are built into the display and are not user interchangeable, but can be reconfigured by an Apple Store or authorized service provider after purchase."nano-texture" glass finish to reduce glare.

The Studio Display works with other systems supporting DisplayPort, including Windows-based systems, but only supported Macs have access to features beyond display, speakers and webcam.Boot Camp are supported with version 6.1.17.

A vintage Apple monitor isn"t just a blast from the past to add to your Mac collection, but it can also be used for retro computing. Apple has been producing computer monitors since 1976 in varying sizes and capabilities. If you plan on using a vintage Apple monitor, then you should first learn about the display capabilities and required connections to ensure proper functioning of your iMac.

Apple first started producing monochrome monitors and then eventually moved onto cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) options. Apple nicknamed monochrome monitors "Green Screens" due to the bright green text color on their screens. These original devices were bulky and lacked color capabilities in their resolutions, making them fade out of popularity towards the 1980"s. CRT displays are also heavy, but they offered more colors and a higher-quality display. Apple used these monitors until the late 1990"s when LCD monitors took over the market.

LCD technology uses a flat panel screen, rather than the bulky screens of CTR standards. Today LCD monitors are the standard screen for laptops and desktops almost exclusively, and they began to outsell CTRs by 2004.

The earliest monitors were very small. Most monitors only measured 13-14 inches. However, in the 1990"s and early 2000"s, larger LCD monitor sizes became more popular. Monitor sizes up to 30 inches are common, but the most-used option is the 27-inch display. This size creates a resolution that is suitable for daily Mac use as well as gaming and entertainment purposes.

Apple Macbooks and iMac models are designed with portability and ease of use in mind. Mac never produced a model over 17 inches as a result. Most displays found in Apple Macbook products utilize Retina technology, which is a type of LED format that offers higher pixel density. The most common Mac sizes include the following: