A31p and 30in LCD 2560x1600 External Display

[FrankK-F]

I've been following here another thread (T-series) about graphics cards via a TP Dock for the external displays. Very interesting and informative .. but not on target for me.

(As backgound ... soon after Dell introduced its 24 in LCD monitor (1920x1200), I purchased one, and with the able help on this forum had it up and running in short order.

My a31p has Dock-II with DVI port, that connects directly to the monitor, and running with Omega 3.8.291 driver, and Ultramon. Am running mostly in extended desktop mode .. with the Dell centered on my TP, and with the lower edge of the LCD just directly above the bezel of the TP monitor ... and about an inch more distant from my eyeballs.

The DELL, with its larger real estate, is my designated primary monitor .. and have it calibrated (via ColorVision Spectro Suite Hardware). The Dell does a decent job photo editing, is great for DVD playback ... but I spend serious time on AutoCad (Inventor suite) with two instances open, one on each monitor.

What has surprised me is that, while the DELL is 2-3 years newer, the TP monitor (UXGA) presents a crisper image and fonts with better saturated colors in the AutoCad applications. Now back to topic.)

With the Samsung SyncMaster 305T ($1,999.99 list), its good specs and a favorable review in PCMagazine ... I am back in the hunt for more "screen estate". This monitor is described as ...

"The 305T can achieve resolutions as high as 2,560-by-1,600 (TP-A31p's high limit--fkf), which means you'll need a dual-link DVI graphics card that can scale that high to get the best possible picture at those resolutions—nVidia's GeForce 7600/7800/7950 series and ATI's Radeon X1800/1900 series are two good options."

Based on the thread cited above, it seems that getting the optimum card and driver combination has a 'hit-or-miss' element in the ThinkPad-Dock environment.

Has anybody tackled this monitor .. or the Apple or DELL versions? What graphics adaptor worked for you, which driver? Your exerience would be most appreciated.

Frank K-F